European Roundtable

How are you finding the licensing business in your territory?

We seem to be in the middle of a transition. Spain and Portugal are in the middle of the tourist season which is being very positive but we all think what is going to happen this fall with high prices, energy restrictions, inflation…..

The market seems to mix positive attitude with conservative forecasts so we’ll see.

Numbers keep growing in many areas, but crisis is also damaging many companies, specially the little ones and the weakest.

Has the UK leaving the EU affected your business in any way? If so, how?

Brexit has not affected us directly, but it damages commercial relationship among EU and UK companies due to new taxes, extra costs and slow procedures for goods travelling from the UK to EU. For an international business like Licensing, Brexit has only changed things to make it harder. EU was easier!

Supply chain issues because of Brexit and the conflict in Ukraine have become more difficult. Is this impacting on your business?

Ukraine war is really hurting our economy. All prices have increased above expectations and the inflation has reached 10%, the highest rate in more than 20 years. Gas, oil, electricity were the first ones to increase but now everything is 10, 20% more expensive and this is what is really affecting the future movements of the economy.

Time will determine if this is a temporary situation or a deep crisis.

Which product categories are key to your market? Are there any new product categories that are emerging, or you can see will emerge in the near future?

Apparel is nº1, infant products are growing as well as gift and accessories

Novelties are on top of the growing products. New products created by young companies who are not scared and face the future with solid optimism

We will continue to grow thanks to those new companies that has appeared in the last few years, presenting unexpected ideas and concepts, and not tied to old schemas and retail restrictions

How do you see the future of licensing in your territory? What growth opportunities can you see? Are there aspects of licensing in your territory that are unique to your country?

Licensing exists since mid-last century. Every time we have a crisis or big change in our economy, there is someone saying this is going to damage licensing business, but you know what, licensing is still there, growing, creating new areas of business, and melting with the new trends, targets, platforms, and consumers.

A different thing is whether Licensors and licensees will react accordingly.

We decided, time ago, to escape from big companies and focus on niche markets, companies with more dedication to the creativity and care, with more social responsibility. The consumer is the boss, not the retailer.

The largest apparel groups in the world are Spanish right now. This is the exception because we miss a lot of large companies in the rest of areas who can compete with the Europeans. In the last 20 years many leaders have disappeared