Rosie Marshall, head of Toys & Children’s Gifts at Playroom, the toy division of AIS, chats to Sam Giltrow about the INDX Toys & Nursery show, which takes place on 6th/7th April.

This week will see members of the AIS buying group and other specialist toy retailers return to Solihull’s Cranmore Park exhibition centre for the group’s annual domestic show.

The event has been rebranded to the new name from the Independent Toy & Gift Show and Rosie explains this is due to bringing the show inline with AIS’s 26 other trade shows which span fashion, homewares and sport & leisure.

Retailers will be keen to get back to the show as it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and last year’s show did take place but was staged in September.

There will be a few differences to the rebranded show, Rosie tells Toy World, notably the inclusion of nursery gifts, and there are a few new attendees including Little Concepts and Dantoy, along with some exhibitors who were missing from the London Toy Fair in January.

Other noteable attendees include Lego, Mattel, MGA, Character Options, Hasbro, Spin Master, Playmobil and Moose Toys, plus many more.

With increased demand for products made from alternative materials and made using green methods, sustainability is the theme for this year’s show and it’s one which Rosie believes will go down well with visitors. “Post-pandemic, it’s noticeable that everyone is making more considered choices, thinking about the product they are buying and doing what they can to step away from a throwaway culture,” she says.

As with last September’s show, health and safety remains a priority and though Covid restrictions have now lifted, precautions will still be taken such as having wider aisles, sanitation points and thorough cleaning in place.

INDX Toys & Nursery is a free event and open to all retailers. For more information and to register, visit www.indxshows.co.uk (toys-nursery). You can also follow @INDXHome on social media.

Rosie also discusses in the April issue, how AIS is helping its members to navigate the post-pandemic period and beyond.

To read the full article in our April issue, click here.