International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Registration, coffee and networking

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Panel 1: The distributor of the future - the gameplan for 2030

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

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? The discussion will explore what separates the distributors who are thriving from those who are slowly becoming irrelevant, examining the evolution of services to determine whether the market requires a brand-building partner or a sophisticated logistics provider - and what brands actually need today. From a brand's perspective, the panel will identify the current non-negotiables now demanded from a distributor that did not exist five years ago. Finally, the session will address how and where distributors should be investing to stay indispensable, focusing on key areas such as data, digital, education, and field sales.

Keynote: Fireside chat with iconic brand founders

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Beauty Uncovered: the hard truths of building and scaling a brand.

Panel 2: How do brands get found and how do distributors find them?

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

With new brands popping up every day, the global brand landscape is more crowded than ever, making discovery genuinely hard on both sides. Distributors struggle to find brands worth their time, while smaller brands struggle to be found without big marketing budgets. This session maps out what actually works in 2026. The discussion will explore how distributors find new talent today - examining the specific channels and signals that prove a brand is worth pursuing - and how brands can successfully get in front of the right partners. The panel will also break down what a compelling pitch looks like in 2026, the instant turn-offs to avoid, and whether word-of-mouth and reputation remain the most powerful channels. Finally, speakers will share how to navigate the fastest route from that first conversation to a signed agreement without getting bogged down.

Networking lunch and exhibition visit

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Panel 3: Building a brand that travels and what global success actually requires

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

This session goes beyond the “should I export” question to explore how to build a global brand that actually thrives across various markets and partnership channels. The discussion will focus on building a genuinely scalable international infrastructure - focusing on people, systems, and support rather than just collecting distributor agreements - and what it takes to build real brand equity rather than just a distribution presence. Speakers will share stories of markets that surprised them, contrasting unexpected successes with areas that proved more difficult than anticipated. Finally, the panel will reveal the secrets to managing a global portfolio of distributor relationships without losing focus, while defining where the brand ends and the distributor begins when establishing presence in a new market.

Panel 4: The pricing conversation nobody wants to have

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

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 hits, and both sides quietly blame the other. This session unpackages all of that. The discussion will explore where the pricing relationship most commonly breaks down and where the responsibility lies, while offering strategies to build a pricing architecture that works across professional, retail, e-commerce, and export channels simultaneously. The panel will also address how to break the habit of discounting without losing customers, and highlight the most common mistakes brands make when pricing for international markets. Finally, speakers will reveal what a genuinely fair margin structure looks like for both sides and how to negotiate it without damaging the partnership.

Roundtables: Focused conversations

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Each table is led by an industry expert, allowing delegates to pre-select their preferred topic during registration. With no presentations, this session is designed for pure peer-to-peer conversation alongside a skilled facilitator. The interactive roundtables will cover key industry themes, starting with Table 1 focusing on the distributor relationship and Table 2 diving into pricing in practice. Delegates can also explore internal operations at Table 3 with building and keeping great teams, map out international expansion at Table 4 with going global for the first time, or join Table 5 to discuss the founder’s mindset.

Registration, coffee and networking

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Panel 1: The loyalty equation: what actually keeps a salon loyal to a brand?

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

This session offers a unique opportunity for brands, distributors, salon owners, and spa owners to sit together and hear, in real time, what each side actually values, what frustrates them, and what makes them switch. Salon and spa owners will share what builds long-term loyalty and what makes them walk away, allowing brands and distributors to compare these insights with their own strategies. The panel will also analyse whether investing in technical and business education remains a powerful loyalty tool or has simply become a standard expectation. Finally, speakers will tackle the sustainability of professional margins in 2026 and explore how the differing expectations of the next generation of salon professionals will impact the industry.

Panel 2: Professional only is dead - long live professional

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

A "professional only" approach as a pure strategy is effectively over for most brands. The question is no longer whether to sell through multiple channels, but how to do it without destroying the professional channel that gave your brand its credibility. The session will explore whether "professional only" is still viable in 2026 or if it is holding brands back, while examining how successful multichannel brands maintain a sense of exclusivity. The panel will also address the changing role of distributors when brands sell directly via Amazon, retail, and DTC. Finally, speakers will tackle the critical issue of price integrity - identifying who is responsible for enforcing it and what happens when nobody does.

Networking lunch & exhibition visit

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

Panel 3: The talent problem nobody talks about

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

For a people-driven industry, the B2B beauty and hair sector is surprisingly bad at talking about people. Finding, developing, and keeping great talent - from sales teams to educators - is a major barrier to growth where many businesses quietly struggle. This session brings the challenge into the open. The discussion will explore why finding top-tier commercial talent is so difficult and how smaller brands or distributors can build a culture that competes with industry giants. The panel will also highlight the crucial, often undervalued role of the brand educator. Finally, speakers will address what the next generation of talent actually expects from employers, alongside the unique challenges of succession planning when a business revolves entirely around its founder.

Panel 4: When to sell, when to scale, when to stay

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

This session dissects the exit and growth financing question - an issue most founders think about constantly but rarely discuss publicly. Two founders at different stages of their business journey share their contrasting perspectives, with one having taken on external investment or sold, and the other having deliberately chosen to remain independent. The discussion will explore the exact moments and triggers that led these founders to seriously consider an exit or external funding. Speakers will also unpack the reality versus the expectation of private equity in the professional hair and beauty sector, while contrasting this with the true costs and genuine freedom of remaining owner-managed. Finally, the panel will analyse how a business's ownership structure ultimately impacts its distributor relationships, its team, and its overall brand positioning.

Open forum: You ask, they answer

International Manufacturers & Distributors Forum

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.