Retail presence ‘incredible’ as strategy pays off and Boofle stars at licensing show
Record numbers of retailers and visitors, both UK and European, headed to Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) last week, which took place at London’s ExCeL.
Among the 28% increase in total visitor numbers, greeting card and gift retailers attended the show on Wednesday to Friday, 4-6 October, in abundance, with 1,166 arriving from 57 countries, the highest in the show’s history and a 31% rise on the previous year.
Cardfactory, Marks & Spencer, The Entertainer, Harrods, Forbidden Planet, Poundland, Selfridges, and John Lewis & Co were just some of the stores attending, and BLE’s head of retail Laura Freedman-Dagg said: “This year’s retail presence was incredible.”
She said there was “really strong attendance” from fashion and toy retailers, and an increase in gift, greeting card and novelty retailers as well as value retailers such as Poundland, Matalan, Pepco and Primark, adding: “It’s brilliant seeing the retail strategy we introduced in 2021 really paying off to the benefit of the entire industry.”
Among the 229 exhibiting companies – a 12% rise year-on-year and including 72 new exhibitors, also the highest on record – were UK Greetings with its cute Boofle brand, and sustainability membership organisation Products Of Change, which has many card publishers signed up such as Danilo.
Over 5,100 meetings were pre-arranged in the show’s Online Meetings Platform, which was a 17% increase on 2022, and many thousands more took place onsite.
Looking ahead, a Brands In Play theme has been announced for 2024 across both BLE and its sister show Licensing Expo in America.
“To celebrate the concept of play, we are dedicating 2024 to Brands In Play, a theme that will run as an undercurrent across BLE and Licensing Expo to spotlight the incredible innovations in play, the power it holds in every stage of life and the creativity it allows when building brands,” commented Anna Clarke, svp licensing of show organiser Informa Markets.
“Immersive entertainment, storytelling and fan engagement are changing, and the concept of play is changing with it.
“Today, brands are creating multi-generational, omnichannel play patterns that permeate video games, tabletop, board and card games, location-based entertainment, immersive theatre, sports and esports, toys and kidult culture. Brands are also playing in new spaces, building ground-breaking new extensions and bringing the brand licensing business to life in increasingly creative ways.”
Next year’s Brand Licensing Europe takes place from 24-26 September, 2024, at London’s ExCeL.
