Licensed merchandise brings together all 12 sectors of UK’s leading retail trade exhibition
The organiser of Spring Fair International, Emap Connect, is delighted to announce that a brand new Licensing Lounge area in Hall 3, will be an integral feature of the 2012 exhibition.
As the largest annual showcase of licensed products in the UK and headline sponsor of The Licensing Awards, Spring Fair International provides an ideal backdrop for the licensing community to conduct business.
Five key licensing agencies and brand owners, including Nickelodeon, Turner CN Enterprises and BBC Worldwide, are to sponsor the Licensing Lounge, which will be surrounded by Toys, Games & Kids Gifts in Hall 3 of the exhibition, a key sector for the lucrative character licensing market.
In addition, the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) UK will have a dedicated table in the lounge with a team of experts on hand to answer questions on licensing and merchandising. LIMA is the world’s leading trade association for the licensing industry, whose members include licensees, retailers and brand owners.
Sponsors will use the space to display the hottest licensed merchandise available to the industry and hold meetings with prospective and existing licensees, as well as retailers interested in stocking the branded merchandise on display. The feature will be as open and inclusive as possible, accessible to all visitors attending the exhibition.
Commenting on Nickelodeon’s sponsorship agreement Mark Kingston said: “We’re delighted to be a key partner for the ‘Licensing Lounge’ at the Spring Fair 2012. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be involved in the largest retail trade event in Europe, which is such an important date for retail, licensees and gift manufacturers alike.
“This year we’re thrilled to showcase our new portfolio of properties which truly offers something for everyone in the family. Evergreen properties such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants will now be complimented by Winx Club for girls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for boys. Plus we have exciting plans for the tween market with Victorious and Big Time Rush. We look forward to meeting with retailers and key licensee partners to work on plans to drive our properties & respective businesses forward in 2012 & beyond”
The Head of Licensing for Turner CN Enterprises, Graham Saltmarsh, echoed the positive sentiments, saying: “Turner are thrilled to be working with Spring Fair in this exciting new initiative – we are sure this will benefit all licensees present and future and we look we forward to seeing them at the show next year”.
Richard Hollis of BBC Worldwide was also enthusiastic about the new feature, saying: “The licensing industry needs to make a show of strength at such an important trade show. We have a wide range of brands ourselves that lend themselves perfectly to gifting opportunities, and we want to show the retail community that in difficult economic times creative use of a good license is a safer way of protecting your profits.”
The organiser of The Licensing Awards, Max Publishing, will also play a role in supporting this feature by sponsoring a drinks reception at the Lounge on Monday February 7 from 4.30 – 6.30pm. Jakki Brown, director of The Licensing Awards and The Licensing Source book said: “With licensing becoming increasingly more important to so many exhibitors and retail visitors across every product sector we have no doubts that the Licensing Lounge will be a great addition to the Spring Fair. We are delighted to sponsor the Drinks Reception party to say thanks to our many friends in the industry that have contributed so much to The Licensing Awards and The Licensing Source Book and helped make them what they are today.”
For further information about sponsoring the Licensing Lounge contact Jacqui McCarron:
Jacqui.McCarron@emap.com or 020 7728 5326.
