The Lego Group is one of the latest brands to join the slate of speakers at Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit taking place in June.

The Lego Group joins Microsoft Xbox, Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Studiocanal, Perry Ellis, Hasbro and Chefclub among the many brands represented by speakers at this summer’s Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit. The summit will take place online from 9-11th June; early bird registration remains opens until 16th April and three-day passes are also available.

Stephanie Freeman, The Lego Group’s global licensing manager – outbound, and Mark Bezodis, licensing managing director, Perry Ellis International, will contribute to an opening day panel ‘Brainstorming the Future of Licensing in Retail and Vice Versa’ alongside Karen Hewitt (Character.com), Susan Bolsover (Penguin Random House), and Licensing International MD Graham Saltmarsh.

Day one  sponsored by Custom Gateway, focuses on Trends and Retail and the five experienced panellists will cover topics including: whether and how to pivot online; how stocking and selling licensed product could change in the future; the benefit of adapting to instore experiential offerings; how to reinvigorate returning customers to bricks and mortar stores and the impact digital strategies are having on IP.

Mark Bezodis commented: “BL&IS is an important event for the licensing industry because, for many, it’s an opportunity to pause and listen to the pioneers of the industry and the only event which seems to have its finger on the pulse of all things licensing and retail.”

Lego’s Stephanie Freeman added: “I am honoured to join a panel at BL&IS and provide my insights and experiences over my time in licensing and also during the last year. Touchpoints for people within the industry are essential during these times, to ensure we all keep connected and feel a sense of being part of a larger team. I am looking forward to learning from fellow panellists and it will be great to engage with people I wouldn’t necessarily cross paths with.”

The second day of BL&IS is all about sustainability and CSR with content curated by Products of Change. Speakers from Hasbro, George at Asda, Lyfcycle, DNA Brands and Brands In Limited will address the damaging effects of the fashion industry on the planet, and how the industry is transitioning to a sustainable future.

John Friend, Head of Halo and Xbox Consumer Products at Microsoft will join a day three panel alongside Difuzed head of Gaming and Esports Dan Amos and Scott Macrae, Asda’s new business and partnerships manager. Taking a deep dive into content and digital transformation, John’s panel is titled Next Level: Why Gaming and Esports is Dominating the Entertainment Leaderboard.

BL&IS is a three-day virtual event that has been designed specifically to help middle-management, business leaders and owners to navigate the changing retail, content and consumer landscape by addressing the latest industry trends and topics and provide actionable, inspiring insight on the future of brands and licensing.

Online registration for the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summits is now open at www.brandlicensinginnovationsummit.com. Early bird discounts of 30% are available until 16th April and qualified retailers are invited to register for free.