Sports and animé brands driving growth of licensed toys in Europe, reports Circana

Licensed toys continue to outperform the overall toy market in 2024, according to new data published by Circana.

Growing by 2.4%, licensed toy sales in Europe (EU5: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) bucked an industry decline of 3.1% during the first seven months of this year.

Licenses now represent 28.8% of total toy sales in EU5 with licensing gaining share in every country. Top gaining licenses in Europe this year are UEFA National – European Cup, Lilo & Stitch and Mercedes Benz.

Sports licenses, with 2.2% of overall toy sales in Europe, are the main growth driver (+34%) this year. Toys derived from animé brands represent an even larger share, with 5.8% of total toy sales and also contributing to growth, up 8% year-on-year.

“The UK really embraces both characters and licenses,” said Melissa Symonds, UK Toys Director for Circana.

“Football, of course, is particularly strong here and with England’s men making it through to the final of the Euros, sales of related merchandise did really well despite the team falling short against Spain. In a year with fewer blockbusters, the toy industry was able to successfully pivot from big screen names to small screen legends and sports heroes.”

Frédérique Tutt, Global Industry Advisor for Toys at Circana, added: “Even if the box office drives the bulk of consumer product sales, licensing is more than just what’s on the big screen for the toy industry; it’s about collaborations with consumer brands, sports teams and motor vehicles, video games and music content, as well as shows from streaming platforms. It’s about building new franchises for new generations, but also nurturing fandom and nostalgia, particularly among older toy buyers.

“Most of the major franchises are fuelling this fandom among kids and adults who enjoy buying merchandise of their favourite characters. It’s a lucrative market with a healthy pipeline.”