Retailers Swarm Licensing Expo

Over the three-day Expo, 16,150 licensing professionals attended the show. Attendance by retailers was up 15 percent over last year. This figure includes a 6.6 percent rise in international attendance, particularly with Australia (up 31 percent), Brazil (up 30 percent) and China (up 12 percent) seeing the highest increases. In addition, executives from the U.K., Mexico, Canada and Japan also had a significant presence at the show.

The show, sponsored by International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) featured 460 exhibiting companies in 232,000 square feet, an increase of 6.5 percent on 2014

“We are delighted that the focus on attracting more retail buyers and executives has meant a significant increase in attendance for the second year," says Jessica

This year also marked the first-ever Digital Media Licensing Summit, held the day before the show (Monday, June 8), in which thought leaders from company's such as YouTube, Maker Studios, AwesomenessTV and UTA shared insights into the new medium. That was followed up by two keynote sessions on June 9: Dow Famulak of Global Brands Group, Richard Barry of Toys ‘R’ Us, Lisa Harper of Hot Topic and Mike Fitzsimmons of Delivery Agent opened the show with a session that explored current retail trends; while YouTube star Bethany Mota shared the details of her digital success in The Big Interview.