ITMA Roundtable Explores Value Of Licensing

Furniture World Magazine

The International Textile Market Association (ITMA) and a panel of four industry experts will kickoff Showtime at the pre-show roundtable July 11 titled “Licensing: Brand Building or Gimmick?” The roundtable will be held at 6:00 p.m. at the Suites at Market Square, Level One, Sales Office. Showtime will officially open July 12 and run through July 15. Branding and licensing have become more prevalent than ever as companies struggle for position in a competitive marketplace, and for each success story, many well-intentioned endeavors have never even begun. Roundtable panelists will explore the question of whether licensing is a valuable brand-building strategy or simply a gimmick. The roundtable panel members will be Megan Gunn, senior licensing manager of Waverly; Rob Casey, vice president of Ralph Lauren Home at Henredon; Scott Ballard, vice president of sales for Lexington Home Brands; and Joie Wilson, a licensing agent and member of the American Society for Interior Designers. The roundtable will be moderated by Carole Sloan, founding editor-in-chief of Home Textiles Today and senior editor of Furniture Today. The event is free and open to all Showtime attendees. Light refreshments will be served, and panel members will be available after the discussion to answer additional questions. The ITMA Roundtable was initiated in 2002 by the ITMA Board to encourage discussion and brainstorming among experts and attendees on issues related to the textile industry. Founded in 1990, the ITMA is a not-for-profit trade association, consisting of mills, converters, tanneries and trimming manufacturers that supply decorative coverings for the home furnishings industry, whose main objective is to stimulate growth and development within the home furnishings industry. The ITMA is the producer of Showtime, the largest textile market in the United States. For more information about the roundtable, call Jack Eger, roundtable coordinator, at 610-941-1212 or the ITMA office at 336-885-6842.