UC Apparel Sales at Historic High: UC Trademarks and Licensing Income Posts Highest-Ever Annual Earnings

As the University of Cincinnati readies to begin fall quarter and fall’s football season, UC Trademarks and Licensing is looking back on a record-setting year.

In 2009-10, UC posted its most profitable year ever in terms of licensing income from the sale of UC-branded apparel. Total gross income from apparel royalties was close to $782,000. This represents a 52 percent increase from the gross income earned last year, which stood at nearly $516,000. Overall, this most-recent year of income earnings is 46 percent higher than the average over the past 10 years.

Rising enrollment and sports success contribute to these earnings, but they are also the result of strategic planning with key licensees, according to Marty Ludwig, director of Trademarks and Licensing at UC.

These include

• Working with key vendors like adidas Group, Knights Apparel, Inc., and Limited Brands to execute special projects and special designs.

• Increasing the amount of licensed apparel for women and testing retail sites – like Macy’s, Inc. – that have not traditionally carried much, if any, university-related apparel for women.

• Adding 80 new distribution points, including nearly 60 additional Kroger Co. stores as well as other mass-market retailers like Walmart and Target Corp. to the existing mix of retailers carrying UC-branded apparel.

In terms of its licensing income, UC compares favorably with other leading universities nationally. As a member of the Collegiate Licensing Company consortium,

UC stands at number 44 nationally

in terms of earned licensing income. That compares favorably with other consortium institutions like Syracuse University (37) and Georgia Tech (41).

And UC is ahead of other consortium members in terms of earned licensing income for 2009-10, beating out the University of Pittsburgh (45), Stanford University (48), University of Connecticut (50), Texas Christian University (52), Georgetown University (63) and Villanova University (71) when it comes to sales of licensed apparel.

Said Ludwig, “We’re seeing tremendous growth with retailers increasing their orders and shifting attention to earlier in the year to take advantage of the football season. The retailers believe that UC fans, families, students, alumni and the community overall will continue to take pride in the university and want to show that pride. That benefits the university, its students and the area business community.”

• Visit UC’s Trademarks and Licensing Web site.