Nuremberg Toy Fair: a retrospective
The 2013 Nuremberg Toy Fair was a rousing success, with close to 74,000 visitors arriving to see almost 3,000 exhibitors from around the world. Tom Roberts reports.
because of the difficult economic situation, and Roger added that “this year I feel many remained content with what was a successful national show at Olympia, and Spring Fair also remains attractive to UK independents”. Obtaining sensible prices for hotels in
stand to around 2,500m² has created space for extra meeting rooms and more visitors. We have received a great deal of positive feedback from our business partners regarding the complete stand redesign and our extensive product portfolio.
T
he 2013 Nuremberg Toy Fair offered 2,747 exhibitors access to national distribution channels and international sales opportunities. 73,500 traders and buyers came from 113 countries, with almost
80% of them being decision-makers, and around 92% of the exhibitors said they would return next year. Hermann Otten, managing director sales
Germany at Ravensburger Spieleverlag, said: “The mood at the International Toy Fair was excellent, and all the major customers were there.” Stephan Tahy, vice president and country manager Germany/Austria/Switzerland at Mattel, remarked: “The investment in our new fair stand with its new design shows that the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg is one of Mattel’s most important fairs for national as well as international visitors. Extending the
72 Toyworld
Reaction Roger Sherman of Patt Expo, the UK office of the Nuremberg show, indicated that “from the responses and reaction of exhibitors and visitors alike, it seems that Spielwarenmesse has very much enhanced and retained its reputation as the world’s best toy trade fair”. Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse, concurred, and said that he was “satisfied with the way the International Toy Fair 2013 went”, but that he would have liked to have greeted more visitors from the United Kingdom. He said: “1,697 UK attendees came to Nuremberg this year, in contrast to 2,155 the year before. We definitely suffered from the lack of the previously good air link to London. We will negotiate with the airline again this year in order to find a solution for 2014. Basically, we will assess the results of the International Toy Fair in detail to determine what we can still improve.” And how did the exhibitors feel about the show?
Ernst said: “The exhibitors have said they were very satisfied with the visitors who came to the International Toy Fair. There were actually fewer visitors than last year (73,500 compared with 76,000 in 2012), but the right ones were there, because the share of decision-makers was a phenomenal 80%.” Ernst added that the exhibitors accordingly rate their participation as “successful” and “91.3% of them hold out the prospect of exhibiting in Nuremberg again in 2014”. There were 23 new British exhibitors at
Nuremberg this year, and this was offered up as a reason for the decline in UK attendance because it’s possible that these 23 new British exhibitors removed around 60 or so people from those who might otherwise have visited. Another reason was that buyers from smaller independent retailers also find it increasingly difficult to attend
Nuremberg is also deemed “a persistent problem”, but the merger of Baxter Hoare Travel and DER Tours offers some hope that the future will see some encouraging prices on offer. Roger said: “However, early booking remains essential; something which I understand can be difficult in itself for the smaller companies.” The final suggested reason is probably the most compelling; Roger said that he personally thought the “profile of the visitor might be changing slightly with the growth of online purchasing, the interest in toys from licensees/ors, TV companies and the 3.0 generation. For The Nuremberg Toy Fair it means we may have to make a greater effort to reach an additional brand of clientele”. In regards to the Toys 3.0 generation, the special theme of this year’s show was Toys 3.0 the future of toys, Ernst said that “we chose the right theme at the right time, because our task as fair organiser is to trigger discussion. The new forms of play, which also result for classic toys through the use of mobile terminals, leave no one in the toy industry cold. Some manufacturers welcome the new opportunities opened up for their products; others see the development as a threat to playing ‘unplugged’. Everyone can have their own opinion of Trend Toys 3.0, but none of us can argue away the existence of this development.”
Next year Roger said that “plans are well ahead” already for 2014. He went on to say that a “new hall, 3A, will be available next year, adding close to 10,000m2
gross space, which will be devoted to
wooden toys and craftworks”. The space vacated by those companies who were in Hall 3 will be occupied by the growing baby and infant sector, and another new sector will be added to cater for lifestyle and trend articles. “This should mean that the current waiting list of exhibitors will be able to be absorbed and the resulting show will be the largest-ever Spielwarenmesse,” said Roger. Ernst added: “We’d like to set a new trend in the development of the fair with the opening of Hall 3A. At last we’ll have enough space to extend the Baby and Infant product group with suppliers of prams, children’s car seats and furniture.” And looking to the future, Ernst hinted that there are more changes to come in a strategic goal for the event: “We also want to develop the International Toy Fair into a trend platform; visitors can begin to look forward to new concepts and more impetus.”
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