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All change … it’s the Licensing Blog!

Published on: 7th October 2022

Starting off with the big news of the week, the Las Vegas Licensing Expo has announced that it will be changing its dates for next year. Previously scheduled for the middle of May, the show will now take place three weeks later, from 13th-15th June. Apparently parts of the Mandalay Bay venue are about to undergo renovation, which is due to finish just a couple of weeks before the show’s original dates – which understandably made the show organisers a little nervous.

This particular phase of the renovation work affects the North Convention Centre and meeting rooms, which are used by thousands of people during the show – so Anna Knight and the team understandably didn’t want to run the risk of potential disruption if the work were to overrun.

In fact, throughout its history, Licensing Expo has often taken place in June rather than May – that was always the case when the show was held in New York, and it has fluctuated between May and June since the event’s move to Vegas. For UK visitors, moving the event back helps to avoid the show clashing with the May half-term week, which I am sure will be welcomed by many attendees – even before this news was announced, one senior licensing figure from the UK told me at BLE that she felt the show would sit more comfortably in June than May. So, all things considered, I suspect the majority of exhibitors and visitors will be perfectly happy with the decision to shift dates.

Arguably the only downside is that Licensing Expo will now clash with both gaming show E3 and the US specialist toy event Astra, which is held in Ohio. While this will present some challenges for gaming exhibitors and a handful of US toy specialists (not, in fairness, Licensing Expo’s core target market), the truth is that it is almost impossible for a pan-global, cross category trade show like Licensing Expo to avoid a clash with any other event taking place somewhere in the world. In addition, securing dates at a popular exhibition venue like Mandalay Bay is not always straightforward and few would have wanted the show to move any later in the calendar than the middle of June – so in the end, the new dates seem to be the best solution all round.

As well as announcing the new Vegas dates, Informa also unveiled the post-show numbers from BLE this week, which reaffirmed what we all felt at the show – that it was a resounding success. Exhibitor and visitor numbers returned to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, and it was notable that the show enjoyed its busiest days two and three on record. The fact that the last day held up so well is particularly encouraging: as a long-term visitor to Vegas Licensing Expo, the sharp drop-off there on day three has often been a frustrating experience. Scheduled meetings can often get cancelled, or someone simply fails to turn up (especially to early morning meetings), to the extent that I generally avoid making meetings on the Thursday unless all other options are exhausted. In contrast, my schedule for the final day at BLE was packed through to 2.00, when I had to leave to write the Friday Blog. The third day at the London Toy Fair is traditionally always a busy day for me too: if you commit to going to a show, you want to cram in as many meetings as possible to make the trip worthwhile – and writing off one third of the time available seems a waste.

We published our own review of BLE in the latest edition of Toy World magazine, which landed on desks and was posted online earlier this week. The 114-page October issue is packed with news and product launches, including a special 40 page feature on Licensed Merchandise, which rounds-up a selection of the latest licensed kids’ products hitting retail shelves in the coming months. The issue also includes an exclusive interview with Mattel’s Richard Dickson and Josh Silverman. We were invited to sit down with the pair after Richard’s ‘standing room only’ keynote speech at BLE to discuss some of the key topics of his presentation – including Mattel’s ambitious aim to treble the Barbie consumer products business by 2025 and next year’s highly anticipated Barbie movie.

Mattel isn’t the only toy company ramping up its efforts in the licensing space. This week saw Hasbro unveil its strategy for growth for the next three years; Blueprint 2.0 is big and bold – and packed with new brand initiatives and content creation aimed at driving ambitious growth targets over the next three years. Licensing is going to play a key part in the strategy, with big initiatives planned in this area, including an expanded portfolio of content across Hasbro’s IP vault. Peppa Pig, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Transfomers, Play-Doh, Nerf, and iconic gaming brands such as Monopoly were highlighted as key focus brands for the coming years.

Another brand that is really taking off in the toy aisle is Universal’s Gaby’s Dollhouse. The property was the talk of the recent LA toy show, with stock already on allocation in most key global territories. Here in the UK, toy retailers are predicting that Spin Master’s hero line – the Purrfect Dollhouse – is going to be one of the top sellers this Christmas; at £80, it has been flying off shelves a long way ahead of the main festive sales season, so hopes are high for big sales numbers as we head towards Christmas.

Finally, a reminder that tickets are still available for the Southern Light Fund Quiz, which takes place next Thursday (13th October). The event will take place at The Thomas Lord Suite, Lords Cricket Ground, St Johns Wood Road, London NW8 9QN. Tickets cost £65 per person, which includes food. It’s always a great night, so hopefully it will be another sell-out this year.