Direct-to-retail Altering Indian Licensing Landscape

Margins have always bothered the retailers since long; now retailers have altered their philosophy of the high streets in a bid to stay on priority list of consumers.

- Gargi Bhardwaj

In order to rev up the margins, retailers are hopping into the brand licensing bandwagon and are entering into exclusive deals with the licensees, like Amazon did with Style Quotient for Being Human Jewellery, and also inking direct-to-retail licensing deals while slipping into the shoe of licensee.

Boosting Business 

Direct-to-retail or DTR deals are the fad as they enable retailers and licensors to get in direct agreement, thereby making retailer the licensee as well as seller of the licensed merchandise.

Generally, retailers didn’t have licensing as a main focus, but they’ve expected it to be a lucrative part of their business.

Disney Consumer Products has paved the way in terms of DTR deals, especially in apparel and its first such deal was with H&M in 2000, which is continued till day. Explaining the benefits of DTR deals from a licensor’s perspective, Anand Singh, Director -South Asia, Turner, explains: “Direct-to-retail deals let us forge a long-term relationship with our retail partners. This way we are able to try out new products and various concepts together.”