Report of the International Toy Fair 2011

• Fair finishes with 79.000 visitors (2010: 76.637)
• Increasing internationalization
• Successful launching of Toys go green

The Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg 2011 signals that the toy industry is still on the up. After a strong year of business, the industry was full of optimism and ready for innovations and ideas. With its knowledge, innovation and network programme, the leading fair from 3-8 February 2011 generated many ideas and was rated exceptionally favourably. A total of 79,000 visitors came to Nuremberg (2010: 76,637).

The share of international visitors rose to 54 per cent (2010: 53 per cent). Most of the visitors from abroad came from Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain, followed by Russia, which made it to the top ten visiting countries for the first time. The large international share of exhibitors (69 per cent) also proves that the International Toy Fair is the dominant marketplace for the industry. This is also emphasized by Nico Blauw, Managing Director of Upper Deck International B.V.: “The international share of visitors in Nuremberg is very large. In contrast to fairs such as New York, where the visitors are mainly from the USA and Canada, at the International Toy Fair we meet our customers from all over the world.” Mark Hoijtink, General Manager Northern Europe Hasbro, agrees: “Hasbro appears in Nuremberg with a team of more than 200 sales and marketing directors and sales managers. As we are expanding in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the importance of the International Toy Fair for us grows with increasing internationalization.” 

Companies that focus on Nuremberg invested heavily in their stand concept. Likewise Lego GmbH: “The great importance of the International Toy Fair has increased again and worldwide,” stresses Managing Director Dirk Engehausen. The exhibitors’ presentations and the new Mitte (central) entrance of the Nuremberg exhibition centre created a completely fresh new look for the International Toy Fair.

The Toys go green special also brought fresh colour into the discussions. Both exhibitors and traders received many ideas on how to implement the value creation chain in a more sustainable way. Over half the visitors rated the presentation of the theme islands as good or very good. Ernst Kick, Chief Executive Officer of Spielwarenmesse eG, made it clear that Toys go green is only the first step of a process that the fair organizers will continue over the coming years.

Besides Toys go green, the extensive range of ToyKnowHow included the Toy Business Forum and the 2nd Global Toy Conference. The visitors at the Toy Business Forum were particularly interested in the presentations on trends and the market. The conference, which took place on 8.2.2011, covered sustainability, toy safety, social networks and online marketing and attracted some 200 participants (2010: 110).

One striking aspect during the International Toy Fair was that buyers and traders increasingly looked for new products in 2011. This was shown by both the visitor survey and the heavily frequented InnovationCenter, where many visitors obtained an overview of the latest products in the presentation area. Here they also voted for the main winner of the ToyAward from the winners of the five categories: Yookidoo’s Stack `N` Spray Fountain in the category Baby&Infant (0-2 years) won the most votes and the prize of 20,000 euros for its fountain for small children. The colourful trays can be combined in various ways to change the fountains. The visitors rated the range of products in the newly integrated product group Baby and Infant Articles as exceptionally good.

Overall, both the exhibitors and visitors confirmed the development of the International Toy Fair as thoroughly positive. Peter Broegger, Managing Director of Mattel GmbH, summed up his impressions of the toy fair: “With its continuing success and the ability to renew itself, the Nuremberg toy fair is once again the most important toy fair for Mattel.” 

The International Toy Fair is already well equipped for 2012, as 87 per cent of the visitors and 92 per cent of the exhibitors confirmed their intention to take part again. Next year’s Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg takes place from Wednesday to Monday, 1-6.2.2012. By starting the fair a day earlier, the organizer intentionally offers international visitors more consecutive workdays.

Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS

One of the top toys of 2011 is one that most people will be familiar with. Well, they’ll be familiar with the name of the company that makes the toy and with the type of toy that it is, and that’s because the company has been around for a very long time. The Nerf company has been creating high quality children’s items for longer than most of us can remember, and in the last dozen or so years they have managed to take children’s love of guns to a fun and safe place. The newest arsenal in their line of weaponry is something that has to be seen to be believed, because, to put it in the words of children that have used it, it’s “just too cool”.

The Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS is a blaster that definitely looks amazing. It has been compared to weapons on popular war games like Halo and, if it were black, would likely look just like a real gun. The bright paint scheme, however, keeps it looking like what it is, a child’s toy, which is definitely a good thing. What makes this choice unlike many of the other guns that have come out from the same company is that it is fully automatic. With most other items from this company, children have to pump up the gun in order to get it to fire, and while that is fairly easy for teens and pre-teens, younger children often have a difficult time of it. The fact that it is fully automatic is one thing that puts it on the list of best toys 2011.
Aside from how it looks, the Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS actually works really beautifully. There are many additions and features on it that you won’t find on any other gun, like the blast shield. The blast shield attaches to the front of the gun and gives those playing with it a way to hide behind the gun without shot in the face while, at the same time, giving them a way to see through to their target. The hand grip is removable and also doubles as a tripod, which is ideal for younger children who want to have a steady grip or those who like to lay down or use a tripod to steady their blaster. The gun also gets amazing distance, with people able to shoot their darts 30 feet away straight out of the box, and the fact that it is loaded with clips makes it easy to reload when you’re in the middle of a Nerf war.
There are some bad sides, like the fact that it is a bit heavy. The gun weighs in at 2 pounds when the 6 D-cell batteries are added, which can get heavy for a younger child to carry around for long periods of time. And while the automated shooting is ideal, and allows you to fire off 30 darts in just ten seconds, the clips can take awhile to load, which is not good if you’re in the middle of a Nerf war.
All in all the Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS is definitely one of the best guns that the company has come out with in a long time, and is likely to be a favorite of all enthusiasts.
по материалам сайта http://besttoysguide.com