Leading Licensing Companies
By Dawn Wilensky

A combination of new and evergreen properties/brands drove 2006 worldwide retail sales of licensed merchandise.

Over the last five years, we have made strategic changes to our Leading Licensors list to ensure up-to-date, accurate worldwide retail sales estimates. This year, we made yet another change. As the line between licensor and licensing agent continues to blur—with many licensors taking on the task of representing properties/brands outside of their portfolio, and many traditional licensing agents being charged with fueling power for the brands/properties they represent—we have widened our list to include overall retail sales figures for licensing agents. As a result, we have changed this feature's name from “Leading Licensors” to “Leading Licensing Companies” to better reflect the power of the licensing business. As for this year’s list, which reflects 2006 worldwide retail sales of licensed merchandise, No. 1 Disney recorded a $2 billion increase in retail sales fueled, in part, by consumer demand for all things Pirates of the Caribbean, High School Musical, Cars, and Disney Princess. Sanrio also saw a significant uptick in sales, rising from $4.2 billion in 2005 to $5.2 billion in 2006. Phillips-Van Heusen makes its debut on the list at No. 2 with $6.7 billion in sales driven by proprietary brands Van Heusen, Arrow, Izod, Bass, and Calvin Klein. Other newcomers include: Carte Blanche Greetings ($700 million); Sean John ($450 million); Taffy Entertainment ($98 million); Bang on the Door ($77 million); Just Born, Inc. ($33 million), and Jetix Consumer Products ($29.1 million). Tommy Bahama ($220 million) returns to the list after a brief hiatus. To be included on License! Global’s Leading Licensing Companies list, companies had to provide 2006 retail sales figures, licensing contact information, and