Licensing Blog

Welcome to our Licensing Blog, which takes a light hearted look at our mysterious world.

Moscow, Bologna, Easter(Posted: 13-04-2012)

Moscow, Bologna, Easter. Another busy few weeks.

The Licensing@Russia event in Moscow certainly seems to have stirred up some feeling in the industry. I think some want to take the plunge and get involved but something’s holding them back. In my opinion, this event will continue and will grow whether the wider licensing industry embraces it or not. This is a potentially huge market.

The event itself was not without its flaws, but it passed off successfully enough for a first time effort, and most of the exhibitors were happy with the contacts they had made. I tried to make contact with some of the licensees and distributors in the accompanying toy and stationery halls, but on occasions had a slight problem with the language barrier!

Moscow in March was bloody cold. After taking a couple of photos in Red Square it was glove back on time to try and get the feeling back in the trigger finger. You could tell the temperature was quite low by the small tents pitched ON the river near the exhibition centre with people sitting inside them ice fishing! Nowhere have I seen so many dirty cars – although washing them would be a waste of time with all the snow and sludge.

To move on to Bologna the next week was heaven – real spring-like temperatures and sunshine; shirt-sleeves outside well into the evening. Once again, the Italian licensing industry was very well represented here, with the additional bonus of plenty of interested traffic from the children’s book fair.  Despite the problems with the economy, licensing here seems to be holding up pretty well. Pizza and pasta never tasted so good.

Not so many licensed easter eggs in my house this year, but I think that’s a reflection on my kids getting older rather than what was available! They seem to prefer money to chocolate nowadays.

If you’re at the London Book Fair next week do pop by and say hello. We’re on stand #A556.