BLE 2012 Sets Attendance Record

LONDON: This year’s Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), which took place from October 16 to 18, marked the largest and best-attended event in the show’s 14-year history.

There were 6,875 retailers, licensees and sales-promo professionals on hand over the three days, which is 1,265 more than last year. The combined visitor and exhibitor attendance reached 9,108.

Overall, this is a 23-percent gain in visitors and a 20-percent increase in exhibitors. This year also saw a 14-percent increase in retail attendance and a 17-percent increase in European attendance.

For BLE 2013, 74 percent of the floor space has already been sold.

Jessica Blue, the event director for Brand Licensing Europe, said: “We are thrilled with the results of this year’s show, and have worked hard to ensure the event reflects the needs of our visitors and exhibitors. We have really focused on increasing attendance from retail and from across Europe. The feedback from exhibitors and visitors has indicated that we have achieved this and we look forward to making the event even bigger and better in 2013.”