By Mark Seavy   

As licensing companies and executives gather this week for LicensingCon LATAM 2026 in Brazil, addressing financial concerns will be front and center amid the expected deal making.  

Many of those conversations will be focused on the economies of Brazil and Argentina, and their impact on the broader Central and South American markets. While the economies of both countries are forecast to post single-digit growth this year, according to the World Bank, high interest rates and bankruptcies have brought increased caution to the licensing industry in the region.  

In Brazil, for example, interest rates hit a high of 15% last year and appear to have settled around 14.25%, driving up capital costs that can be key to signing licensing agreements. At the same time, online sports betting has cut into consumer spending over the past two years. In fact, family spending on sports gambling has doubled since 2018, according to the Banco Santander.

“There have been a number of bankruptcies the last few months and, with interest rates high and a reduction in consumer spending, everyone is having a tough time right now,” said David Diesendruck, CEO of the licensing agency Redibra. “We are facing some issues with companies that were once very solid but are now going though Chapter 11. There is a risk of not getting paid and we must be careful about the companies we are going to license with.” 

Those risks were underscored by Brazilian toymaker Estrela, a licensee of Hasbro, Disney, and others, which filed for bankruptcy in May “amid significant economic and industry pressures,” the company said in a securities filing. Pressures included higher capital costs and tighter credit conditions as well as shifts in consumer behavior. 

And Estrela is not alone. Café del Plata, which operates Argentina’s 250-store Havanna chain in Brazil, asked a court in Sao Paulo to approve an out-of-court restructuring plan to renegotiate R$127 million in debts with financial creditors. The chain, which has coffee shops, kiosks, and ice cream parlors, had previously pushed out its goal of doubling its size to 500 locations from 2026 to 2028. Havanna made the decision to seek protection from creditors after banks signaled they would seek to liquidate the company and sell Havanna’s popular brand and other assets. 

Yet as companies move to right themselves, many within the licensing industry expressed optimism.  

There has been an increase in food and beverage as well as health and wellness licensing in the region, and a shift toward multinational companies until local operations stabilize, licensing executives said.  

Authentic Brands Group’s Care Bears, for example, licensed the café chain Cacau Show, which has more than 4,200 locations in Brazil, in pairing a cup of hot or cold chocolate topped with whipped cream with keychains featuring 10 designs. 

Additionally, the LicensingCon event itself is growing.  

The number of exhibitors at the tradeshow have increased to 62 (up from 45 at last year’s event) while attendance is expected to be similar to 2025 with around 2,000 executives.  New exhibitors include Cyber Agent, Smiley Co., Ping Solutions (cinema promotional products), Angelotti (Toei (One Piece, Dragon Ball), Viz Media (Demon Slayer, Naruto)).

“Given the interest rates and the cost of capital, licensees and retailers would rather work with licensors that are fast and flexible [in terms of approvals] because of the cost of money,” Diesendruck said. “We are trying to move more toward food and beverage and health and wellness because those are the companies that are solid and many of these categories are targeting Gen Z and young adults.”