Although the Authentic Brands Group is not well-known in the United States, several of its properties are. The corporation owns the intellectual property rights to more than 30 trademarks and companies, including Marilyn Monroe, Forever 21, Muhammad Ali, Sports Illustrated, Elvis Presley, Juicy Couture, and Shaquille O’Neal. According to a prospectus to list on the New York Stock Exchange filed last week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that portfolio will produce more than $10 billion in apparel sales internationally in 2020, contributing to ABG’s $489 million in revenue for the year (SEC). ABG, on the other hand, did not manufacture any of those items. In an SEC filing, the company’s founder and CEO, Jamie Salter, declared, “We don’t handle storefronts, inventory, or supply chains.” “We don’t make anything,” says the narrator. We’re a licensing company that focuses solely on brand identity and marketing.” For ABG, the model has proven to be profitable. Its revenue has been steadily increasing for years, and insiders told Bloomberg that when it goes public, it might be worth as much as $10 billion. According to ABG’s filing, when it talks about the brands it owns, it’s referring to “trademarks, copyrights, publicity rights, and/or other intellectual property rights.” It owns several of them through joint ventures. The corporation may confer with a live celebrity, such as O’Neal, about the usage of their name and likeness. ABG sells these properties to other businesses in exchange for royalties, but retains control over how its brands are utilized and marketed. It has previously licensed Elvis Presley to the United States Postal Service for a stamp and Muhammad Ali to Under Armour for a sportswear line. It received funds from a “global network of 1,000 licenses spanning around 800 licensees, including manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and e-Commerce partners” last year, according to the company. The licensees are responsible for the effort and expenses associated with activities such as manufacture, distribution, and sales. It said that its lifestyle sector, which includes clothes and home goods companies, brought in 82 percent of sales, while its entertainment division, which includes famous celebrity names, brought in 18 percent. Salter began his career marketing sporting products before buying and cofounding a snowboarding firm. He founded a financial services holding firm before launching ABG with $250 million in 2010. Its first major step in the entertainment industry was to purchase the Marilyn Monroe trademark. “What we observed in Marilyn epitomizes how we look at things as a firm in many ways,” Salter wrote in a letter filed with the SEC. “We recognized a fantastic brand in need of a partner with the skills to honor and realize the legacy’s full potential.” ABG has continued to grow, acquiring inactive or distressed brands in entertainment, sports, and clothes and turning them into profitable businesses. With 19 acquisitions in the last five years, the company’s acquisition rate appears to be picking up. It’s been eyeing failing retail labels recently, having purchased Barneys after its collapse and Eddie Bauer more recently. The corporation is now the world’s third largest licensor, after only Disney and Meredith Corp., a media giant, and it appears to be optimistic about its future prospects. In the filing, Salter stated, “With our adaptable model, the way we look at the world, there is $13 trillion of branded commerce in our sights.”/n
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