By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Following an enforced gap of three years, the Spielwarenmesse trade fair has resumed its place as an international networking event for the toy industry.
The Spielwarenmesse trade fair is owned and operated by the trade event organizer and marketing services company, Spielwarenmesse eG.
The business-to-business trade fair is intended as a communication and ordering platform for exhibitors across the categories of toys, hobbies, and leisure. Its presentations and comprehensive overview of the industry provides information for specialist retailers from around the world.
This year’s Spielwarenmesse trade show began on Feb. 1, 2023 at the exhibition centre in Nuremberg and came to a close on February 5. The event featured more than 2,000 exhibitors from 69 countries around the world.
Across the course of the five-day event, a total of fifty-eight thousand retailers and buyers from 128 different countries came to the trade fair.
This represents an 8% drop from the last event, due largely to the absence of guests from China and Russia. However, attendance grew by more than 10% among representatives from the American toy market.
“We are very happy with this positive result, which at close to pre-pandemic levels has exceeded our expectations,” said Spielwarenmesse spokesperson, Christian Ulrich.
Significant features of the trade show included the beginner-focused StartupArea, the trend-based Spielwarenmesse Specials showcase, the Game Inventors Convention, and the new networking party RedNight.
“The high level of enthusiasm that was apparent in all aspects of this year’s Spielwarenmesse is even now shining a light on the next event: 83% of exhibitors are already making firm plans to take part again,” said Ulrich. “Against the background of current changes in the trade fair landscape around the world, the Spielwarenmesse provides a stable anchor for the sector.”
The next edition of the international Spielwarenmesse toy fair is expected to take place at the end of January 2024.