22-23-24-25-27 Industry Roundtable (SL).qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 12/09/2024 17:49 Page 1
INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE
LSB chats to six senior executives - Rob Bentley, regional director, UKI, MENA and RSA, Universal Products and Experiences; Rachel Wakley, svp and general manager, UK and Ireland, Warner Bros. Discovery; Rebecca Jenkins, vp, Paramount Consumer Products, UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and Israel; Filippo Zuffada, senior director of consumer products, EMEA, Netflix; David Sprei, commercial director, Penguin Ventures; and Marianne James, svp global licensing, Hasbro – about 2024 so far, BLE plans, the retail landscape, trends and moving into 2025.
In the
Inset: Bridgerton’s fabric collaboration with Liberty is among the highlights from Netflix this year.
round Rob Bentley
Rachel Wakley
Rebecca Jenkins
How has 2024 been for your business so far? Rob: “2024 feels like a year of great promise. Excitement for Wicked is taking hold and we’re entering Brand Licensing Europe with arguably the strongest film and TV slate of 2025 of any studio. While we are mindful of the economy and the difficulties of doing business now, there is a sense of anticipation as many years of hard work from many individuals, teams, divisions, countries and stakeholders culminates. You can never predict the future, but it feels like a good time to be part of the Universal business.” Rachel: “Despite the continued wider political, economic and industry uncertainty, our consumer products business has continued to grow in 2024. In a year where we continue to experience the
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK 2024
Filippo Zuffada
David Sprei
Marianne James
impact of the writers’ strike, we have looked towards our core franchises – DC, Harry Potter, Classic Animation and our TV properties to inspire the world-class products and experiences that we continue to deliver to our consumers around the globe.” Filippo: “2024 has been stellar. We've focused on celebrating and expanding our evergreen franchises including Bridgerton, Stranger Things and also Squid Game Season 2 coming later this year. Bridgerton has led the charge - from the Liberty fabric collaboration to Ladurée macarons, Primark lifestyle items and LUSH regency-inspired bath products. Fans have responded and shown their love on social media. One Piece has seen incredible growth following the launch of our live-