Licensing & Merchandising

Matthew Glendinning reports on some of the highlights from the Leaders Week conference in London.

With New Balance beating 'parasite brands' in a Chinese court and Liverpool FC launching a cut-price kit to beat the counterfeiters, major brands are clearly taking the theft of intellectual property seriously. Mark Dreyer finds out more.

Golf’s world No.2, Rory McIlroy, has signed another lucrative endorsement deal after agreeing a long-term partnership with sports equipment manufacturer TaylorMade.

The J. League has hailed a partnership with ecommerce giant Rakuten that will see merchandise operations for the top division of Japanese football move to a centralised process.

Fledgling Indian sportswear company Zeven has agreed a four-year merchandising contract with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as it seeks to build its business.

The NFL American football league has signed a multi-year deal with the IMG agency as its exclusive licensing representative across select markets in Europe and Asia.

The club crest of Real Madrid will be altered under a new retail partnership the Spanish LaLiga football club has signed for the Middle East market.

Italian Serie A football team Juventus has unveiled a rebranding initiative that it states will seek to expand the business side of the club, targeting both existing fans and those with less of an interest in the sport.

SportBusiness International looks at the impact of e-commerce and globalisation on sports licensing, as well as the evolving challenges of IP theft and quality control.

The German Football League (DFL) has announced that the organisation will enter the 2017-18 season with a new brand positioning for itself and the top two divisions of the domestic game.

The NHL ice hockey league’s new expansion franchise in Las Vegas has revealed that it will be known as the Vegas Golden Knights.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has renewed a lucrative endorsement deal with sportswear giant Nike.

The IMG agency has today (Monday) unveiled the Football Greats Alliance (FGA), an entity created to manage the collective marketing and licensing rights of retired players from the NFL American football league.

The UK’s Ascot Racecourse has agreed a multi-year deal with IMG under which the agency will serve as its worldwide licensing representative and develop a new offering for its leading horse racing events.