Book your ticket for IMF London 2026 on 4-5 October at Excel London.
Book your ticket now
The IMF is a global conference that brings brand owners, wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers under one roof for a comprehensive two day programme of networking and live panel sessions.
Gain key insights from industry professionals about establishing and expanding your business and connect with likeminded individuals through roundtable discussion and networking in the lounge.
The line-up for IMF 2026 is currently being finalised. Check back soon to see the industry experts joining us this year, or explore the programme section to see what topics we will be diving into!
The distribution model has been under pressure for years from D2C, consolidation and shifting brand expectations. This session asks the most important question for brands and distributors today: what does a successful distributor look like in 2030? Discussion points: - What separates the distributors who are thriving from those who are slowly becoming irrelevant? - The services evolution: brand-building partner or sophisticated logistics provider - which are you, and which do brands actually need? - From a brand's perspective: what are the non-negotiables you now demand from a distributor that you didn't five years ago? - How and where should distributors be investing to stay indispensable: data, digital, education, field sales or elsewhere?
Beauty Uncovered: the hard truths of building and scaling a brand.
With new brands popping up every day the global brand landscape is more crowded than ever, the discovery question has become genuinely hard on both sides. Distributors struggle to find new brands worth their time. Smaller brands struggle to be found without big marketing budgets. This session maps out what actually works in 2026. Discussion points: - From the distributor side: how do you find new brands today? What channels, what signals, what tells you a brand is worth pursuing? - From the brand side: how do you get in front of the right distributor and beyond the façade? - What does a compelling brand pitch look like in 2026 and what are the instant turn-offs? - The role of reputation, peer recommendation and community: is word of mouth still the most powerful channel? - When you find each other: what's the fastest route from first conversation to signed agreement, and what slows it down?
Here we go beyond the “should I export” question to how to build a global brand that actually works and thrives in various markets across different partnership channels. Discussion points: - Beyond the first market: how do you build a genuinely scalable international infrastructure: people, systems, support rather than just collecting distributor agreements? - What does it take to build real brand equity in a market, not just distribution presence? - The markets that surprised you, where did you expect it to be easy and it wasn't, and where did it work when you least expected it? - Managing a global portfolio of distributor relationships without losing focus on any of them: what are the secrets to getting it right and mistakes to avoid? - Where does the brand end and the distributor begin in building brand presence in a new market and how do you agree on that upfront?
Pricing is the topic brands and distributors consistently get wrong. Margins are squeezed, e-commerce undercuts the professional channel, export pricing is inconsistent, geopolitical turmoil, and both sides quietly blame the other. This session unpackages all that. Discussion points: - Where does the pricing relationship between brand and distributor most commonly break down and whose responsibility is it? - How do you build a pricing architecture that works across professional, retail, e-commerce and export channels simultaneously without destroying one to serve another? - When discounting becomes a habit, how do you break it without losing the customer? - Export pricing reality: what are the most common mistakes brands make when they start pricing for international markets? - What does a genuinely fair margin structure look like for both sides and how do you negotiate it without damaging the relationship?
Each table is led by an industry expert on the below topics. Delegates pre-select their preferred table at registration. No presentations: pure peer-to-peer conversation with a skilled facilitator. Table 1: The Distributor relationship Table 2: Pricing in practice Table 3: Building and keeping great teams Table 4: Going global for the first time Table 5: The founder’s mindset
A unique opportunity for brands and distributors to sit alongside salon and spa owners in the same conversation, to hear, in real time, what the other side actually values, what frustrates them, and what would make them switch. Discussion points: - Salon and spa owners: what has genuinely made you loyal to a brand over many years and what eventually made you walk away? - Brands and distributors: what do you believe drives loyalty and how does that compare with what you just heard? - The education effect: is investment in technical and business education still the most powerful loyalty tool or has it become table stakes? - The margin reality: is the professional margin genuinely sustainable in 2026 and who should bear the pressure when it isn't? - The next generation of salon professionals: to what extent are their expectations different, and are brands and distributors ready for them?
"Professional only" as a pure strategy is effectively over for most brands. The question is no longer whether to sell through other channels, it's how to do it without letting those channels eat the one that gave your brand its credibility. Discussion points: - Is "professional only" still a genuine strategy in 2026 or a comfort blanket that's slowly suffocating some brands? - How do the most successful multichannel brands protect the professional channel's sense of exclusivity even when the product is available elsewhere? - Distributors in a multichannel world: what's their role when the brand is also on Amazon, in Boots and on their own DTC site? - The price integrity question: who owns it, who enforces it, and what happens when nobody does?
For a people-driven industry, the B2B beauty and hair sector is surprisingly bad at talking about people. Finding, developing and keeping great talent: sales teams, educators, country managers is where most businesses quietly struggle and a significant barrier to growth. This session brings it into the open. Discussion points: - Why is it so hard to find great sales and commercial talent in professional beauty and what are the best businesses doing differently to attract them? - Building a culture and a career path in a small or mid-size brand or distributor: how do you compete with bigger players? - The education director / brand educator role: the most undervalued position in the industry? - What do the next generation of talent want and is the industry offering it? - Succession: when the business is you, how do you plan for the future?
Dissecting the exit and growth financing question, one that most founders think about constantly but rarely discuss publicly. Two founders at different stages share their thinking: one who has taken investment or sold, and one who has deliberately chosen to stay independent. Discussion points: - At what point did you seriously start thinking about external investment or an exit and what triggered it? - Private equity in professional hair and beauty: the reality versus the expectation for founders who have gone through it - The independent path: what does staying owner-managed actually cost you, and what does it genuinely give you? - How does ownership structure affect your distributor relationships, your team and your brand positioning?
The final session is audience-owned. Audience questions are directed to the panel of experts. No holds barred insights to your most striking challenges so that you leave with those golden nuggets to transform your business.
*Please note speakers and programme is subject to change.
Entrance Policy: The International Manufacturers and Distributors Forum is taking place at Professional Beauty London. The Forum is for professionals only and a delegate pass is required for entry. Due to the professional nature of the event, nobody under 16 years of age is allowed entry into Professional Beauty London. This includes babies, and prams are also not permitted on the premises. As a busy event, we need to maintain a safe and professional environment for our trade visitors. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Find us at Professional Beauty London:
Excel London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL
Forum Opening Times:
Sunday 4 October 10:00 - 17:00 GMT
Monday 5 October, 10:00 - 16:00 GMT
Entrance Policy: The International Manufacturers and Distributors Forum is taking place at Professional Beauty London. The Forum is for professionals only and a delegate pass is required for entry. Due to the professional nature of the event, nobody under 16 years of age is allowed entry into Professional Beauty London. This includes babies, and prams are also not permitted on the premises. As a busy event, we need to maintain a safe and professional environment for our trade visitors. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
For more information on traveling to the venue, please see our Travel & Accommodation page below. You can also check our FAQs page for answers to any additional questions.
Manufacturers & Distributors Forum - the premier gathering for executives in
beauty and hair.
Since we launched in 2015, the IMF has connected over 700 brands with distributors, retail groups and manufacturers. As a delegate, you'll take back learnings and foster new connections to make a lasting impact on your business.
Unique in Europe, the IMF brings together senior executives from across the world. The IMF is held and is hosted alongside Professional Beauty London and Salon International.
Our upcoming sessions are now live. Take a look at the full programme to plan your days and see the key topics and insights we will be covering this year.
"The IMF is a special format. The family feeling and the network here is exactly what a manufacturer and a distributor needs."
Christopher Hülbach, BABOR
"What's exciting about the IMF is the ability to share ideas and understand the market better. It's a great opportunity to catch up with local and international partners."
Tristan Lagarde, Phytomer, France
"There was great advice on how to approach distributors, the importance for manufacturers to have a clear strategy and how to present your brand to buyers."
Vincent Jaquier, Business Development, Documedica SA
.JPG)
.JPG)
square.JPG)
square.jpeg)
square.JPG)
.webp)
