Special Feature
INDX Toys & Nursery
It’s showtime!
Rosie Marshall, head of Toys & Children’s Gifts at Playroom, the toy division of AIS, chats to Sam Giltrow about the upcoming rebranded INDX Toys & Nursery, and what AIS is doing to help its members navigate the year ahead.
M
embers of the AIS buying group and other specialist toy retailers will be heading to the West Midlands’ Cranmore Park exhibition centre in just a few days’ time, as they return for the group’s annual domestic show. Cancelled in 2020, the Independent Toy & Gift Show was staged in September 2021 instead of its usual April date, but this year it returns to its traditional April slot in a new guise, after being rebranded as INDX Toys & Nursery. The reason behind the new name, Rosie explains, is to bring the show inline with all of AIS’s 26 other trade shows which span the categories of fashion, homewares and sports & leisure and come under the INDX (Independent Exhibitions) brand. It was also,
she adds, a strategic move to allow more crossover across the categories: “We are finding there is product crossover within so many different areas. For instance, our last toy and gift show had some sports and leisure suppliers who attended and their show at the end of last year had some toy suppliers. So, it’s a wider database, and it benefits everyone by being so – visitors and suppliers.” There will be some differences to the show – notably the inclusion of nursery gifts – and though the exhibitor numbers are the same as for the 2019 show, Rosie says the rebranding has attracted some first-time attendees, including toy companies Little Concepts and Dantoy. The theme for this year’s show, which takes place
Cranmore Park Exhibition Centre, Solihull Show times: Wednesday 6th April 2022: 09:00 - 17:00 Thursday 7th April 2022: 09:00 - 17:00 Free admission and free refreshments for independent retail buyers. Convenient central location just 5 minutes from M42 J4. Free on-site parking.
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on 6th/7th April, will be ‘Sustainability’, in line with increased demand for products made from alternative materials and made using green methods. “I think the toy industry has been under the radar for a little while in terms of sustainability, but it’s something consumers are very much aware of, so we decided to go with this theme and I think it’s a strong choice,” says Rosie. “Post-pandemic, it’s noticeable that everyone is making more considered choices, thinking about the products they are buying and doing what they can to step away from a throwaway culture.” Rosie is also pleased that some key exhibitors that were missing from the London Toy Fair in January will be appearing at the INDX Toys & Nursery Show.
