Brand Licensing Central & Eastern Europe

Vrinda Oberai

Advanstar Communications, a leading worldwide media company and global leaders of licensing events like Licensing International Expo and Brand Licensing Europe, has launched Brand Licensing Central & Eastern Europe (Brand Licensing C&EE) in 2010. The much awaited event is scheduled to take place from 8-9 March 2010 at VAM Design Centre, Budapest, Hungary. A creation of Advanstar, the event’s inauguration will be attended by licensors, agents, support companies, licensees, retailers, marketers and sales promotion professionals, paving the way for property owners throughout the world to break into this lucrative emerging market.

"The industry has started to look for new markets, new consumers and new opportunities and it has found all three in central and Eastern Europe,” explained Ms Jessica Blue, Event Director. “The region has more than 400 million potential licensing consumers and is currently experiencing an economic growth rate double that of Western Europe. Retailers are becoming more aware of licensing as a potential profit centre and consumers are embracing licensing properties and are keen to purchase associated merchandise,” she further added.

Advanstar will work closely with LIMA throughout the launch as a turnkey event in 2010, keeping the entry costs low for the exhibitors. However, the entry to the event will be free for licensees, retailers, marketers and sales promotion professionals.

In addition to the main expo floor, Brand Licensing C&EE will also be featuring the Licensing Academy and Screening Suite: two of Brand Licensing Europe’s most popular visitor features. “The licensing industry is crying out for an opportunity to break into central and eastern Europe and start meeting partners and signing business deals. We know this because they tell us on a daily basis. And we hope that, through the launch of Brand Licensing C&EE, which will have the backing of a global event organiser with a proven track record of creating licensing exhibitions that continually deliver, we will be able to play a key part in helping them to achieve these goals,” concluded Jessica Blue.

Licensed toys fared well at Toy Fair, which concluded successfully

Vrinda Oberai

The 57th Toy Fair, organised by British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) from January 26 to January 28, 2010 received an overwhelming feedback from buyers and visitors. It was held at London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre.

Licensed toys once again fared well with brands such as Ben 10, Harry Potter, Hello Kitty, In the Night Garden, Iron Man, Little Kingdom, Star Wars and Thomas and Friends across the categories. “This has been a major milestone year for Toy Fair as our move back to Olympia has coincided with a renewed optimism within the market. The new format and new venue have clearly injected a new energy into the event, which is illustrated by the numbers and very positive feedback we have received,” commented Mr Jon Diver, Chairman, Toy Fair.

The increase in interest in the event has also resulted in sales enquiries for Toy Fair 2011 from some suppliers who have been absent from the show over the past few years. Mr Steve Reece-Gresty, Managing Director, Imagination Games, opined, “There was an amazing buzz in the hall this year with a great quality of visitors, including some faces that we haven’t seen for a few years.”

“It’s been very, very busy over all three days – it’s great to be back at Olympia, we even had a queue outside our room on the first day," said a spokesman for Toymaster.

The Toy Fair will return to Olympia, London, for its 58th outing on January 25-27, 2011.

Hong Kong International Licensing Show was a Huge Success

Vrinda Oberai

Commenced on January 11, 2010, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the eighth edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Licensing Show concluded on January 13, 2010 with a total attendance of 13,336 trade visitors, marking a magnificent 40 per cent jump from the previous edition. Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is the international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers and service providers.

In addition to 5,900 buyers from Hong Kong, the fair managed to draw nearly 7,500 potential overseas buyers to the event, mainly from the Chinese Mainland, Japan, the US, Taiwan, Korea, the UK, Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. The show, one of its kinds in Asia attracted over 140 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions this year. Among them, the Netherlands, Japan and Malaysia were first-time exhibiting countries.

“We are delighted to see buyers around the globe keenly support the event,” said Mr William Chui, Director, Service Promotion for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. “Buyers’ attendance has grown considerably, be it from such advanced markets as the United States and Japan, or from emerging markets such as ASEAN countries and the Chinese mainland. It reflects the sector’s strong demand for properties. In order to add value by innovative design, the industry players obtain user rights of famous brands, icons, characters of anime-manga and films through licensing,” he further added.

It was for the first time that the fair was held concurrently with Asia’s largest Toy fair, the HKTDC’s inaugural fair for baby products, and stationery fair, thereby attracting a huge base of buyers to the fairground.

The highlights included first-time exhibiting sports brands West Ham United, Juventus; and ever-popular brands, such as Manchester United and Barcelona; McDull from Hong Kong; Pleasant Goat from the mainland; Atashin Chi from Japan; Transformers from the US, and international brands such as Marie Claire, Jaguar, and Jeep.

Yeung's Group Inc., a first-time exhibitor received on-site enquiries from many buyers. Yeung’s Group has developed a line of 100 product items for Maggiology, and already concluded its first licensing agreement. A line of computer peripherals will soon be rolled out to target the office-lady market. Ms Daphne Yeung, Vice President, Yeung's Group Inc. said, “Licensing business accounts for around 10 per cent of the company’s sales, and it is expected to grow considerably. We plan to open online shops and flagship stores, and intend to have a presence in the mainland and South East Asian countries through licensing.”

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre opens with a bang

Vrinda Oberai

The Hong Kong Licensing Show is one of the most-focused licensing exhibitions in the region, with its main aim being to aid international and local licensors/licensing agents to locate potential partners encouraging them to expand their regional licensing network in Asia, especially, in the Chinese mainland.

The opening day of the four trade fairs at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) witnessed more than 2,500 exhibitors, offering an exclusive range of sourcing opportunities in categories like toys and games, baby products, stationery and licensing. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) events include the first HKTDC Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, as well as the HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair and the Hong Kong International Stationery Fair, which is jointly organised with Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.

For the first time, the mentioned shows are running concurrently with the HKTDC Hong Kong International Licensing Show (11-13 January 2010). This arrangement has proved the significance of licensing to the related industries, especially toys and games. It has also enhanced the sourcing of opportunities which can be explored at the shows.

The licensing show has managed to plug in some 140 exhibitors, representing more than 300 properties and brands, including Astro Boy, Doraemon, Dreamworks, Harley Davidson, Keroro, Jaguar, Jeep, Manchester United, McDull, Pleasant Goat, Pokemon, Spiderman, Thomas & Friends, Transformers and Warner Bros.

Brand Licensing India 2009

Setting an Aggressive Pace for Licensing in India

Brand Licensing India 2009
The Brand Licensing India 2009 show, which took place on November 26-27, 2009 at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi, comprised a Brand Licensing Conference and Exhibition. This was the second edition of the show, which is the only event in India where key licensing industry people meet, diverse properties are displayed, ways to tap into new markets and territories are discussed and, above all, where networking creates business-building deals. The conference showcased vital insight into consumer trends for the year 2010 and featured the leading licensors and licensing agents representing multiple properties. The conference facilitated the interaction between licensing experts and industry leaders with sessions that focused on a wide range of topics and trends. The exhibition provided an opportunity to the manufacturers/licensees, retailers, marketers, and distributors etc to have a first-hand account of the success story of brands that sought licensing to sell their products.

Conference
Though the licensing industry is in the nascent stage in India but the economic facts substantiate its potential and strong growth in the coming years. Supporting a 40 per cent population below the age of 15 years and the global licensing sale of just 1 per cent, the long-term growth opportunity for licensing industry is very promising. Brand Licensing Conference opened with address by the conference chairperson Mr. Kelvyn Gardner, MD, LIMA-UK, who delved on basics of licensing. Legal know-how and ethics of licensing were represented by Mr Akhilesh Kumar Rai- IT Head at AZB and Partners.

Mr Narayan Ramaswamy, Executive Director, KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd, spoke on, how franchising and licensing can open up opportunities and help expand the retail sector and said, “Licensing industry in India does not have a smooth sailing due to some unique challenges in the local market. The challenges are wide geographic dispersion, regional variation, lack of professional managers, identification of the right merchandise, non-availability of L&M products, and fluctuating nature of the consumer target etc.”

Mr. Mark Hurry, Legal and Commercial Director, Picture Production company Enterprises, UK, spoke about taking licensed properties from screen to shelf. Michelle Minieri, President, Bradford Licensing, touched upon the role of licensing agents and consultants. She averred, “A global agent has various local agents that catapult a licensor to a larger licensing community.”

Mr. Nicholas Bloom, AVP, Brand Management, The Beanstalk Group mentioned that the old paradigm of keeping the brand positioning right has now changed to the new paradigm, which is licensing. He said a brand is ready for licensing if it’s ‘healthy,’ enjoys a high degree of awareness and has relevance beyond its core category.

Second day of the conference led the participants and delegates explore multiple opportunities in Licensing Business. Samir Jain, Director, Green Gold Animation, the creator of a popular Indian character, Chhota Bheem, kicked off the day with his session on ‘animation studio evolving through licensing’. He affirmed, “Animation in India is a recent phenomenon and is growing at 30 per cent per annum. The road ahead for Indian IP (characters) appears to be smooth.” His thoughts were seconded by Pankaj Sikka, Manager-Licensing, Bioworld Merchandising (India) Pvt. Ltd who spoke volumes about character licensing in India.

Audience also got an insight into the trends in lifestyle, homestyle and fashion licensing through speakers like Ms Dwijorani Senjam, Director and Co-founder at Extend Brands, Mr. Sanjay Vakharia, Director-Spykar Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd, Mr Anurag Rajpal, VP-Apparel at BHPC, and Mr. Chandan Savera, Retail Business Head, Creative Portico. Indian Premier League (IPL) has given a new dimension to sports licensing in India. It was a pleasure for everyone to have Utkarsh Singh, Business Head, Rajasthan Royals to speak on Sports Licensing and success of IPL Business model.

A panel discussion on prospects of licensing in India signed off the conference. The conference also touched upon issues of counterfeit merchandise that has plagued the character licensing industry in India. It is a concern for both the consumer and the stake holders. The conclusion was to create reasonably priced merchandise that is easily affordable. This will help diminish the counterfeit merchandise market.

Expo Brand Licensing India 2009 Exhibition too witnessed thousands of visitors. The exhibition had companies like Beanstalk Group, Bradford Licensing, and BKN New Media exhibiting their licensing model and networking with future partners. International Brands like Ford, Pepsi, 7 Up, Beverly Hills, Zoo Zoo’s, Crew Only, Marilyn Monroe and Zorro were there amongst others present at the expo.

Official launch of Automobili Lamborghini merchandise in India

The evening, graced by glitterati, also witnessed the unveiling of Automobili Lamborghini merchandise, which was officially launched by Mr Roberto Toscano, Italian Ambassador to India amongst the presence of Who’s Who of Indian retail and licensing industry. Indian sport star and model Sonika flaunted the range of merchandise.

Brand Licensing Workshop

• Understand the fundamentals of licensing
• Discover licensing opportunities for apparel brands and manufacturers
• Hear from licensing experts
• Network with Indian apparel brand owners & manufacturers who have expanded their business by licensing.

For delegate registration and more details, call Shilpi at 09311466660 or write to contact@licenseindia.com

Indian Fashion & Lifestyle Conclave

License India hosted an exclusive conclave on Indian Fashion & Lifestyle industry on 30th May 2009 at The Imperial, New Delhi, where brands like Kimaya, Satya Paul, Bizzare, Spykar, Swarovski, Bentley, Forest Essentials and more shared the key for branding in Fashion Industry, their success mantras and views on brand licensing. Pearl Institute of Fashion supported the Conclave as the Institutional Partner.

Some of the eminent speakers addressed the conference were Mr. Pradeep Hirani, Kimaya Studio, Mr. Puneet Nanda, Satya Paul, Ms. Anjana Bhargav, Deisgner, Mr. Sanjay Vakharia, Spykar, Ms. Pushpanjali Sharma, Bentley India, Mr. Ashish Gupta, Aerens Gold Souk, Mr. Rahul Vira, Gili, Dr. Tarun Panwar, Pearl, Mr. Rajive Gupta, Bizarre, Mr. Samarth Bedi, Forest essentials and more. Attended by fashion designers, jewellery designers, retail heads and marketing professionals, the Conclave received an over whelming feedback from the delegates.

BLM Mumbai

LICENSE INDIA held Mumbai’s first ever Brand Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) show. Sponsored by Futurebrands and supported by LIMA, The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Indian Merchants Chamber, the highlights of the two days events were the key speakers at the conference, which included Martin Brochstein, LIMA, Atulit Saxena, Futurebrands, Nanette D’Sa, Star India; Rajat Jain, HotMuggs; Vaibhav Odhekar, Zapak; Rajiv Merchant, Creative Portico; Rajiv Sangari, Spacetoons India; Munjal Shroff, Graphiti and Mayuri Pitale, Extend Brands; Uday Mathur, Eurokids; Harsha Bhatkal, Popular Prakashan; Roli Malhotra, Sia; Nitish Tipnis, Nissan Cars; Sanjay Vakharia, Spykar; Akhil Chaturvedi, Provogue; Rishi Narain, and many more. The two conference covered most types of licensing and discussed opportunities in each as per Indian industry environment.

The first ever Licensing Lounge was also unveiled at the show which showcased five exhibitors.