Mary Engelbreit Tops $1 Billion Lifetime Sales
Even before its 20th anniversary in art licensing, Mary Engelbreit Studios is celebrating another important milestone — reaching more than $1 billion in lifetime sales at the retail level.
 |
| Mary Engelbreit illustrated greeting cards |
The brand, which started out with its first major license in 1986 for greeting cards with Sunrise Cards, has now grown to include other license agreements for calendars, gifts and collectibles and home accents. Mary Engelbreit remains one of the top calendar programs in the country, selling more than 1 million units each year.
The key to the brand’s success is the artist’s ability to “create an emotional experience that captures the heart of her audience,” said Greg Hoffmann, CEO of Mary Engelbreit Studios.
“ME Studios is a leader in art licensing because, in addition to good core art, we have paid close attention to consumers’ wants and needs and how they wish to experience Mary’s art,” Hoffmann said. “We are good at what we do and continue to try and improve both ourselves and the Mary Engelbreit brand.”
The Mary Engelbreit brand also includes three collections of women’s sleepwear and infant apparel under a licensing agreement with Mervyn’s department stores. The brand is the only art licensor with a successful national women’s shelter magazine, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, which carries a circulation of 525,000.
The brand has stayed on top with its ability to engage consumer in different ways, but yet maintain its high quality work, Hoffmann said.
To celebrate the upcoming 20th anniversary of the brand, Mary Engelbreit Studios plans to kick off a 10-city tour in October and November to introduce “Mary Engelbreit’s Mother Goose,” a 128-page children’s book of 100 best-loved rhymes. The tour will stop in such major marketing including, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas. Internet materials will support.
