Licensed merchandise: a matter of click

Despite the small market size,  there are a lot of players in this online space such as eBay, Home Shop 18, Flipkart.com, Infibeam.com, Shopping.rediff.com, Shopping.indiatimes.com, Indiaplaza.in and Futurebazaar.com to name a few. Seeing the potentiality of the channel, be it Disney or the IPL teams, none is willing to let go the opportunity to explore this space and make the most of it to reach out to a diverse set of customers. Companies which are into licensing and merchandising have undoubtedly found yet another outlet to take their respective businesses to the next level.

E-community trend

It is noted that most of new entrants and the upcoming e-retail ventures are banking heavily on the mounting recognition and popularity that social networking is receiving within the online shopping domain. There are a number of major international e-stores who initiated the clubbing of online shopping with social networking. Online giants like eBay started their “buyers’ community” which was then followed by arch-rival Amazon’s popular “Daily Blog” section.

The e-community trend has somewhat creeped into the Indian shopping terrain as well. Most of the upcoming Indian online stores and the Indian counterparts of the already established inter-nation e-retail brands are reaping in the benefits of shoppers’ community, creating a loyal consumer base out of their readily generated traffic on the sites. Some of the popular community-based Indian shopping portals include eBay India, Retailsdirect and Hindustanlink.

Reaching out

As confirmed late last year, Disney merchandise and characters are now just a click away! Having launched a one-stop Disney-themed online shopping destination for kids and families, the portal features over 660 genuine Disney products. Operated and managed by Net Distribution, an authorised Disney licensee, the site will feature popular characters such as Mickey and Friends, Disney Princess, Disney Pixar Cars, Toy Story, Hannah Montana and many more. Net Distribution Services Pvt Ltd is a multi channel retailing company. It owns and operates branded exclusive online webstores under license or agreement from its principals. Consumers can make purchases from the favourite brands using the internet, phone and mobile.

“The site will offer consumers a convenient and comprehensive range of fun products,” says Roshini Bakshi, Vice-President, Consumer Products, Publishing and Retail, Disney India. “Through e-commerce, we can provide an easy touch point for all things at Disney for fans all across the country,” she further adds.

Ajay Miglani, CEO of Net Distribution opines, “Our endeavour is to provide consumers the ability to buy their favourite Disney products, no matter where they live or when they want to purchase. Net Distribution web store initiative will enable families to buy their favourite Disney branded products and have it delivered to any of the thousands of cities and towns across India. We’re also proud of the ‘gifting feature’ which allows shoppers in India and overseas to gift products to their children, nieces, nephews, friends and family.”

IPL has managed to strike great connection with avid cricket fans and especially now when the audience is pumped up, post the recent ICC Cricket World Cup win! Licensed merchandise typically sports merchandise spans across age groups and genders. “IPL merchandise, for example, appeals to consumers across all age groups and both men and women follow their favourite teams. However, non-licensed merchandise is usually popular with the youth and deal seekers,” says Deepa Thomas, Senior Manager - Corporate Communications & Pop Culture, eBay India.

It is also noted that apparel continues to be the most popular category of licensed merchandise. Overall, IPL merchandise spans apparels (jerseys, t-shirts, caps, pants, shorts and shoes), accessories (backpacks, wrist bands, bandanas, etc) and collectibles (keychains, mugs, cushions, bottle chillers, etc).

Thomas shares, “This year, eBay India has partnered with apparel brands like Adidas, Reebok, Puma and Lotto for offering avid cricket fans a chance to own official merchandise of their favourite Indian Premier League teams.  In addition, we have partnered with Cool Maal, Reliance Trends, Reliance Leisure, Sports & Beyond and Genesis for IPL fangear. IPL merchandise is available for as little as Rs 15 and goes up to Rs 2999.”

Sales record

The scope of licensed merchandise is growing at a healthy pace. “IPL for example in its fourth season is doing well and many consumers are backing at least two teams. The online retailing industry is estimated by IAMAI to be at

Rs 2050 crore in 2010 and to grow by 32 per cent to Rs 2700 by December 2011,” avers Thomas.

 “We have been selling Reebok IPL merchandise, and last season we sold merchandise for multiple teams including Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers. In the past, we have done exclusive shows for Reebok fangear collection on our 24X7 TV channel, HomeShop18. We are looking forward to IPL season 4 and have tried to build excitement around promotions for our customers. We also have brands like Adidas and Puma which are selling merchandise for other teams on our e-commerce platform which has helped us to be part of the excitement around the event,” opines Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, HomeShop18.

However, it remains to be a matter of fact that licensed merchandise does well during specific events – a couple of months of the IPL, etc, whereas, regular products, as shared by Thomas, sell all year around.

As observed

In India, the Internet has come a long way just in the last 3-4 years. However, in comparison to the industry abroad, we are still in early stages and it might still take some time to reach the maturity level of more developed markets. It must be noted that a lot of investment is happening, the user base is increasing, new companies are joining in and things seem to be moving in the right direction.

The sports merchandise sales have grown season-on-season, fans are absolutely thrilled to get an opportunity to be the part of their favourite sports and teams. “We now reach over 3000 cities and it’s not surprising that the calls we received for the merchandise come from even the most remote towns of India, not to mention metros and mini metros. Given our current business growth and growing customer confidence in virtual retail platform, we are very optimistic on merchandise sales this season,” concludes Malhotra.