TOTAL LICENSING
Regular readers of Total Licensing will remember that each year we run an Industry Roundtable, asking a selected group of licensors, agents and others how they see the industry and asking them for their take on some of the key issues of the day.
handled business over the last year and a half. It is interesting to see how businesses reacted to restrictions and lockdowns and how they compensated for the lack of personal contact with clients.
This year is no exception but, of course, there’s really only one issue up for discussion that most people are concerned about – that of the COVID-19 pandemic. How has it impacted on the licensing industry and how are companies finally beginning to be able to plan for the future.
We also asked them for their objectives moving forwards and what they feel they learned from their experiences over the last year and a half - how they dealt with swift changes in retail and, of course, the inability to travel which is such an integral part of the global licensing community. We also asked if they see life returning to pre-pandemic normal or not.
We asked various licensors, agents and others in the USA, UK and Australia for their take on the situation, how they have
Their answers and thoughts are outlined on the following pages.
THE PANEL Rob Corney, Group Managing Director, Bulldog Licensing, UK
Mark Kingston, Senior Vice President, International Licensing ViacomCBS, UK
Robert Marick, EVP Global Consumer Products and Experiences, MGM, USA
Ciarán Coyle, President and COO, LMCA, USA
Ted Larkins, Global Head of Licensing, Brainbase, USA
Alan Schauder, Group CEO, Merchantwise Group, Australia
Bethan Garton, Commercial Director, The Point 1888, UK
Jeff Lotman, CEO, Global Icons, USA
Jamie Stevens, EVP Worldwide Consumer Products, Sony Pictures Entertainment, USA
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