ACi Licensing
ACi Licensing is a Los Angeles-based brand licensing agency that structures consumer product programs for celebrities, designers, and TV properties while owning four lifestyle brands — C&C California, Kay Unger, RACHEL Rachel Roy, and Badgley Mischka.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ACi Licensing does
ACi Licensing is a privately held brand licensing agency founded in 2007 and headquartered in Los Angeles, with an additional office in New York. The company connects brand owners — including designers, celebrities, entertainment personalities, and TV properties — with manufacturing and retail partners to build consumer product licensing programs. ACi monetizes two distinct asset bases: it structures licensing programs on behalf of third-party clients such as RuPaul, Mario Lopez, Christian Siriano, Project Runway, Cynthia Rowley, Sanctuary, and Sugar Paper, and it also owns four lifestyle brands — C&C California (acquired 2015), Kay Unger (2016), RACHEL Rachel Roy (2019), and Badgley Mischka (2025) — which it extends into additional product categories through licensing arrangements.
The company's revenue model is built on licensing royalties and brand ownership economics. ACi earns royalty income from licensees who manufacture and distribute licensed products in categories spanning apparel, footwear, accessories, and home furnishings, and captures brand-equity-driven income from its owned brand portfolio. Distribution is concentrated through major US retailers — Target, QVC, Sam's Club, and Build-A-Bear — and is now expanding globally through wholesale arrangements such as the February 2026 Li & Fung licensing agreement for C&C California. The company reports no proprietary technology stack beyond "licensing program management and brand monetization," and operates with a small 1–10 person team led by Co-CEO Andy Cohan and Chairman Charles D. Mamiye.
In April 2025, ACi entered a strategic joint venture with Established Incorporated, under which Established holds a controlling 51% stake and ACi retains 49%, to manage the four owned lifestyle brands. The transaction was supported by equity from Crosstimbers Capital Group, Ares Management, and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, with debt financing from Huntington Bank, and marks Established's expansion beyond electronics licensing into premium lifestyle. Across Andy Cohan's career, ACi-affiliated programs have generated over $2.5 billion in retail sales, with individual programs such as Project Runway exceeding $100 million.
ACi Licensing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ACi Licensing
- Legal name
- ACI Licensing, LLC
- Website
- https://acilicensing.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- ACi Licensing is a Los Angeles-based brand licensing agency that structures consumer product programs for celebrities, designers, and TV properties while owning four lifestyle brands — C&C California, Kay Unger, RACHEL Rachel Roy, and Badgley Mischka.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ACi Licensing industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Brand Licensing Services
- NAICS
- Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Luxury Licensing & Brand Management (CRAKAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Merchandising, Character & Brand Licensing (MPADALAF), Talent, Likeness & Personality Rights Licensing (MPABANAG)
Keywords
Where ACi Licensing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
ACi Licensing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Licensing Royalties: ACI Licensing generates revenue through licensing arrangements where they manage brand portfolios and earn royalties from licensees who produce and distribute licensed consumer products across categories including apparel, footwear, accessories, and home furnishings.
- Brand Ownership and Management: As a brand owner with stakes in lifestyle brands (Badgley Mischka, C&C California, Kay Unger, RACHEL Rachel Roy), ACI earns revenue through the overall brand equity and licensing income generated by these owned properties.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
ACi Licensing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ACI Licensing is a brand licensing agency that acquires, owns, and manages lifestyle brands and structures licensing programs connecting brand owners (designers, celebrities, TV properties) with manufacturing partners and major retail distributors. The company owns four lifestyle brands (C&C California, Kay Unger, RACHEL Rachel Roy, and Badgley Mischka) and develops licensing programs for client brands across categories including apparel, footwear, accessories, and home furnishings, generating revenue through royalties from licensees.
Product overview
ACI Licensing is a brand licensing agency that operates a portfolio of owned brands and manages licensing programs for celebrity, designer, and entertainment properties. The company owns four lifestyle brands: C&C California (acquired 2015), Kay Unger (acquired 2016), RACHEL Rachel Roy (acquired 2019), and Badgley Mischka (acquired 2025). Additionally, ACI manages licensing programs for over a dozen celebrity and designer brands including RuPaul, Mario Lopez, Christian Siriano, Project Runway, Rachel Zoe, Rosanna Pansino, Sanctuary, Sugar Paper, and Cynthia Rowley. The company's core business involves expanding these brands into new product categories through licensing agreements with manufacturers and distributors, placing products with major retail partners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- C&C California: Lifestyle brand for men, women and children with 21 licenses. Acquired in 2015.
- Kay Unger
- RACHEL Rachel Roy
- Badgley Mischka
Products and services
- Brand Licensing Program Management
- C&C California
- Kay Unger
- RACHEL Rachel Roy
- Badgley Mischka
- C&C California Women's Swim, Sleep, and Outerwear Collection
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $2.5 billion in retail sales generated through licensing programs
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ACi Licensing
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ACi Licensing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
ACi Licensing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Li & Fung Ltd.coreLi & Fung licensed to produce and distribute C&C California women's swimwear, sleepwear, loungewear and outerwear. Deal grants wholesale distribution rights across all channels including full-price, off-price and club retail. ACI Licensing facilitated the deal together with Established.Lifestyle who co-own the C&C brand.
- C&C CaliforniacoreOwned brand that has been expanded into a lifestyle brand for men, women and children with 21+ licenses. ACI Licensing together with Established.Lifestyle owns the C&C California brand.
- Established IncorporatedcoreStrategic joint venture with Established Incorporated to acquire and manage four lifestyle brands: Badgley Mischka, C&C California, Kay Unger, and RACHEL Rachel Roy. Established holds controlling 51% stake while ACI retains 49%. Transaction marks Established's expansion beyond electronics licensing into premium lifestyle sectors.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ACi Licensing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Authentic Brands Group: The largest brand licensing platform in the world (Reebok, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Marilyn Monroe). Comparable to ACI because it acquires and licenses lifestyle and celebrity brands across consumer categories at scale, though far larger and more diversified.
- Sequential Brands Group: Acquired and licensed lifestyle and active brands (Avia, AND1, Jessica Simpson) across categories. Operates in the same owned-brand licensing model as ACI, though significantly larger and now restructured.
- Iconix Brand Group: Owns and licenses a portfolio of consumer brands (Cannon, Lee, Starter, Umbro, Sharper Image). Comparable to ACI's strategy of acquiring brands and monetizing through category licensing.
- CAA-GBG (Creative Artists Agency / Global Brand Management Group): Talent agency division that manages licensing programs for celebrity clients across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Comparable to ACI's celebrity brand monetization work but embedded within a much larger talent representation firm.
Direct peers
- Xcel Brands: Public brand licensing company that acquires designer brands (Isaac Mizrahi, Judith Ripka, Halston) and licenses them across categories. Closest publicly-traded analog to ACI's owned-brand-plus-licensing model.
- Centric Brands: Licenses and distributes celebrity and designer brands (Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, Disney) across apparel and accessories. Comparable business model of monetizing celebrity/IP brands through licensing and retail distribution.
- Mamiye Brothers: The nation's largest girls' apparel manufacturer, run by ACI Chairman Charles D. Mamiye. Holds licenses for Barbie, Disney, Guess Kids, Nickelodeon. Operates adjacent to ACI in the apparel licensing value chain.
- Beanstalk (a Global Icons Company): Brand licensing agency managing programs for celebrities, entertainment properties, and corporations (General Motors, Ford, Coca-Cola). Direct competitor to ACI in the celebrity/IP licensing agency space.
- LMCA (Leverage Marketing Corp of America): Specialized brand licensing agency representing major brands and personalities across categories. Direct competitor in the celebrity and corporate brand licensing agency segment.
- Established Incorporated: ACI's joint venture partner; one of the largest entertainment and consumer brand licensing companies globally, historically dominant in video game and electronics IP (Atari, Nokia). Comparable as a brand licensing platform that monetizes IP across consumer categories.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ACi Licensing social profiles
Digital presenceACi Licensing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ACi Licensing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ACi Licensing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ACi Licensing M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ACi Licensing
What does ACi Licensing do?
ACI Licensing is a brand licensing agency that acquires, owns, and manages lifestyle brands and structures licensing programs connecting brand owners (designers, celebrities, TV properties) with manufacturing partners and major retail distributors. The company owns four lifestyle brands (C&C California, Kay Unger, RACHEL Rachel Roy, and Badgley Mischka) and develops licensing programs for client brands across categories including apparel, footwear, accessories, and home furnishings, generating revenue through royalties from licensees.
Is ACi Licensing a public or private company?
ACi Licensing is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was ACi Licensing founded?
ACi Licensing was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ACi Licensing based?
ACi Licensing is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does ACi Licensing make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Licensing Royalties are the primary driver. The others are brand Ownership and Management.
Who are ACi Licensing's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Authentic Brands Group, Sequential Brands Group, Iconix Brand Group and CAA-GBG (Creative Artists Agency / Global Brand Management Group). Direct peers are Xcel Brands, Centric Brands, Mamiye Brothers, Beanstalk (a Global Icons Company), LMCA (Leverage Marketing Corp of America) and Established Incorporated.
Does ACi Licensing have an API?
No public API is recorded for ACi Licensing.
What industry is ACi Licensing in?
ACi Licensing's product category is Brand Licensing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAKAFAL, Luxury Licensing & Brand Management, with a secondary code of MPADALAF, Merchandising, Character & Brand Licensing. Its NAICS code is 7114.