Revenue from global Reebok brand licenses increased 9.4 percent in 2024, to $302.5 million from $276.4 million in 2024, according to a Companies House filing by U.K.-based Reebok International Limited and its subsidiary RILUK IPCO Limited, which owns the Reebok intellectual property under Authentic Brands.
Operating profits rose 8.4 percent to $192.2 million from $177.4 million. Net profits improved 10.0 percent to $180.4 million from $164.0 million.
Reebok said in the filing that profits increased “due to increases in revenue through the expansion of the global Reebok business, arising from both improvements in licensees’ performance and expansion through new partners.”
The filing also elaborates, “The Reebok business model has continued to focus on licensing to regional retail partners through whose own existing activities and networks the potential of the brand can be realized. As the relationships have become more established, it has driven the increase in revenue, leading to an increase in trading profitability. Also, the company continues to look for new product categories that the Reebok brand can expand into.”
Reebok did not provide an update on the current year’s progress; however, in a “Future Developments” section, Reebok states, “The company expects to continue earning brand licensing revenue in the coming years. There are no plans to curtail any part of the business. The company’s accumulated earnings are mostly held within the treasury systems operated by Authentic pending payment of dividends, and no interest has been calculated on ‘inter-company balances accordingly.”
Reebok has secured major new licensing partners this year.
In February, Authentic reached an agreement for Galaxy Universal to acquire the Reebok Design Group and the brand’s U.S. operations. As part of the agreement, Galaxy, which owns the And1, Gaiam and Tony Hawk brands and licenses the Justice and London Fog brands, is leading Reebok’s U.S. footwear wholesale, retail and e-commerce channels. Authentic remains the owner of Reebok’s global IP.
The previous U.S. operator was Sparc Group, a venture that Authentic created with mall operator Simon Property Group, to run several retail companies.
At the same time, a new joint venture between Galaxy and Batra Group (Batra), GB Brands Europe Limited, will oversee the brand’s operations across Europe and the UK. Last fall, Authentic pulled the Europe license from New Guard Group, a division of Farfetch.
In June, Reebok partnered with Slam Jam, the Italy-based streetwear company, to increase the exposure of its Reebok brand in Europe and North and Central America.
Image courtesy Reebok
