NURSERYindustry News Baby Show gets ready to ExCel in London


The UK’s leading pregnancy and parenting event, the Baby Show, is preparing to open its doors to the public once again at London’s ExCel on 21 February. The ExCel show, now in its 8th year, has the potential to attract tens of thousands of visitors from London and the South East of England. The 2013 event welcomed 22,000 people to its stands over three days, including many members of the press and a number of influential bloggers. Brands getting ready to showcase their products to consumers include such high profile names as Britax, Bebecar, Stokke, Chicco, Cosatto, Dorel and Joie among many others.


Exhibiting retailers include Baby Planet, Babies R Us, Kiddisave, Mothercare, and Peppermint London. Baby Planet’s Zaheer Sattar spoke of his team’s excitement at taking part and added: “The show provides a great way to meet a high volume of expectant families looking to buy. There has been a shift in recent years towards visitors looking for a complete nursery package as opposed to purchasing individual items.”


Nix Jain of the Chicco marketing team also spoke of his enthusiasm. “For me, The Baby Show series is a busy marketplace for the UK’s best brands to showcase their ranges all under one roof.


Cybex and Goodbaby in strategic merger


to benefit from each other’s skills, expertise and distribution networks.


Leading German child safety and lifestyle brand CYBEX is to merge with Goodbaby, a Hong-Kong listed company with headquarters in China, in a strategic move which aims to create a major new force in the premium baby products industry.


The Goodbaby Group, including both its listed and non-listed business, is reported to have generated an annual turnover of about $1bn (approx £609m) in 2012 and has more than 20,000 employees. It is involved in the research and development, design, manufacture, marketing and sale of strollers, car seats, cribs, bicycles and other products.


Cybex is a leading producer of car seats, strollers and baby carriers and has received more than 200 safety and design awards such as the coveted ADAC and Red Dot Design Award. The merger offers distinct opportunities for both companies


page 4 www.nursery-industry.co.uk


Goodbaby founder and CEO Mr Song Zheng Huan commented: "I met CYBEX founder Martin Pos for the first time in 2005 at the Kind+Jugend fair in Cologne. Even though CYBEX was only beginning to take its first step, the huge potential of this brand was astonishing. I recognised myself as a young entrepreneur in Martin and I could immediately see his visionary potential.”


CYBEX will remain managed by Martin Pos and his partner and managing director Matthias Steinacker and will become European headquarters for the Goodbaby Group.


Martin Pos will also become a shareholder and core member of senior management of Goodbaby. It is expected that he will focus on Goodbaby’s overall brand portfolio, marketing and strategic development.


He commented: “We are incredibly excited about the opportunities of this partnership. Mr Song has always been a close mentor, entrepreneurial role model and friend. I am thrilled that CYBEX will be a member of the Goodbaby Group. We can clearly strengthen CYBEX's global position through access to world- class engineering, manufacturing, and a strong Asian distribution.” http://cybex-online.com/gb


“It gives consumers the chance to play with new products, compare different promotions and experience everything nursery brands have to offer. For us, it’s a great platform to tell our brand story to our target consumer.” A number of companies will be exhibiting for the first time, including Buggy Lights, Toto Kidogo and Cuddleboo.


New for 2014 is the Midwifery Clinic, courtesy of The Women’s Health Research Centre, which will be providing a complimentary drop-in centre for visitors who might benefit from talking to a midwife. Visitor facilities will also include the Tommee


Tippee Feeding Area, The Joie Pit Stop Cafe, Emma’s Diary Shop-and-Drop and The Fisher-Price Creche.


Free trade tickets are available from the Baby Show website.


www.thebabyshow.co.uk/excel Stokke is sold to investors NXMH


Premium baby goods manufacturer Stokke has sold all outstanding shares in the business to investors NXMH. The landmark sale sees ownership of the Stokke brand passed to the investment company based in Belgium. NXMH is wholly owned by South Korea’s NXC - the largest shareholder in the Nexon Corporation.


Stokke has been under family ownership since it was was founded in 1932 and has headquarters in Norway. It has become well-known in recent years for its award-winning, innovative products, which have included the adjustable Trip Trapp highchair and the Xplory Buggy.


Rune Stokke, member of the Stokke family and Stokke board member said he was confident the brand had found the right partner to transition it from family ownership and added: “I believe NXMH’s expertise in growth markets and e-commerce will greatly benefit the company and allow it to reach its


full potential.”


Thomas Settevik, CEO of Stokke agreed that NXMH “represents an excellent new owner for the company with its long-term perspective” and spoke of confidence that the new owners would be able to “expand the commercial potential of the company and its iconic products even further.”


Christopher Moon, CEO of NXMH said: “Stokke is one of the most promising consumer brands in Europe. With its rich heritage and strong innovation capabilities, Stokke has the potential to become the global number one in the baby and children’s products market.” www.stokke.com


Joolz launches in Mothercare


Premium dutch travel system brand Joolz is to launch in 10 Mothercare stores in the UK, it has been announced. The ergonomically- designed buggies will also be available from the Mothercare catalogue. Creative director and owner of Joolz Emile Kuenen commented: “It is a very exciting and positive move for Joolz to be available to buy from a British institution like Mothercare... an incredibly well- known and respected parenting brand. We are delighted that this will further increase Joolz’ brand presence in the UK.” Mothercare Global Product Director


Mary Love added: “We are delighted to be working with Joolz and expanding the range of choice which Mothercare offers to our customers.”


Mothercare will


stock the Joolz Day Earth Collection in Lobster Red and Parrot Blue as well as the new Studio Collection Gris. The full Joolz range, including accessories, can be ordered in store. www.my-joolz.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28