“We all have to work together to absorb the consequences of Brexit” says the licensing director.
Ever since June 23 2016 when the UK voted to leave the EU, the implications and the potential path to a post-Brexit landscape have been much debated.
One of the immediate impacts was the sudden shift in the exchange rate of the pound against the euro and the dollar.
All this week, The Source will be asking some industry faces what this means for their business and the wider licensing community.
Today, Tim Rudd-Clarke, licensing director, Gemma International.
How has the change in the exchange rate of the pound against the euro/dollar affected your business?
“With the rise in value chains, online shopping and now the weaker pound, have all combined to make life a little more difficult. It’s now a fact and necessity that prices will rise.
“At Gemma we strive to give the best opportunities in licensing to our retail partners. We can’t unfortunately influence global exchange rates, and the licensing community – licensors, licensees and retailers – will all have to work together to absorb the consequences of Brexit to give consumers the value they demand.”
How has your company had to adapt/react?
“We have tried to stabilise our currency exposure and this has meant we have been looking again at our internal processes. One area that we do think will help and support a competitive in-store consumer price, is more efficient purchasing and forecasting by retailers.
“Gemma has also worked hard to bring some of our print buying back into the UK – but with paper and pulp prices on the rise, even UK-produced product will need to come up in price in the medium-term to compensate for the weaker pound. The main advantage for us and our customers of UK production is shorter lead times.”
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2017 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
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