The Era Of Brand Licensing Belongs To China'S Fashion Industry.

Over the past 10 years,

Authorization mode (LICENSEE) in China

There are many cases in which industries can be used. However, there are few cases of the core control of this mode.

Today, with the change of consumption habits and the apparel retail market, the industry's understanding of brand licensing mode is also evolving.

Some people believe that brand authorization is cross-border cooperation, and some people are calling it "hot."

"IP cooperation is regarded as an evolutionary version of" brand authorization ".

In the US LMCA brand authorized agency CEO Allan Feldman, it seems that the era of brand authorization belongs to China's fashion industry.

Character introduction:

Allan Feldman founded LMCA Leveraged Marketing Corporation of America in New York in 1985, and is committed to brand licensing and brand acquisition.

Through the brand licensing mode, LMCA has helped many brands release potential value to new areas, and Feldman has pioneered the brand extension and authorization business of American enterprises.

In 2009, LMCA was named the third largest brand authorized agency in the world by American magazine.

Q: brand licensing has become a widely recognized business model in the United States. What do you think is the core value of this business model?

Feldman: compared with other business models, brand licensing is a young and fast developing mode.

29 years ago, when LMCA started this kind of business, the sale of licensed products worldwide was only $3 billion.

Today, the figure has reached US $26 billion.

It grows very fast because more and more enterprises realize that this mode can bring greater value to enterprises.

In general, through the strategic cooperation between the brand authorisation and the authorized business, the brand authorisation can theoretically obtain profits without investing any funds, and the authorized business can enhance the added value of the product with the help of the brand of the authorized dealer, so that a higher price can be sold.

Of course, in the process, every product authorized and designed by the authorized manufacturer needs to be examined and verified by the authorized business to ensure that the brand image and quality of the authorized business are guaranteed.

Q: your LMCA has very rich experience in brand licensing in the United States. Please introduce two successful cases of brand licensing in fashion and apparel retail consumption, and explain the reasons for their success.

Feldman: brand licensing is widely used in the fashion industry, especially in luxury goods.

For example, many brands of cosmetics, perfume and glasses under the two luxury goods groups (LVMH and Kai Yun group) are licensed by brand.

Such models are often applied to the brand of entertainment stars.

Some of the entertainment stars seen by the public are designing or releasing their own brands. In fact, most of their operations are collaborate through brand licensing mode.

Many popular clothing brands in the US, such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, operate in addition to some of the main lines. Some other sub line brands are actually operated by brand licensing.

Q: for Chinese people, brand licensing is still a rather strange concept. What kind of way do you think can enable Chinese entrepreneurs to accurately understand and recognize the authorized business mode in the shortest possible time?

Feldman: brand licensing is relatively unfamiliar in China's clothing industry, but in fact, it is quite common in the field of animation.

We set up a company in Shanghai 10 years ago. At that time, many people still did not know much about brand licensing, but now they have changed.

We have recently established a joint venture with a consulting firm specializing in fashion industry in China, specializing in serving Chinese enterprises and expanding their business at home and abroad through brand licensing.

Especially in China's clothing industry, we have two opportunities.

One is to expand the brand of the manufacturer.

Because trade is becoming more and more difficult, these manufacturers are starting to want to make their own brands.

But it is a very difficult road to make a brand from the factory.

And through the licensing of mature brands, coupled with the good manufacturing capabilities of the factory, they will be relatively easy to pform their brand.

The other is fast growing Chinese brands.

We have noticed that over the past 10 years, China's local clothing brands have grown rapidly and have already been able to compete with international brands in some areas.

They are the brand we want to use in the future to expand the market at home and abroad.

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Q: LMCA's classic interpretation of LICENSEE, "brand authorization is about quality, and image authorization is about design," left a deep impression on me.

Feldman: the two concepts are very similar, but there are still differences.

For example, what is the difference between a Rolex watch and a watch made by a certain brand in India?

Maybe they are very similar in appearance, but a watch can help you spend your whole life accurately. But how long can another watch not work accurately? Which brand do you think consumers will want? Brand means protection and comfort.

Q: if you want to really brand the business model to the Chinese garment industry, what do you think is the biggest difficulty?

Feldman: copyright protection.

Only a strong intellectual property protection law will protect the interests of brand authorized and authorized businesses.

Secondly, in my view, Chinese entrepreneurs are good at making more than they are good at marketing.

In marketing, they seem to want to build their own brand rather than profit from borrowing other people's brands.

Brand licensing is relatively new in China's apparel industry. We need to give local businesses more time to grow.

Q: do you have any strategies to solve these difficulties?

Feldman: first of all, the issue of intellectual property protection law, which is the most basic.

In addition, it is necessary for Chinese entrepreneurs to realize that the brand authorization mode can reduce the risk of building their own brands through actual cases, because the time and cost of building brands are huge.

Q: do you think that in China's local clothing brand or fashion brand, is there a brand that can develop the brand authorized business mode?

Feldman: I believe that in the near future, there will be.

Over the past 10 years, China's apparel brands have grown rapidly, especially in the high-end market of women's clothing. I've heard that they can compete with European and American brands in China.

However, the first requirement for a licensed brand is that the brand must have considerable market influence, such as the global brand PHILPS, HP, or GUCCI, Louis Weedon, etc.

These brands rely not only on products, but on excellent brand values.

At present, I don't think China has such an influential brand yet, but we are very optimistic about the future of the brand, such as the exception.

There are also some brands that have their own design personality.

For example, Hi Panda, a local brand in China, is very popular with young people.

Its panda design is very characteristic. It is a brand we like.

Q: for China's clothing brand, can we successfully meet the requirements of brand licensing mode?

Feldman: the most important thing is brand influence, which is enough to explain their industry influence, company's financial and operational capability.

For example, brands like Nike, Coca-Cola and PHILPS, even if they don't produce any products one day, their brand names are still valuable assets.