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In My Opinion: Sarah Ward, ceo, The Giftware Association
Licensed
For Success
The Giftware Association’s ceo Sarah Ward will be making her debut on the judging panel of Brand Licensing Europe’s (BLE) annual License This! competition, which nurtures entrepreneurs with new IP. Ahead of the show, which takes place at the beginning of October, Sarah told BLE’s event director Anna Knight that when it comes to the gift and home industry, she’s a huge believer in the importance of licensing. Left: Visitors at last year’s Brand Licensing Europe (BLE). Below left: The Giftware Association’s ceo Sarah Ward is joining 2019’s License This! panel. Below: BLE’s event director Anna Knight.
2019 is an extra special year for Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), which takes place from October 1-3. Not only is the show celebrating its 21st year, it is also moving to a brand new ‘home’ at London’s ExCeL, where it will remain for the next five years, with dates already in the diary. “Supporting the License This! competition, and the licensing industry as a whole, is a matter that’s very close to my heart,” The Giftware Association’s Sarah Ward told BLE’s event director Anna Knight. “A lot of our members want to get into licensing to boost their brand as they know that it will be licensed across different brands and will therefore have a stronger presence in the industry.” She highlighted that in terms of the gift industry, all categories of licensed gifts are very popular, particularly with regard to stationery, featuring on everything from notebooks and notepads to pens and pencils. “With the rise of the wellness trends, lifestyle gifts such as water bottles are currently big news. Plus, toys and licensing go hand in hand - from big movie tie-ins to high profile TV shows and children’s series so these too, will always be popular for retailers following media trends,” Sarah pointed out. Commenting on the current ‘state of the nation’ in terms of the gift sector, Sarah
praised it for being, “very strong and resilient, with incredible design and great opportunities. The socio-economic and political climate will always create a level of uncertainty, especially with headlines about big multi-nationals closing, yet more independents than ever are opening, lifestyle brands are becoming increasingly popular and retailers are doing more to create experiences in store to attract customers back to the high street. The online market is also growing in terms of spend, with the sector taking advantage of ecommerce opportunities. Therefore in a
market worth £1bn in the UK alone*, there is everything to play for.” She added: “We’re seeing lots of companies react and evolve into being fit for the future, whether that’s taking a more ethical stance, or diversifying into new areas. In addition to creating experiences, retailers are utilising new and emerging technologies, or joining forces, to make shopping trips easier and stress free, as well as boosting share of wallet. Also, the political turmoil our country has led to suppliers looking at markets in Europe and further afield for new opportunities.” *(Source: yougov survey 2018)
License This! 2019 The License This! competition - which showcases new licensing talent and helps entrepreneurial brand owners to break into the $271 billion global licensing industry - features two award categories - Character & Animation and Brand & Design - with no limit to the number of brands who can enter. Six finalists will be chosen at the judging day on September 5 to pitch against one another live at BLE. “We’ve seen winners and runners-up from previous years get picked up by agencies to represent them, and the programmes built are now themselves winning excellent sales and also licensing awards,” comments LIMA UK managing director and License This! chair Kelvyn Gardner. The two winners will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2020, one year’s LIMA membership, PR support and advice from a panel of industry experts. Previous entrants both winners and finalists - have successfully signed lucrative agent and licensing deals off the back of the competition.
Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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