Members Only
TRADE SHOW REPORT
Licensing Expo Drives Brands, Retail and Big Business
Strategic, lucrative partnerships and fandom were top priorities at the 2026 Licensing Expo, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas May 19–21.
A record-breaking 410 exhibitors represented more than 5,000 brands that included powerhouses in fashion, food, entertainment, gaming, lifestyle and sports. From Amazon, MGM Studios and Warner Bros. to Hasbro, Mattel and Sega to Coca-Cola, PanAm and Hang Ten—these were the brands that will shape consumer trends and fill retail shelves in the next two to three years.
Decision-making retail teams from Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Primark, MINISO, Hot Topic, Dick’s Sporting Goods, POP MART, TJX and Zara attended.
“Brand licensing drives revenue. It is a powerful tool that allows IP owners to engage with consumers on a deeper level, and that leads to the type of fandom that results in sales,” said Maura Regan, president of Licensing International.
The fandom effect, keynote insights
The directors of Oscar-winning and most popular Netflix movie of all time “KPop Demon Hunters” made a surprise appearance during a keynote by Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee.
“The film was released in June 2025, and it would have surely been a big disappointment to fans if they didn’t see Halloween costumes on the shelves in October. Thankfully, manufacturers were able to mobilize in time for young fans to trick or treat as Rumi, Mira and Zoey,” said Lee.
Sharon and Jack Osbourne talked about growing Ozzy Osbourne’s legacy, from apparel to books, Osbourne cartoons and the ultimate fan experience. “We’ve created the digital DNA of Ozzy Osbourne’s voice, image, movement. It’s kind of scary how it’s really very accurate so he will exist as himself for as long as we have computers,” said Jack Osbourne.
Industry leaders shared insights on how food and beverage became the ultimate brand-extension gold mine through embracing consumer passion for nostalgia, fun and tapping into that Gen Z sweet spot blending fashion with buzzworthy food and beverage brands.
“We started to notice a change with Gen Z and now Alpha in terms of what they consider a brand that they can wear as a billboard. You never would have thought 30 years ago, ‘I’m going to wear my favorite coffee shop or donut shop on my T-shirt,’ but now you want everybody to know you go to the coolest coffee shop or you’re the fan of the best-tasting donut,” said Richard Cox, chief merchandising officer for Pacsun.
Supermodel, entrepreneur and advocate Ashley Graham spoke about collaborations that feel authentic from her apparel collaboration with JCPenney and wine brand Lucci.
“I love it when brands send me free stuff, and not because it’s free but because I’m looking at it like, is this a brand I would want to work with?” said Graham. “Because it becomes a part of your actual lifestyle and becomes something you can get on board with. The consumer’s too smart now. They know when things don’t read authentic,” explained Graham.
Where brand licensing and fashion meet
From the Rolling Stones to the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Hot Wheels, Uno, Pokémon, M&Ms, Nascar and the Pinewood Derby, every person is a fan of something. The purchase power of Gen Z and Alpha—collectively referred to as Zalpha—is rapidly increasing along with the growing nostalgic “Kidult” demographic.
Snow Commerce is an end-to-end e-commerce solution for entertainment brands with the ability to design and develop products with retail distribution on such as Amazon. “Either we’re at the service provider or we build and operate e-commerce solutions for companies like Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Peanuts. We offer 700 to 800 products from an apparel standpoint, room décor, accessories and pet products,” said Michael Tabakin, business development and licensing.
“If you’re an amazing sportswear brand and a brand that has built a really strong DNA in apparel, maybe you should start looking at how you can take that lifestyle and bring it into home, beauty and wellness,” said Jennifer Flynn Case, founder of the Flynn Collective Los Angeles, who represents fashion and lifestyle brands such as Hudson Jeans, Nicole Miller and Kendall + Kylee.
“We manufacture the original Members Only jacket, but we don’t manufacture women’s, sportswear, sleepwear or golf, so we’d like to team up with folks that specialize in those categories and they would license our name to sell in brick-and-mortar, online and different channels,” said Ron Malhotra, managing partner of Members Only.
Adaptive fashion, licensing technology
The NFL’s first one-handed player, Shaquem Griffin, alongside his brother, 2026 Super Bowl champion Shaquill Griffin, teamed up with Earthbound Brands to launch Y.O.U. by the Griffins in collaboration with Pat DeCrescenzo, former Paralympic snowboarder and founder of Volto Santo to prove that adaptive design does not require aesthetic compromise.
Supply-chain logistics company AFS exhibited along with quality-control service provider QIMA. Licensing systems from Dependable Solutions, Octane 5 and MBX MYMEDIABOX displayed their software products.
“We work with a lot of the large licensors and agents, and they use our systems to facilitate their relationships with their licensees and third parties, everything from style-guide asset management and delivery to approvals, workflow to contract and royalty management—it’s all housed within our system,” explained Emilee Feldman, vice president, sales, for MBX MYMEDIABOX, headquartered in Atlanta.
“We provide 3D digital twins of real objects for the world of rendering, changing data and reverse engineering,” said Rick Feijoo, 3D solution specialist at RapidScan3D in Lakewood, Calif.
“Negosh is a tech platform that connects the right licensees and licensors while lowering the threshold for more brands and manufacturers to enter into the industry so we can grow the pie instead of splitting it,” said Sharon Weisman, business development, for the New York–based company.
