Grocer dramatically increases involvement in programme for 2018, underlining importance of licensing.
Tesco has underlined the importance of licensing to its business – vastly increasing the number of its buyers who will be involved in this year’s Retail Mentoring Programme run by Brand Licensing Europe.
The grocer has put forward 22 buyers from 11 categories for the programme. Last year, the chain was represented by four delegates from two departments – F&F and toys.
In 2018, Tesco buyers from licensing, books, season gifting, nursery, DVD, news & magazines, sports and fitness, marketplace and customer proposition will also join the programme.
BLE brand director Anna Knight, said: “It’s no secret the High Street is struggling. In the last two weeks alone, John Lewis, New Look, Carpet Right, Maplin and Toys R Us have dominated the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
“Tesco, however, has had a strong 12 months and successfully bounced back into customers’ hearts and wallets. It’s fantastic to see them really get behind this year’s Retail Mentoring Programme; it shows they understand and appreciate the potential licensing has to help them stand out from the competition.”
Overall, a total of 74 delegates from 17 retailers have already been confirmed for the Retail Mentoring Programme in 2018, exceeding last year’s 47 attendees.
New retailers include River Island, Ann Summers, Hamleys, Asda, Halfords, Absolute Cult and Beija London. Returning retailers are: Character.com, John Lewis, M&Co, Matalan, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Entertainer, TruffleShuffle.com and Toymaster.
The programme aims to provide retailers with the tools they need to get the most out of their licensing programmes. Successful applicants receive a place at LIMA’s Licensing Essentials Course on May 3, the chance to judge the Product categories at the UK Licensing Awards, a place at the programme’s conference and access to the Retail Lounge at BLE.
They also receive a full day with a licensor to help them understand licensing from the brand owner side, as well as receiving tips on how to work effectively with some of the biggest properties and agents.
New licensor hosts for this year include Natural History Museum and The Point.1888, while Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, CPLG, Coolabi, eOne, Beanstalk and CAA-GBG all return.
Applications for the programme are open until Friday April 13 – with further details available by clicking here.
BLE runs at London’s Olympia from October 9-11.
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