Boots, Dunelm, Lululemon, Matalan, MINISO and Poundland are among the new retailers participating in this year’s Retail Mentoring Program organised by Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) following record breaking retail attendance at Europe’s leading licensing event in 2024. They join buyers from returning retailers Asda, character.com, DFS, FatFace, HMV, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, My 1st Years, New Look, Primark, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, The Entertainer, The Very Group and The Works.

Delegates on this year’s popular, CPD-accredited, retail engagement initiative have already completed module one of the online learning tool Licensing Unlocked and are now gearing up to attend the third Licensing for Retail conference in London on 3 April, run in partnership with Licensing International.

The invite-only retail audience will enjoy sessions from:

• Opening keynote: Simta Sawhney, senior director licensing – Paramount Consumer Products – UK & Ireland, South Africa, Israel, Australia & New Zealand
• Amy Harbour, head of licensing and commercial partnerships, The Science Museum
• Jelena Stosic, strategy director, Kids Industries
• Rory Partis, director UK Toys & EuroToys, Circana

Facilitated roundtables will follow hosted by licensing insiders and retail leaders including:

• Helen Lynch, HL Retail Brand Licensing Consultancy
• Steve Manners, Licensing International
• Charlotte Hyson, director of franchise and retail marketing
• Rob Broadhurst
• Bethan Garton, Cloudco Entertainment
• Ian Downes, START Licensing
• Scott MacRae, Retail Buying Expert (ex Asda, NEXT, Arcadia) 

The day will close with informal networking and the full agenda is available to view here. Retailers can enquire about a spot here.

Retail Mentoring Program host days 

Later in the year, Retail Mentoring Program delegates will spend at least one day hosted by a leading licensor/brand owner. New hosts for this year are:

• Royal Museums Greenwich
• All3Media
• The FA – a sports first for the programme

Returning hosts include:

• Bravado
• Warner Brothers Discovery
• Hasbro
• SEGA
• WildBrain CPLG
• CAA

Informa’s Global Licensing Group head of retail Laura Freedman-Dagg said: “We couldn’t be happier with this year’s cohort of retailers joining us for the Retail Mentoring Program and the Licensing for Retail conference. Continuously driving engagement with a diverse and qualified retail attendance is an important part of the BLE strategy and this group is certainly that.

“We’re also so grateful for the support we get from our friends and partners from the licensing industry. The ‘host days’ show retailers what it’s like on the brand side of a licensing partnership and always score well on retail feedback forms. We really believe the program shines because of the time and effort our licensor partners put in for our delegates.”

Retailers interested in participating in the 2026 Retail Mentoring Program can enquire here. The full agenda for Licensing for Retail conference is available to view here and retailers can enquire about a delegate spot here.

Past Retail Mentoring Program participation feedback

“I personally found the BLE Retail Mentoring Program to be incredibly interesting and had a blast doing it. It has expanded my knowledge of how licenses work, what you can do with each individual license in terms of expansion and collaboration and what to expect from licensors. Not only is it an exceptional way to network with others but it also allows you to work with key companies in the licensing world, attend seminars and learn from others how to best get started in this ever-changing world we work in. I personally could not recommend it enough to anybody who is actively looking to gain knowledge, meet great individuals, invest time into what the world of licensing holds and how we can make a real impact.”
Byron Williamson, Junior Buyer, Pop Culture, HMV

“I was recently given the opportunity to participate on the Retail Mentoring Program run by Keith Pashley and Laura Freedman-Dagg over eight months. It is a great chance to learn more about the licencing world and the many opportunities it affords. The programme includes invitations to talks from experts in the field,  organised visits to industry leading licensors , access to information platforms and for the finale,  a visit to the hugely successful Brand Licencing Europe event. The programme is a great opportunity to not only learn more about licencing but also to network and meet many inspiring people.  At the end of the programme,  I feel well equipped to move forward. Keith and Laura offer a particularly personable touch to the programme and are always available for support, I found them to be a great source of knowledge and will definitely keep in touch! I’d highly recommend this programme to those wanting to expand their knowledge of the licencing industry. “
Nicola Gray, chief product officer, character.com 

“Even as a buyer who does not engage in any direct licensing at present, I found the Retail Mentoring Program to be interesting and informative. In particular, the licensor host days provided valuable context, and gave an engaging overview of the work that goes into building and sustaining the brands we are all familiar with. I also enjoyed my first trip to BLE, an event I’ve heard much about over the years. It was great to get direct access to a varied pool of brand owners, as well as connect with existing suppliers and absorb a wealth of information at the accompanying seminars.”
Rob Dand, buying manager, Calendar Club 

“From a marketing point of view, BLE was a great way for us to understand the work involved and how the different industries all create licensed ranges. The mentoring days were incredibly useful as you can often get lost in the day to day of your own role, however they opened up our eyes to the world of licensing and marketing on such a huge scale. The staff involved who ran these workshop todays were also so helpful and enthusiastic. As a whole Keith and the team were also great – communication was fantastic and a great help to each person individually throughout the programme. I would definitely recommend and have done so with a member of my team to take part next year.”
Molly Ejdowski, brand marketing manager, My 1st Years 

“I loved the programme, and I am really glad I did it, I particularly LOVED the first event we attended, this gave me such an amazing insight to the licencing world and I came away inspired and immediately understood what new areas I wanted to focus on within my role at work. Keith and Laura have been fantastic, both very inspiring, interesting and welcoming from start to end.  BLE was such a great few days, I made some great contacts with key brands which Card Factory will be working with going forward. Overall, I would highly recommend the BLE Retail Mentoring Program.”
Katie Burnet, card buyer, Card Factory