SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Licensing Expo, organized by Informa Markets and sponsored by Licensing International, today announced initial findings from the 2019 show, which took place June 4-6 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The results, gathered from a year-over-year (YoY) analysis of exhibitor and attendee data, as well as metrics from Licensing Expo's matchmaking service, reinforce licensing's growing presence across property categories while affirming the importance of the annual show for licensees, licensors, and retailers alike.
Exhibitor Insights
Of the hundreds of exhibitors at Licensing Expo 2019, more than 150 were new to the floor, adding to its diverse catalogue of more than 5,000 brands spanning a variety of industries including eSports, fashion, publishing, social influencers, and much more. In comparison to 2018 figures, many property categories across the show floor saw an increase in the number of exhibitors, with the largest growth from Digital Content & Gaming (+27.78%), Related Services (+26.32%), and Art & Design (25%).
Attendee Insights
On the attendee side, licensing professionals from more than 70 countries came to this year's show, up from 65+ countries in previous years. Retail attendance was strong and included new retailer presence from ASDA, Belk, Chewy, COEX, Lowes, Miniso, Primark, Total Wine & More, Vans, Wendy's, among many more. Reflecting North America's continued presence at the forefront of the licensing industry, U.S. domestic attendance increased 5% from last year.
Furthermore, this year's Licensing Expo saw a 38% increase in repeat attendees YoY, underscoring the Expo being indispensable in staying up-to-date on licensing trends and opportunities.
Matchmaking Insights
Licensing Expo's Matchmaking Service, a four-year old one-to-one business networking tool connecting exhibitors to attendees, proved to be invaluable for helping both exhibitors and attendees make the most of their time at the show. This year, more than 4,900 meetings were confirmed through the Matchmaking Service – up from ~4,600 in 2018. More importantly, the Service facilitated quality meetings for exhibitors and attendees alike, as the average user ranked their meetings 4.3 stars on a 5-point scale.
Licensing Expo looks forward to celebrating its 40th year when it returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, May 19-21, 2020.
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About Licensing Expo
Launched in 1980, Licensing Expo is the world's largest and most influential annual trade show dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Every year, more than 5,000 brands and 16,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers, distributors, and licensing agents attend Licensing Expo from more than 67 countries. Licensing Expo is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the licensing industry's leading trade show organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.
About Global Licensing Group
The Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets is the licensing industry's leading trade show organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group at Informa: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Japan, Licensing Expo China, Licensing Leadership Summit, License Global magazine, and License Global Daily E-News. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by Licensing International (LI).
The Global Licensing Group is organized by Informa, which recently acquired UBM to become a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B events and exhibitions organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.informa.com.
SOURCE Licensing Expo
