Feature - Showcase

Showcase special

This special section includes details of new lines from companies that have taken the decision not to exhibit at any trade shows in the early part of 2022 or were not able to confirm participation at the time of going to press.

The show must go on…but not for everyone, at least not in 2022. Toy Fair Season 2021 was inevitably a wipeout, with every major January and February toy fair – Hong Kong, London, Nuremberg and New York – cancelled. Some shows attempted to postpone until later in the year, but their attempts to run an event at a later date did not prove fruitful.

As the year progressed, several trade shows were able to take place: here in the UK, the Independent Toy & Gift Show and the Autumn Fair both went ahead in September, while November saw BLE, the European licensing trade event, successfully run a show at Excel. Over in France, Pre-Show Noel occupied its traditional November time slot, and at that stage, hopes were high for Toy Fair Season 2022.

However, things took a nasty turn with the spread of the Omicron Covid variant across the world. Suddenly governments were faced with difficult decisions in the face of the most transmissible variant yet: should they ban international arrivals, while also reintroducing restrictions for their own citizens? The delicate balancing act between virus control and economic devastation returned to the fore, and there was inevitably a knock-on effect for the major toy shows.

Looking at January 2022, parts of the picture have been clear for some months, while other elements could change between when this article is written and you reading it. Let’s start with the ‘known knowns’: Hong Kong is definitely off limits for January and may remain so for many more months to come. Optimists point to the possibility of a summer re-opening of the borders, while others believe it could be as late as November before international visitors are welcomed back.

At the time of going to press, the Toy Association is adamant that the New York Toy Fair will be going ahead at the newly-expanded Javits Centre in the middle of February. Masks will need to be worn (strictly no exemptions), and vaccination status will be checked everywhere – if you are unvaccinated, there is literally no point in even attempting to travel.

Back in Europe, the picture has been changing on an almost daily basis over the past few weeks. Here in the UK, I have been reassured that the BTHA is monitoring the Covid situation extremely closely and working hard to ensure that everything possible is being done from its perspective to allow the London Toy Fair to go ahead safely. A further announcement will be made on January 5th, and we’ll keep you updated via our website with any further developments as soon as we have them.

However, there has been less encouraging news on the international travel front: after France banned UK travellers from entering the country, Germany followed suit on 18th December. What made the timing of the announcement all the more ironic was that a mere 48 hours earlier, the organisers of the Nuremberg Toy Fair had announced that following a review of the situation, they could confirm that the Spielwarenmesse would be going ahead as scheduled. Life certainly comes at you fast these days…

So, where are we now? For those who missed our online article on the new travel restrictions applying to Germany, UK visitors are currently banned from entering Germany for the next two weeks. That decision will be reviewed on 2nd January – at that point, the ban could either be extended or rescinded. There is no way of knowing which way the German government will go with this; it will largely depend on how Omicron case numbers evolve both here and in Germany over the festive period.

The uncertainty leaves Nuremberg’s 130 or so of UK exhibitors in limbo: if the ban stays in place, can they find a German partner to run the stand on their behalf? Or should they cancel the stand and risk not being there if the ban is lifted. It’s a tough call, but

the Nuremberg organisers are being remarkably decent by offering a safety net. I was told that there is a special right of termination clause for exhibitors who are prevented from leaving their home country or entering Germany. Officially, any such cancellation would have needed to be exercised by 31st December, but incredibly generously, the show organisers decided to extend that deadline until there is firm news from the German government.

One of the Spielwarenmesse’s new board of directors, Christian Ulrich, sent me the following email: “After our phone conversation yesterday, we discussed internally how we can support our UK exhibitors in their decision-making process. I can confirm that we can extend the special right of termination until 13th January for UK exhibitors. We hope that the travel/quarantine situation will get better and that UK companies will be able to participate in Spielwarenmesse 2022.” I am sure we all hope that – but if it isn’t possible, it is reassuring to know that the Nuremberg organisers won’t exacerbate the situation.

As a result of all this turmoil, some toy companies have taken the decision not to exhibit at any trade shows in the early part of 2022, while several others were not able to confirm participation at the time of going to press.

However, we didn’t want them to miss out on the opportunity to highlight their new products for ’22, so retailers can see what exciting new ranges will be launched over the coming months. So, we created this special Showcase section, where you will find details of a host of new lines that will be hitting shelves this year. Enjoy our Showcase round-up, which is followed by our extensive previews of the Nuremberg and London Toy Fairs. Let’s hope that we will all be able to visit these shows over the coming weeks – Zoom has been a lifesaver, but it will never replace seeing new products in the flesh.