the licensed toy market | Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

Licensed toys refer to those toys for which manufacturers use well-known names and images, usually from film studios and animated films, to increase their sales. These products are all those for which a contract to transfer the rights to use the trademark has been signed by the company owning the rights and the company producing the toy.  

The most popular licensed toys are those inspired by Disney, Marvel or Pixar characters as well as Harry Potter and Pokémon, and the categories of toys included in this market are the most diverse: plush toys, dolls, constructions, board games, etc. Despite this, the scope of this market will not take into consideration licensed video games, the main competitors of the traditional games mentioned above. 

At a European level, toys are the most significant category of licensed children's products and the European licensed toy market appears to be dominated by the UK, Spain and Italy, the three countries most open to the use and purchase of products with IP rights.

The Italian market for licensed toys is going through a strong growth phase: between 2019 and 2021, in fact, this segment grew at a significantly higher rate than the overall toy market. In particular, after a slightly negative phase due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this market is also slowly rebounding and growth is expected to be particularly affected by the transfer of many movie releases to streaming platforms such as Disney + or Netflix, although properties belonging to the traditional TV sector will continue to make up a substantial part of the market. In particular, some examples of IP that are driving the growth of the Italian market are Harry Potter.