After 2023 gets off to a flying start with the London and Nuremberg Toy Fairs, John Baulch shares his thoughts on what may happen with the rest of the trade show calendar.
Toy Fair season 2023 is set to look very different from the traditional January/ February period. For starters, the long established trip to Hong Kong in the opening days of the New Year is off again this year for the vast majority of European and American visitors. The Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair was expected to be a largely domestic event this time round, with a reasonable possibility that visitors will also attend from other Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Singapore and the like.
The timing of the show is unfortunate; just before Christmas, it was announced that Hong Kong would be scrapping the ‘0+3’ arrangement, meaning that visitors who test negative no longer need an amber health code and can enter restaurants and other premises previously off limits to them. Sadly, the move almost certainly came slightly too late for travelers from the international toy community to make last-minute arrangements to visit this month.
The January trip, which started as predominantly an FOB buying trip, had grown to become much more than that; but, post-pandemic, will we see a return to its core function? And will buyers still need to go to Hong Kong several times a year? The jury is out, but the majority verdict from my contacts suggests that one trip a year will suffice – and January is probably the best timing.
However, there are other factors at play, chiefly over in the USA, and in particular, in Los Angeles. US retailers and vendors were always an integral part of the Hong Kong scene, but some believe they are less likely to return than other international visitors, with the growing importance of LA-based events being cited as the principal reason. Indeed, not only is this impacting international travel plans, but is has also had a seismic impact on the US trade show calendar.
For now, 2023 will get off to a flying start in Q1 with the London and Nuremberg Toy Fairs. After that, like everyone else, Toy World will be watching closely to see what happens with the rest of the calendar.
One thing is for sure: just because the toy industry has done something a certain way for many years is no guarantee that it will continue to do the same thing moving forward.
To read John’s exploration of this topic in more depth, see the full article, which appeared in the January edition of Toy World, here.
