INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE
SHOW STORIES PPS invites five executives from the nursery and toy sectors – Sam Lockey, sales director, The Puppet Company; Neil Montgomery, UK commercial director, Juratoys; Karen Clarke, brand director, Smart Toys and Games; Charlotte Harvey, national account manager, Orange Tree Toys; and Amy Wildman, sales and marketing director, Halilit – to discuss how the spring trade fairs were for them, the products which attracted the most attention and the biggest things they’d missed about attending and exhibiting at shows.
Sam Lockey
Neil Montgomery
Karen Clarke
FIRSTLY, WHICH SHOWS HAVE YOU ATTENDED SO FAR THIS YEAR? Sam: “The Giving + Living Show Exeter and Toy Fair, and we exhibited at Spring Fair and Top Drawer.” Neil: “We exhibited at the Toy Fair, Spring Fair and Top Drawer this year; we didn’t want to miss out.” Karen: “This year we welcomed customers onto our new stand at both London Toy Fair and Spring Fair. Nuremburg toy fair was also on the calendar but sadly it was not meant to be this year. It was great to be back!” Charlotte: “We exhibited at London Toy Fair, Spring Fair and Top Drawer this year.” Amy: “We were at London Toy Fair.” IF YOU WERE EXHIBITING, HOW WAS THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE? WERE YOU BUSY THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE SHOW, GOOD FOOTFALL OF RETAILERS/ VISITORS TO THE STAND, WALK ONS, ACTUAL ORDERS PLACED, ETC? Sam: “We had our best ever Spring Fair in the history of the company, taking the largest number of orders we have ever received which accumulated to the highest value we have ever received. Despite concerns over the pandemic, the shows went smoothly and taking precautions to stay safe were important. Exeter was also a very successful show, although a lot smaller than Spring Fair, with the leads we received at Top Drawer hoping to add some nice additional turnover.”
Charlotte Harvey
Amy Wildman
Neil: “Toy Fair was a fantastic show for us; the busiest I’ve experienced in my six years with the company. It is always such an important show to set the tone for the year with customers able to get a real feel for what products are being launched throughout the year and to start making plans to develop the business. It was our first time back at Spring Fair for a while and we found it to be a good show, albeit very different from Toy Fair. Top Drawer is always a good show for us, but the storm did not Below: The Puppet Company’s help our cause. No new Walking Eco Puppets were a hit at Spring Fair and have been doubt we felt the drop nominated in Gift of the Year. off in footfall, but it was still good to be there, and we still opened some really nice new accounts that we look forward to working with.” Karen: “We approached both shows with an open mind and moderate expectations. Although visitor numbers were down from previous years, we were delighted to see so many familiar faces, as well as meet a lot of new customers that had been looking to offer Smart Toys & Games
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22/03/2022 19:39