The content will include five sessions exploring ‘What’s Next’ at retail and involve speakers from George at Asda and Hasbro.
Gary Pope, Jade Snart and Julia Redman.
Brand Licensing Europe has announced exclusive retailer content for this year’s event including five live sessions in the Retail Trends Lounge delivered by George at Asda and Hasbro, Kids Industries, The Insights Family, Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement and Julia Redman and Nextail Labs. The event takes place in person from 17th-19th November at Excel London and visitors can register for free here.
The Retail Trends Lounge programme was introduced to help retailers make the most of the opportunities that licensing can offer, and they are invited to use the space to also host meetings off the show floor. It will be returning this year as part of BLE’s ‘What’s Next’ theme to bring retailers exclusive sessions about the future of brands and innovation at retail to create a unique, immersive shopping experience.
Anna Knight, VP of Licensing, Informa Markets, said: “BLE brings together all the latest trends from the world of brands, entertainment and pop-culture under one roof and is a great place for retailers to identify future trends and brands their customers will love.”
All five sessions, plus the live final of the Kelvyn Gardner License This! competition (which is open to all), will be recorded and available to all attendees to watch on-demand as part of the BLE virtual follow-up running from 30th November – 1st December. They are:
Wednesday 17th November:
- 9.30–10am: A Future Forecast 2022 – Nick Richardson, Founder and CEO The Insights Family.
- 12.30-1.00pm: The importance of diversity & inclusion in Licensing – Saphia Maxamed, Founder, Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement.
Thursday 18th November:
- 9.30-10am: Plant with Peppa @ Asda – Catrina O’Brien, Retail Development Director, UK, Europe & Asia Licensing, Hasbro, and Jade Snart, Sustainability and Compliance Expert, George at Asda.
- 12-12.30pm: Agility and Creativity in Omni-Channel Retail – Julia Redman, Owner, Buyers Eye, Buying & Sourcing Consultancy and James Mooney, Brand Adviser, Nextail Labs.
Friday 19th November:
- 10-10.30am: Families, experiences and the importance of toys – Gary Pope, Co-Founder and CEO, Kids Industries.
The BLE Sustainability Activation, in partnership with Products of Change, will also feature highly relevant content for retailers as it inspires attendees towards a more sustainable future through product showcases from industry pioneers.
Anna Knight added: “BLE is hosting brilliant content for retailers both in person and online. For those attending in-person, we invite them to discover What’s Next in retail by joining the trend sessions, visiting the Sustainability Activation and also walking the show floor to gain inspiration from the thousands of products on display and see how brands could fit into their future product ranges. Attendees are also invited to the two sponsored bars by Crunchyroll and Motul to experience first-hand how brands can come to life to create truly meaningful customer experiences. We will be hosting complimentary ‘Welcome Back’ drinks in those bars from 5-7pm on day one in partnership with Licensing International and everyone is invited to come along.”
Participants from BLE’s Retail Mentoring Programme will also be at the show. The CPD-accredited programme that consists of seminars, workshops and 1-2-1 consultancy sessions to help retailers make more informed decisions when negotiating licensing deals and discovering new brand partners, has seen a record number of delegates from retailers (84) including Maqio, Merlin Entertainments, RSPCA, The Hut Group, Vanilla Underground, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Halfords, Asda George, Tesco, Home Bargains, Matalan, Next, M&Co, The Entertainer and Morrisons.
For more on the show, visit the website here or read our exclusive preview interview with Anna Knight here.
