Licensing Expo draws nearly 12,000 visitors
Licensing Expo, organized by Informa Markets' Global Licensing Group and sponsored by industry association Licensing International, closed June 15 with nearly 12,000 attendees.
This represents a 13 percent increase over the 2022 total attendance and a return to pre-pandemic 2019 numbers.
The annual event also saw its highest attendance ever, with 60 percent of attendees being C-suite or director-level executives, as well as record-breaking retail attendance (up 47 percent from 2019).
More than 1,150 retailers attended, including buyers from Walmart, Forever 21, PacSun, Tilly's, Toys 'R' Us, Ross, Rue 21, Hot Topic, Inditex, Dollar General, Bershka, Burger King, Hallmark, Macy's, Amazon, Kohl's, Target, Fanatics, TJX Companies, Home Depot, Lush, Coach, Primark and Pottery Barn.
The show also saw more than 6,800 meetings booked and held through Licensing Expo's official online brokerage platform,
Licensing Expo 2023 also saw a 15 percent increase in new arrivals and an increase in international visitors from Asia, South America and Europe, with some markets doubling their attendance compared to 2022.
Latin American visitors accounted for nearly 7 percent of the event's total attendance.
Licensing Expo will be held again at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, May 21-23, 2024. Brand Licensing Europe will be held Oct. 4-6 at ExCeL in London, with the theme of Location Based Entertainment (LBE).
The Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit (B&LIS) North America will be held in New York on November 2-3, with the first half day devoted to a retail tour and the second day featuring a comprehensive content program.