France Licensing Day has quickly become one of the key meeting points for the French licensing industry. Ahead of the 2026 edition, Licensing Italia interviewed Laurent Taieb, President of Licensing International France, to discuss market trends, growth opportunities, and the role of the event in bringing together the entire licensing ecosystem.
LI: How would you describe the current status of the French licensing industry, and what has made licensing increasingly relevant in France over the past few years?
LT: The French licensing market has genuinely matured over the past decade, and what we’re seeing now is a real strategic shift. Licensing is no longer perceived as a peripheral tool — it has become central to how brands think about growth, audience extension, and cultural relevance. French companies, whether they’re IP owners, retailers, or manufacturers, have understood that licensing is one of the most efficient levers to create value without diluting their core business.
What’s accelerated this in recent years is the convergence of several factors: the explosion of content platforms that have created new IP with massive fanbases, the growing sophistication of retail buyers who now actively seek licensed products, and a generation of brand managers who have grown up with licensing as a normal part of brand strategy. France also benefits from extraordinary cultural IP — in fashion, gastronomy, heritage, sports, and entertainment — those travels internationally and attracts global partners.
LI: The event brings together IP owners, agents, manufacturers, retailers, and brand strategists. Why is it so important to have one dedicated meeting point for the entire French licensing ecosystem?
LT: Because licensing is, by definition, a relationship business — and relationships need a physical space to be built, maintained, and deepened. France Licensing Day was created precisely to fill a gap: there was no dedicated moment in the French calendar where the entire value chain (all licensors, all categories…) could sit in the same room, speak the same language, and work together.
What makes it unique is that it’s not a trade fair in the traditional sense. It’s a curated meeting point — compact, focused, and high-quality — where a manufacturer can meet three new IP owners in one afternoon, where a retailer can discover emerging categories, they hadn’t considered, and where an agent can reconnect with partners they only see once a year at Licensing Expo or Brand Licensing Europe. The format creates serendipity, and serendipity is where deals begin.
LI: What opportunities can a professional from another country find at France Licensing Day?
LT: France is the seventh-largest licensing market in the world, and yet it remains underexplored by many international players who focus primarily on the UK or Germany. Coming to France Licensing Day is one of the most efficient ways to map the French market in a single day.
For an Italian professional — whether you represent an IP, a licensee, or work in retail — you’ll find direct access to decision-makers you simply cannot reach by email. You’ll discover which categories are growing, which retail channels are most dynamic, and which local players are actively looking for international partnerships. And beyond the business conversations, the awards ceremony gives you a real-time reading of what the French market is celebrating: the deals, the products, and the collaborations that have created genuine commercial impact. That intelligence alone is worth the trip and that’s something Rainbow spa has understood as they are exhibiting…
LI: What are the biggest highlights of this 4th edition?
LT: This fourth edition marks a real step forward in terms of ambition and scope. We’re welcoming a record number of participants, with a particularly strong presence from the retail sector — which is a strong signal that licensing is being taken seriously at the buying level, not just the brand level.
The conference program is one of the centerpieces of the day. We’ve built four sessions that cover the full spectrum of what licensing professionals need today. The day opens with a Licensing 101 session designed to give newcomers and brand managers a solid grounding in how licensing works. From there, Marianne Lesimple and Carole Martine take the stage to share how Carrefour — one of France’s largest retailers — approaches licensing from strategy all the way through to execution: a rare and valuable inside perspective. The afternoon opens with a fascinating cross-sector conversation on how licensing connects publishing, audio, and physical product. And we close with a forward-looking market trends session with Aurélie Passot and Philippe Guinaudeau, focused on reading the market and identifying the opportunities that matter for the next two to three years. Four sessions, four very different angles — and a program that has something relevant for every profile in the room.
The Licensing International France Awards ceremony will be another major highlight — we have an exceptional jury this year, outstanding dossiers across all categories, and what I expect will be some genuinely surprising winners. We’ve also worked hard on the format of the day itself to create more structured networking opportunities, so that every attendee leaves with concrete contacts and conversations, not just business cards.
And the venue — Pavillon Chesnaie du Roy in Paris — sets a tone. Licensing deserves to be celebrated with ambition, and this year we’re doing exactly that.
