Special Feature - BLE Review

Back with a bang

Returning this year with an undeniable bang, Brand Licensing Europe 2022 took place at London ExCeL from 20th-22nd September. In this piece, Toy World gives its opinion on the industry-leading pan-European licensing show, which, despite its fair share of dramas and upheaval, has been hailed a resounding success.

The Licensing.biz/Toy World team enjoyed a very busy three days at BLE, Although it was press week on this issue of Toy World, the mountain of work only kept two of the team chained to their desks throughout: BLE is just too good to miss. With so much to see and do, it took a division of labour between five of us to cover all the bases and take part in all the meetings requested by attendees. This is not at all a criticism – numerous people made kind comments about the relaunch of Licensing.biz (yes, the acquisition did make sense for us, and yes, healthy competition is generally a good thing) and plenty of licensors and agents were interested in hearing our plans. Lots more to come from us in that area as we head into 2023.

After the unforeseen events of the past few weeks, which certainly threw a curveball or three into the mix for exhibitors and attendees (not to mention the poor show organisers), the great news was that the show was back to its best. To be fair, the fact that the organisers were able to put on any kind of show at all last year was little short of miraculous, but this year’s event was far more akin to the kind of show we all know and love. International visitors were back in force – not just from EMEA, but from the USA and other parts of the globe too – and most importantly, the buzz was back.

Speaking of buzz, this year’s opening keynote speech attracted quite the crowd. Indeed, it was standing room only, with people three or four deep around the barrier to hear what Mattel president and COO Richard Dickson had to say about Barbie’s impact on fashion, the theme of this year’s BLE. (Readers can find out what else Richard had to say about Barbie in our exclusive Q&A on p.46) The fashion theme continued later that day, with eight 15-minute fashion shows hitting the central catwalk across the three-day show, displaying the latest looks from brands including Barbie, Jurassic, E.T., Minions, Sonic and Gabby’s Dollhouse.

The catwalks covered multiple categories, one of which was Sustainability – another big focus of this year’s BLE. In partnership with Products of Change, Day 3 shone the spotlight on Brand Purpose & Sustainability by offering everything from case studies and panel discussions to product displays and 1-2-1 clinics. Attendees were invited to learn from sustainability trailblazers from within licensing, and from organisations outside of the industry about what's possible in this sector. Hasbro was one of those that took to the stage with its presentation ‘Peppa Pig Goes Green: How Muddy Puddles Can Inspire Cleaner Seas’ by Catrina O'Brien, head of Retail EurAsia - Licensing Consumer Products.

The final day, inevitably quieter than the first two, still felt busier than the final day tends to be in Vegas – the people who remained weren’t just wandering around, they had appointments and wanted to make the most of the time available. Attendees heaped praise upon the event and its organisers. Most wanted to find out our opinion on foot traffic versus previous years, which seemed to be back to traditional pre-pandemic levels, and the atmosphere was superb – despite some unexpected hurdles for visitors to overcome. Guests at the nearby Novotel had the novel experience of being awoken at 4.30 on the opening morning of the show by a fire alarm and full evacuation of the premises. There was also a flood in the hall for the organisers to deal with (it was all sounding a bit biblical at one point), and a sprinkling of rail chaos on Tuesday. We did, however, receive very positive reports from those who travelled on the new Elizabeth Line – including several of the Toy World team, who found the going much easier than some others - so that is going to be a big help to all shows taking place at ExCeL moving forward.

There were a few notable absentees over the course of the week, particularly from the toy community, with LA still in full swing. Some retailers chose to divide and conquer – well done to the Entertainer team – but inevitably a few others had a hard choice to make. We did hear that some supermarket buying teams were offering to take notes and pass them on to their absent toy colleagues, so that was a nice touch.

All in all, we once again have to say a big well done to Anna Knight and the team for another superb show, as well as all the attendees we met with either on-stand or in the aisles. This year’s Brand Licensing Europe remains an unmissable part of the trade fair calendar and we look forward to returning next year during its more traditional slot – 4th-6th October 2023.