1What is Licensing the identity of the three parties involve

1-What is Licensing? the identity of the three parties involved in the Business of Licensing and the separate reasons for each of these parties as to why they would want to be involved in the licensing business. Identify the party that has the most to gain by their involvement in licensing.

2- Iconix Brand Group is an important company in the licensing business and has developed a successful business model. Please research the company a, describing their business model and their model of generating revenue. Does it differ from other licensing business models as described in Lecture #1

3-Iconix is currently experiencing a down turn. Research this current situation and post your findings as to the causes and your thoughts as to the future of Iconix.

Solution

There are three parties involved in the business of licensing i.e. a licensor - who grants permission to use a license, licensee- who receives permission to use a license for business purposes, and the consumers who value the logos, trademarks, etc. In licensing business all the three elements are likely to gain from the logo, trademark or patent. Licensor receives free cash flow from the licensee, the licensee is able to attract more business from the customers, and the customers feel that they are buying from renowned business organization.

2. Iconix Brand Group, Inc. is a company that specializes in licensing business. It owns licenses and market access through a network of licensees and has s a portfolio of about thirty consumer brands mostly related to clothing and consumer goods. Some of the prominent brands include, Lee Cooper, Umbro, etc. The Company licenses its brand assets to various retailers and manufacturers, who have access to many parts of the world. The company actively engages in advertising and public relations to nourish its brands in the market. Through its strategic effort the company manages its brands and builds higher brand equity. The manufacturers and retailers can open stores in many parts of the world with less risk. Iconix business model is simple, it acquires popular brands and licenses it to retailers and receives royalties. The consumers buy from the retailers with faith on the brand name.

3. Iconix business has experienced a slow down as their licenses have reduced licensing number of brands and have negotiated hard to reduce the royalty fee. Another critical factor for the revenue retardation is the fading of some brands due lack of care. Since, the company has more than ten core brands, decline in some brands can trigger introduction of emerging brands. The company can manage the brand life cycles effectively as they have the core competence to manage the global brands.