The fair’s left town
The BTHA Toy Fair sped by in a three-day blur that saw the show welcoming hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors. Tom Roberts reports.
T
he BTHA Toy Fair, now in its 61st year, once again proved to be a resounding success. Having expanded to fully occupy Olympia’s Upper West Hall, this year’s show accommodated more than 280 exhibiting companies, including 76 brand new exhibitors.
Simon Pilling, head of Toy Fair operations and sales, commented: “We would like to thank all of our exhibitors, and the industry as a whole, for helping make Toy Fair 2014 a success. The continued support the toy industry gives to Toy Fair is second to none. There were thousands of exciting and innovative products launched at Toy Fair this year and it kick- started what we all hope to be a successful year for the toy industry.” Majen Immink, senior communications manager at
the BTHA, added: “We have had really good feedback from both exhibitors and visitors. With regards to the full expansion into the Upper West Hall, we have had feedback that the area was vibrant and busy and full of natural light. Exhibitors were really pleased with the quality of visitors and many reported that their orders placed at the show had doubled. The number of exhibiting companies at this year’s show increased to more than 280 largely due to the expanded fl oor space in the Upper West Hall. Our visitor numbers however have remained much the same over the years as we focus on maintaining the quality of visitors to the show.” Simon added that though there are no plans to expand the show signifi cantly in 2015, the BTHA will be making use of some existing storage areas to either increase the size of stands or create new ones wherever possible. He also told me that at 2014’s show the Greenhouse was very popular and is now subject to a
34 Toyworld
growing waiting list. “It was a very busy area with many new connections being made. It’s great to see some of the Greenhouse exhibitors thrive and we have already had some requests for larger stand space from those in that section on the back of a successful 2014 show,” he said.
The annual Toy Industry Awards (covered in detail
starting on page 36) moved to the London Science Museum where the industry came together to celebrate the best in toy retail and supply for 2013. The Awards night was a fantastic evening, made all the more prestigious by the surroundings. Majen Immink confi rmed: “The feedback on this year’s sold out Awards event has been overwhelmingly positive. The move to London’s Science Museum was met with approval and proved to be a fantastic setting on the night. Guests especially felt the reception area was visually spectacular as well as being a great space for networking and celebrating post ceremony. The food was enjoyed and the free buses from Olympia also worked very well.” Toy Fair TV, including the Demo Zone, was expanded to cover all three days after the success of its introduction in 2013, and was hosted by TV presenters Anna Williamson and Gavin Inskip. Exhibitors had further opportunities to showcase their products on the 23 screens broadcasting live throughout Toy Fair as well as on the Toy Fair website. Media coverage was also strong with fi ve interview pieces featuring on BBC Breakfast at the opening morning of the show. Other broadcast coverage included Newsround, BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, BBC 5Live and a host of BBC and independent regional radio stations. National print coverage included items in The Sun, The Sun on Sunday, Daily Mirror, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, Evening Standard
and the Daily Mail.
And the success of the show has already resulted in some exhibitors rebooking their stands. Epoch Making Toys was the fi rst company to re-sign for next year’s Toy Fair and was presented with a bottle of champagne by Simon, who added: “So far we are up to 15% rebookings. The exhibitors are busy promoting and selling at the show, so we don’t pursue them on-site to rebook straight away, and we appreciate it’s a busy time of year so we don’t wish to bombard exhibitors immediately after the show closes either. They have until the 31st March to rebook their same location, which gives them plenty of time to refl ect on their time at the show and make the decision whether to rebook. Key information has already been sent out, but, of course, we will remind them at appropriate points prior to the deadline. We have already had a number of enquiries from potential new exhibitors for next year’s show, which is fantastic.” Green Board Games and fi rst-time exhibitor
MiniMaster Sports Company were presented with trophies as part of the Annual Best Stand Awards. The stands were judged by the BTHA team, and the awards were presented by Simon Pilling and Frank Martin, BTHA Chairman. Green Board Games won Best Designed Stand 2014, with its diner-themed stand and free milkshakes for visitors. First-time exhibitor MiniMaster Sports Company, represented by the two gents dressed as golfers you will have no doubt seen around the show, was awarded the Best Use of an Offi cial Economy Shell Stand. The feedback I personally received from exhibitors
was overwhelmingly positive, among those who got in touch was Paul Fogarty, managing director of K’Nex UK, who said: “Undoubtedly the highlight of Toy Fair for us was the incredible reaction that we had from
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