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HAVE YOUR SAY: Is CEE the future for licensing?
Licensing.biz staff Mar 5 2008, 10:31am
Comments (4)
Licensing.biz invites you to share your thoughts on this week's hot topic.
The fourth Licensing Forum-CEE show kicks off next Monday (March 10th) - and organiser Licensing Brands International (click here for the full feature), is confident that it can continue to attract licensors, licensees and retail as the territory grows in importance.
Licensing.biz wants to know if you're going along to the show. As the Central and Eastern European territories grow in importance, is it fast becoming a 'must attend' for your company?
Perhaps you are already operating in the CEE market - how important is it for you?
Do you think we will see more firms announcing deals and signing agents in the territories this year as they look to grow their sales?
Simply post a comment in the box below to share your opinion with the industry.
Comments
“Leningrad cowboys”
Posted by: Snipes - Mar 5, 12:10pm
Huge opportunity, but could be fraught with IP and brand protection issues. All seems a bit 'wild west' at the moment. Proceed with caution I guess. I'm sure there's plenty of horror stories out there.
“UK-focused - for now”
Posted by: Charlie Donaldson, Rocket - Mar 6, 11:11am
We are focused on the UK market, but we are growing and hope to be able to attend the CEE licensing forum next year and be part of the exciting growth of licensing in the CEE markets.
“A growing market”
Posted by: Nicolas Loufranis, Smiley Licensing - Mar 6, 11:25am
We attended the show two years ago and did not really generate any interesting business. I hope the show grows and may consider attending it again later, but I am not a big believer in these small local shows except when they are linked to a major trade fair driving traffic (like HK during the July gift fair).
But Eastern Europe is really growing. What is most interesting and challenging for me is that these people are the only region in the world where Smiley is not known. Our pop culture of which Smiley is a part is not something they know.
While I have no licensees there, I do have products selling. They are made by my European or Asian licensees. During a shopping day in Moscow with a potential licensee I was negotiating with, I was very proud to see in several places many of my products (party goods, fragrance, buttons, stickers, plush). Now I need to think about the strategy to increase our visibility there.
“Kidz Ent.”
Posted by: Anna Lisa McBride - Mar 10, 12:56pm
We definitely feel this show is a must attend for our business, as we are given the opportunity to see what is going on in the territory and really present what we are doing. This year it has been especially important for us to attend and exhibit as we are a newly expanded company after our merger with EEMC and want to communicate to everyone what that means.
We truly value all of our partnerships throughout EE and want to solidify our dedication to growing these territories. A show like this is one of the man great ways to do this.
Like China and India, EE is currently the one to watch as the licensing industry is really starting to take off and countries such as Russia could really turn into a strong business for us and many other companies.