Licensing Expo 2018 ‘most robust to date’

10% increase in retailers and 16% increase in first-time attendees.

Licensing Expo 2018 has been described as the ‘most robust to date’, seeing an increased presence from core categories.

The show – which took place in Las Vegas last month – also confirmed a move back to June for 2019, with it due to take place from June 4-6.

The event saw ‘significant growth’ in key areas among its attendee base, including a 10% increase in retailers and 16% increase in first-time attendees. These included Japanese retailer UNIQLO, Mexican department store Coppel, and online retailer Dolls Kill.

Attendees from key licensing markets Brazil, China, Japan and the UK also increased.

Core exhibitor categories also saw gains – including a 51% in associations and non-profits, a 34% uplift in music, 20% in gaming and apps and 17% in sports.

More than 4,000 meetings were scheduled using the Matchmaking service before the show began – an increase from 3,800 in 2017.

One of the big draws was the opening keynote address from Nicholas Denissen, vp at Amazon, who said that the company believes the licensing industry will grow to $1 trillion in the next ten years.

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