What made established brands reckon power of licensing?

Limited edition capsule collections have been a sweet spot for Disney India, given its successful stints with Satya Paul, Jack & Jones, Coach, UNIQLO, Marc Jacobs, Forever 21 among others. Carrying forward the legacy, this entertainment mogul has joined forces with Bestseller’s women’s wear brand ONLY for Mickey Mouse inspired collection. In a conversation with License India, Abhishek Maheshwari, VP & Head, Consumer Products, Disney India reveals the details about the licensing agreement.

Of late many established brands are becoming licensees. What is your take on this trend?

Finding the right partner is the foundation of licensing. This is a common phenomenon globally and we have had some of the biggest names from the Fashion industry collaborate with Disney which include Coach, UNIQLO, Marc Jacobs, United Colours of Benetton, Vans, Forever 21 and more. We are happy that brands in India have started to see this as a viable option of business too and are willing to take a step in this direction. In India we have tied-up with some of the very well-established fashion brands which include Satya Paul, Jack & Jones, Myntra and now ONLY.

Jack & Jones and ONLY are well established brands. What interested Disney to collaborate with these brands?

At Disney India’s consumer products, we are constantly looking at providing our fans with trendy and relevant products in the country. Adult Fashion is one of our key product categories and brands like Jack & Jones and ONLY are extremely popular with the youth as they understand the pulse of the youth who are an important TG for us. We started our relationship with Jack & Jones with the launch of a special Star Wars collection in December 2015 followed by a Captain America: The Civil War collection in April’16; both were a great hit amongst young adults. We are now happy to work with ONLY on a women’s line inspired by Disney’s most loveable character Mickey Mouse.

Doesn’t the brand power of these labels overshadow the Disney characters?

Mickey and Minnie continue to be highly sought fashion icons. In fact they have always been an inspiration to Fashion houses and designers all over the world.

What would be the nature of this alliance with ONLY?

Disney’s Consumer Products business works with partners on a licensing model all around the world. With ONLY, we have licensed our IP - Mickey Mouse to work on a women’s collection together. ONLY will be focusing on the distribution and marketing aspect of the collection. This is a limited collection launch consisting of tops, crop tops, skirts, pants and more, all inspired by Mickey.

What kind of retail marketing will be undertaken for this collection?

Retail display is a key component of our marketing plan. The window displays will be taken over by Mickey and this collection will be available across all 25 stores. Other than this, there will also be special Mickey badges given out with every purchase from the collection at the stores.