The Summer 2022 edition of the Licensing Source Book is now available to read online.
In some senses, it feels like everything and nothing has changed these past few months. It seems impossible that it can be May already, but equally the seemingly neverending bad news cycle of the crisis in Ukraine, the continued affects of Covid, rising inflation and the rising cost of living can wear heavy.
However, what also hasn’t changed is the licensing industry’s reaction. After the past couple of years, we are well used to it not being ‘business as usual’ and licensors, licensees and retailers all have their own coping strategies.
Encouragingly, many of the licensees we spoke to for this issue, by their own admission, had set themselves ambitious targets for 2022 (see pages 12-17 for more). Almost half way through the year, and they are well on the way to meeting them, too.
The main challenges are undoubtedly still with shipping lead times and external delays from factories, but these have been factored into annual forecasts and plans have been made ahead of time for Q3 and Q4 to head off any surprises. This means that many licensees feel a lot more in control and have more visibility than they’ve had over the previous year or so.
While the summer period is key, many licensees will also be heading to Las Vegas to gen up on new and upcoming properties and emerging trends so that they can keep that product pipeline moving.
The excitement from the UK trade about the return of Licensing Expo has been palpable this past month or so and, judging by our exhibitor preview in this issue (see pages 51-65), there will be a lot to take in on the showfloor of the Mandalay Bay. Of course, the visiting Brits will be sure to keep up their end on the networking front, too.
Speaking of networking, the eagerly anticipated double header of the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit and Sustainability in Licensing Conference is coming up on 21-22 June. You can check out out guide to what’s going on here.
The confirmed speakers for both events are sure to deliver some thought provoking content on issues ranging from the metaverse and driving social change, through to the ever-changing content landscape and what is required of business to be ‘future fit’. Both are well worth checking out.
We also have exclusive big interviews with Matthew Primack, svp international business development at Fanatics; Victoria Whellans, commercial director of ASPIRE by WildBrain CPLG; and Graham Saltmarsh, UK md of Licensing International among others, while also finding out how Character World and Rocket Licensing are marking key milestones.
We hope that you enjoy the issue – as well as the usual bumper batch of exclusive news, interviews and viewpoints (from the UK and internationally).
For now, safe flights and we’ll see you in Vegas.
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