Laura Freedman-Dagg, head of retail for Brand Licensing Europe and Licensing Expo, chats to LicensingSource.net about how the retail proposition is shaping up for September’s show.
It’s been two months since Licensing Expo – how time flies. How did it go from a retail POV?
We had 35% more retailers – domestic and international – at Expo. From Europe, we saw ASOS, Tesco, Asda, Primark, Claire’s, Matalan, George at Asda, Character.com, Celio, H&M, Debenhams, Defacto, Deichmann, Frasers Group, HMV and a great showing from Inditex including Zara and Bershka.
Trend-wise, value brands were there in abundance (as was the case with BLE last year) with buyers from B&M, Shein, Dollar General and more. There was also a notable trend for retailers sending bigger groups of buyers – last year three came from TJX, this year there were 25, 34 from Walmart, 32 from Burlington Stores, 23 from Amazon, 20 from Kohls, a new group from JC Penney – the list goes on. What this shows us is that buyers are coming to Expo and then going back to the office and telling their colleagues from other departments, ‘you need to be there next year’, and that’s amazing.
They also booked more meetings via the Event Planner and the Retail Lounge was full throughout the entire show, and that means the work we are doing to educate US retailers about the opportunities brand licensing presents to their business is working. We are excited to work with Pan Am as partners to enhance the retail lounge experience even further.
And it was great to see retailers contributing to our educational sessions – Aldo’s brand director was incredible and sharing great content about how they approach collabs, licensing and business generally – just great insight.
So, how does this compare with BLE, which is now just two months away?
The retail proposition is more mature at BLE and European buyers seem to be more educated and knowledgeable about what licensing can do for them, why they should be at the show, who they can/want to meet, and so on.
Retailer registration is already strong and we have buyers from Aldi, Ann Summers, Cardfactory, Cath Kidston, Character.com, Dunelm, F&F Tesco, Forbidden Planet, George at Asda, John Lewis, Matalan, Sainsbury’s, Sketchers, Tesco, The Entertainer, The Very Group, The Works, TJX Europe, TruffleShuffle and Undiz already confirmed.
What’s your goal for BLE retail-wise?
There’s definitely a big buzz for BLE this year and the bar has been set high following Expo 2024 and BLE 2023, which is brilliant. It’s difficult to compare the two shows – the way attendees navigate each is unique but they are part of one Global Licensing Group and so have much in common. Both have great retail attendance which is growing year on year. Both have the same support available for retailers who need help with discovery, booking meetings and licensing education. Both shows present the most exciting global brands available for license and that remains the biggest pull we have in terms of attracting attendees.
We are fortunate to have legacy retail engagement initiatives aligned with BLE which have gone from strength to strength in recent years and we’re looking at equivalents which work for the markets we serve – everything starts with customer need. BLE also benefits from how accessible London is from around Europe. That, coupled with the chance to visit the city during BLE week for comp shopping, makes BLE a really strong proposition for any retailer who is interested in capitalising on brand partnerships.
The retail mentoring programme is also really important to the BLE campaign because we need to compensate for retail turnover and departmental changes. The programme allows us to reach buying teams from target retailers all year round so they’re fully engaged and ready for productive conversations when they come to the show.
We are halfway through our licensor host days with our current RMP delegates. This is the chance for retailers to get a look behind the scenes of major brand owners and is always super popular. I would like to say a big thank you to our hosting partners – Acamar, Bravado, CAA Brand Management, CPLG WildBrain, Hasbro, Natural History Museum, SEGA and Warner Bros. Discovery and a warm welcome to Golden Goose which has joined this year.
How can retailers who are new to licensing prep ahead of BLE?
Step 1 – talk to me. I’m laura.freedmandagg@informa.com. I can probably answer 99% of any retailer questions. Step 2 – apply for a place on next year’s RMP. Applications will open at BLE. Step 3 – check out our Licensing Unlocked module 1, which is completely free. This year’s RMP delegates have done it and given us great feedback. Step 4 – register for BLE so that you access the Event Planner, and really utilise this – and me – to make sure you’re meeting the right brands at the show, and you get the most out of it. There is loads of help available pre-show and onsite and as a team we’re always available to answer questions.
Some retailers don’t always realise they can have a direct relationship with the brand owner – this is a real lightbulb moment, and we can help retailers to secure their meetings in order to build their networks, scrutinise what’s on offer and really get the best form the show.
You smashed retail numbers at BLE last year – have you got a goal for 2024?
We did, thank you for saying so. This year’s goal is to enhance the European attendance outside the UK and my job is to really drive that attendance this year and we’re already a long way down that road, which is brilliant. We’ve once again asked our exhibitors which retailers they’d most like to meet at the show and this information is fed directly into our campaign. If any BLE exhibitors are reading this who haven’t yet completed that survey, please do so! It helps us so much to tailor our outreach, so it aligns with their priorities.
Brand Licensing Europe takes place 24-26 September 2024 at ExCeL, London and visitor registration is now open.
