Page 20 - Toy & Hobby Retailer Magazine May-July 2019

INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIRS
SPIELWARENMESSE 2019
Spielwarenmesse goes platinum
Frohes Jubiläum! - Happy Anniversary! The world’s largest toy fair turned 70 in 2019. Imogen Bailey reports from Nuremburg Messe.
many Australian stands. First cab off the rank was Papoose Toys, whose crowning-jewel display was a large dinosaur environment, complete with an exploded volcano. Playing into the food trend I noticed in Hong Kong, Renske Carbone at Papoose also had felt food packs on display, ranging from a Bento Box pack to a pasta pack to a wide array of bread – something I would come to learn is a must for any German establishment offering food.
At the Hunter Products stand, Maddie Hunter and Jordan Bannister showed me the new compound Mallo, which comes in three different textures – creamy, silky and melting – to satisfy a range of sensory play needs. Also on show was the Bubble Babies Baby Bubble Blower – a larger version of their collectable Bubble Babies – who blows bubbles out of his bib. They also reinforced Fiona's advice about how great a particular sausage cart was, but alas I wasn't able to find it.
Across the way at Colorific, the Cheeky Chaserz were one of the product highlights, with Mark Levi calling it, “the only electronic pet available which gets kids up and moving.” The little rascals have four different play modes, getting kids active and chasing the pets around the house to win different challenges in the play modes. The business was also showcasing its new family game, Shake Off – a game which again centres around physical activity – which gets families shaking their bodies to win challenges.
On The Little Architect stand, the Caponio family showed me the new ArchiPets range, which was inspired by feedback they received from their customers. I was also treated
to a lovely long sit-down and chat on their stand which my feet were absolutely grateful for.
Directly behind The Little Architect,
THE 2019 edition of the Spielwarenmesse marked the 70th anniversary of the world's biggest toy fair. Filling up 170,000m2 of exhibition space, the 2,886 exhibitors welcomed over 66,800 visitors from 132 countries, over the five days of the fair.
Revitalising the show for its platinum anniversary, the Spielwarenmesse organisers refreshed the hall structure and product groups.
“We push[ed] on with our plan to equip the Spielwarenmesse for the future. We restructur[ed] some of the product groups to reflect dynamic changes in the marketplace,” Spielwarenmesse CEO, Ernst Kick says.
The Electronic Toys product group was welcomed to Hall 4A, which housed robots, RC toys, virtual play and electronic educational toys. Meanwhile, Hall 7A saw the introduction of the combined Model Railway and Model Construction groups in 2019, while in Hall 9
the Festival Articles, Carnival and Fireworks segment expanded partly into Hall 8.
The ShowTime activity area was also a newly added feature to the 2019 Spielwarenmesse – equipped with a catwalk and a magic photo mirror – the area entertained visitors and exhibitors alike.
Licensing was also given a bigger stage at the 70th edition of the show, with the organisers introducing LicenseTalks – a new licensing- focused program of events.
After the hustle and bustle of the opening day of the fair, day one was brought to a close with the ToyNight celebrations. Themed 'Spirit of Play' the magic cross monster show combined quick-change and disappearing magic with freaky monsters who didn't hesitate to scare people in the crowd.
Wandering the 12 halls – and I thought Hong Kong was a big show! – I frequented
20 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER MAY / JULY 2019