February 2020 Issue Apparel February 2020 issue | Page 98

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Wearable Pop Culture
The merchandising market is growing at a great pace, giving fans an opportunity to wear their
favourite comic characters, sports team logos, and even popular movie dialogues in the form of
apparel. Meera Warrier finds out.
What do Chacha Chaudhary, Mahendra Singh
Dhoni, and Dwayne Bravo have in common? An
entire range of T-shirts and other merchandise
named after them and/or carrying their
mugshots and iconic lines!
Cartoon characters we have grown up
with, icons we have looked up to, movie
characters whose dialogues we have come
to repeat at opportune moments—all are now
being immortalised with the rapidly growing
merchandising opportunity that brands have
come to leverage in this country.
Sports icons, actors, and storybook and
mythological characters—all are now riding on
their brand equity in the merchandising space.
MARKET MATTERS
The global licensing industry is estimated at
more than $270 billion annually. While the United
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February 2020
States (US) and Canada remain markets that
are driving the largest volumes for licensed
products and services, India, China, and Brazil
seem to show the most potential worldwide.
The emergence of e-commerce across the
length and breadth of the country has been a
huge contributor in this respect.
Brank Monk Licensing, Dream Theatre,
and Black White Orange are some of the key
players that are paving the way for the
licensing industry.
According to Rohit Sobti, founder and CEO,
Brank Monk Licensing, films—both Indian
and International—(popular) shows on the web
and television, cartoon characters, iconic
brands such as Coca-Cola, Indian and
global sports teams, art and, of course,
celebrities, are driving the market to reach its
potential valuations.