1,105 exhibitors (2017: 1,068) from 10 countries and regions including Australia, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden and Taiwan showcased their products throughout seven halls during the three-day shows. The events were highly sought after by industry players, with the visitor number also increasing 5% to 56,549 (2017: 53,856). The two concurrent events were held from 8 – 10 April at the Poly World Trade Center Expo in Guangzhou, China. Given the show’s significant development this year, Ms Wendy Wen, Senior General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd expressed her confidence that the events will continue to be an influential driving force for the China toy market. “Although there are challenges for the global toy industry in general, we can tell that the China market is still a promising one with unprecedented demand from customers. For the past three decades, we’ve served as an effective business platform for exhibitors and buyers. Exhibitors succeeded in promoting their brands and getting orders at the shows and more and more buyers were impressed by the wide range of competitive and innovative products on offer.”
Exhibitor opinions
Mr Alex Chen, Idol Eyes, Australia
“The China market has become a must-attend for any business. The spending power of the middle class in China is something that nowhere else in the world can match. This fair has brought together people from all over the world. There are good quality buyers here, not just from China, but from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, India and even Japanese buyers coming here to buy products for their market.”
Mr Wiseman Wong, Sales Director (China), Zhuyu (Shenzhen) Trading Co Ltd (A Zuru Group Affiliate), New Zealand
“We can tell from the popularity of Super Wings, Peppa Pig, GG Bond and other characters that the licensing market in China has been growing significantly. This show serves as an effective platform for licensing promotion. Although our company is relatively new to the China market, we see great potential here. It was a great show for us this year as some top retailers including Toys “R” Us and Walmart came to talk with us. This show really helps brands like ours to expand in the China market quickly, plus there are also international clients coming to our booth.”
Ms Yan Li, Domestic Sales Representative, Rastar Group, China
“The visitor flow is high, and we already welcomed nearly 500 customers in the past two days. Apart from existing clients we planned to meet, we got in touch with more new customers this year. Compared to the previous edition, I found that the shows have become more international with more quality exhibitors and overseas buyers.”
Buyer opinions
Ms Annie Watt, Special Projects, Brain Bytes Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
“This fair is pretty amazing because it has a very wide spectrum of different exhibitors, including domestic and international zones, which is very relevant to my needs. Compared to other fairs I attend, I feel there’s a lot more innovation here. The Chinese exhibitors are also very good at addressing the millennial market too, with a lot of options such as robotics here. Compared to last year, the fair has definitely improved in terms of exhibitors, product range, quality and innovation.”
Mr Eric Tan Lee Teck, Kids Station Marketing Sdn Bhd, Malaysia
“I have been visiting Guangzhou toy fair for many years. It is convenient for me to source as I can meet many suppliers under one roof. The majority of the exhibitors here are manufacturers instead of agents, so they are really efficient and flexible in satisfying my sourcing needs. I used to visit other China fairs throughout the year, but now I only attend the Guangzhou show. Here I can source products for the entire upcoming year. The suppliers here are also flexible in taking orders. I have already placed orders with several exhibitors.”
Mr Dong, Executive Manager, Nanjing MoXiaoQiao E-commerce Company Ltd, China
“Although there are some other toy shows in other cities in China, this show is larger in scale. There are more exhibitors, more products on offer and more innovative products, so I prefer to visit this show for sourcing.”
Domestic and international speakers enriched the shows’ offering with their insights
This year’s shows cooperated with renowned media Global Toy Experts to organise the Toy Talks Forum for the first time. Experts from domestic industry leaders like KingBee and Kidsland, as well as representatives from international organisations such as Euromonitor and Living in Digital Times, shared their views on the current trends and future developments of the global and Chinese toy industries in the half-day forum. “With this forum, we attempted to bring in more international elements as well as insights from different parties to the shows. We are delighted that the conference room was packed with audience who were keen to learn from our speakers,” Ms Wen added. The moderator of the forum and a newcomer to the shows, Richard Gottlieb, CEO of Global Toy Experts was also impressed. “The forum was outstanding as the audience was so engaged. It was invaluable in understanding China and how to do business in China.” Apart from the Toy Talks Forum, domestic-oriented seminars also succeeded in providing insights about the local market.
Toy & Hobby China and Baby & Stroller China are organised by Guangdong Toy Association, Guangzhou Li Tong Messe Frankfurt Co Ltd and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. The next fairs will take place in April 2019.
For more information, please visit www.chinatoyfair.com or www.chinababyfair.com.
-end-
Note to editors:
For more opinions from exhibitors and buyers, please visit https://guangzhou-international-toy-and-hobby-fair.hk.messefrankfurt.com/guangzhou/en/exhibitors/welcome.html
https://guangzhou-international-toy-and-hobby-fair.hk.messefrankfurt.com/guangzhou/en/visitors/welcome.html
A selection of photos from the fairs can be found here:
https://www.hk.messefrankfurt.com/hongkong/en/media/consumer-goods/toyfair_gz/media.html
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,500* employees at some 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €661* million. Thanks to its far-reaching ties with the relevant sectors and to its international sales network, the Group looks after the business interests of its customers effectively. A comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent). * preliminary numbers 2017
For more information, please visit our website at:
www.messefrankfurt.com | www.congressfrankfurt.de | www.festhalle.de
Download
- GZTF18-fr-eng (pdf, 167 KB)