Spielwarenmesse kicks off this Wednesday with more than 2,800 exhibitors | Key4Communications | News

Spielwarenmesse kicks off this Wednesday with 2,857 exhibitors displaying what the international toy market holds in store for 2015. This year the leading trade fair for toys, hobbies and leisure has an offering from 67 countries and is expecting around 75,000 trade visitors from more than 100 countries . Manufacturers of accessories, playroom furniture and interior design present their products in a separate area of their own in the Centre Foyer for the first time. The TrendGallery in Hall 3A shows international hits and ToyAward nominees and winners.

The number of lifestyle and trend articles is growing in the toy industry. The fair organisers have now designated a separate exhibition area for the lifestyle and trend article product group introduced in 2014. In the Centre Foyer 50 manufacturers display accessories and decorative articles, designer toys, stationery, fashion and licensed articles. Over the entire exhibition centre around 250 exhibitors also have offerings in this product group in their portfolios.

The major international trends in the toy industry scouted by the Spielwarenmesse international TrendCommittee are on show in the TrendGallery in Hall 3A. The nine trend scouts found out that Little Scientists are gaining ground. Toys introduce young explorers to STEM subjects, science, technology, engineering and maths. They foster childlike curiosity and explain the world in play. The second trend spotted by the TrendCommittee is new approaches to handicrafts which they coined Express Yourself. Small and older children love to express their personalities by making things themselves or enhancing accessories and everyday items with a personal touch. The third trend, Beyond Reality takes technology for small and older children to the next level. Toys can be controlled by body movement or voice recognition, accessories or clothes equipped with advanced technology, or children design their own toys and produce them at home on a 3D printer. Background information on the trends and the latest marketing insights is additionally supplied in the Toy Business Forum in the TrendGallery at presentations held daily.

Directly adjacent to the TrendGallery companies demonstrate their potential for innovation. In the New Exhibitor Centre 54 new manufacturers from 25 countries are presenting their toys in Nuremberg for the first time. Next door, the communal Young Innovative Companies pavilion completes the creative pool in Hall 3A.

Toy retailers on the look-out for ideas for their ranges can find them in Hall 7 and 7A in the model building and hobbies product group. Increasingly, models are available boxed ready for play. Controls are becoming more user-friendly, even for inexperienced pilots, or are equipped with safety functions, making RC models an interesting option for the toy trade. In the PowerLounge Revell/Hobbico, Multiplex, Aero Naut and Horizon present hobby products suitable as starter items for retailers.

The manufacturers in the model train set and accessories product group will present their new playing incentives for young enthusiasts in a communal area in Hall 4A.

The works of 26 young designers who participated in the Spielwarenmesse ToyDesign 2020 Talent Contest will be on display in the ToyDesign 2020 exhibition in Passage 3A/4A throughout the fair.