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| Preliminary Report: Growth And Expansion Of The Product Segments  It's the date we've all been waiting for - 17th September 2009: The global sector will come together at Kind + Jugend in Cologne - the world's leading trade fair for baby and toddler outfitting products. This year, Kind + Jugend has experienced a particularly strong demand from the segments furniture and textile products, as well as toys for babies and toddlers. In total, around 800 companies from over 40 countries are expected to attend the most important event for the sector - including 78 per cent from outside Germany."Growth of the toys segment and the continual expansion of the product range - these are the terms that have for many years been used in connection with the excellent development of Kind + Jugend", says Oliver P. Kuhrt, Executive Vice President of Koelnmesse GmbH. Kind + Jugend's product range focuses on children's furniture, textile products, prams and buggies, child safety seats, hygiene articles, electrical appliances, toys and games, baby and children's fashions and maternity wear. For the first time, Kind + Jugend will also occupy Hall 11.3 of the Koelnmesse exhibition grounds in addition to the usual Halls 10.1, 10.2, 11.1 and 11.2. In doing so, it will expand its gross exhibition area this September to approximately 100,000 m². "This expansion was necessary to meet the continually growing demand we have been experiencing", says Markus Oster, Vice President at Koelnmesse GmbH. "By expanding the Hall area we can achieve a better segmentation and dedicate a generous area in Hall 11.3 to the growth segment of toys in the age group 0 to 4 years old. Around 200 companies from this segment will be presenting their new products at Kind + Jugend. The companies include such renowned manufacturers as Mattel, Chicco, Tomy, Selecta, RC2, Sterntaler, Käthe Kruse, Amtoys, Steiff, haba, sigikid, Fehn, Bieco, ‘Vulli, Kids II, Fehn and Trudi. For the first time, the companies Vtech and Pustefix will also be represented at Kind + Jugend. As the world's most important trade fair for children's outfitting products, the event will once again be extremely international in scope. Around 620 of the nearly 800 exhibiting companies are from outside of Germany, making the percentage of exhibitors from abroad an impressive 78 per cent. At Kind + Jugend 2009, the range of products on offer will be expanded by 219 new exhibitors. These include such companies as Gautier, Ed Hardy, VTech, Pustefix, Car Mate, Obaby, Pueriruca, Sitting Bull and Alondra. Additionally, all the international leaders in the market for hardware will also be represented in Cologne. International trade association partners of Kind + Jugend Another point of interest for trade visitors and exhibitors is the strong support Kind + Jugend receives from German and international sector associations, which represent the interests of their countries' baby and toddler outfitting industries at the fair. This year, the associations include the French children's association Fédération des Commerces spécialistes des Jouets et des Produits de l'Enfant (FCJPE), the Spanish manufacturers Association of Children's Products (ASEPRI); the Dutch association Vereniging Baby en Kleuter Vak (VBKV), the Polish Toy Association and the German Association of Toy and Game Retailers (BVS), German Textile Retailers Association (BTE), the Interest Group of Retail Stores for Children's Items (IGEKA) and the Working Group of European Children Outfitters (ARDEK). A new addition to Kind + Jugend 2009 will be the cooperation partner Baby Products Association (BPA) from the UK, which as part of this newly established partnership, will be represented with a pavilion at this year's Kind + Jugend. In addition the British, Dutch, Belgium, Norwegian, Spanish and Italian members of Baby Care Magazines International (BCMI) will also be represented at Kind + Jugend. The first Children's Conference on the topic of "Traffic safety is quality of life - children's paths in the city" will take place at Kind + Jugend Safety continues to be an important topic, especially when it comes to children's everyday lives. On 17th and 18th September 2009, the first "Children's Congress" of the Bicycle-Friendly Towns and Municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia Working Group (AGFS) will take place in Cologne as part of Kind + Jugend. The motto of the conference is "Traffic safety is quality of life - children's paths in the city". A meeting of all the German Children Accident Boards will follow the conference. Kind + Jugend Innovation Award: a small anniversary with a sharpened profile We would like to announce a small anniversary: The Kind + Jugend Innovation Award is going to be presented for the fifth time at this year's Kind + Jugend. Due to numerous requests, the presentation procedure of the most important award in the children's outfitting sector will be slightly altered this year. The product groups have been newly structured to make it easier to compare them. This means that the awards will now be presented in the following eight categories: - World of Moving Baby Prams and travel systems - World of Travelling Baby Children's car seats - World of Moving Baby & Travelling Baby Accessories Accessories for prams, travel systems and children's car seats. - World of Baby Safety at Home Safety related products for babies and toddlers at home - World of Baby Toys Toys for babies and toddlers - World of Baby Textiles Home textiles, baby and toddler clothes etc. - World of Baby Care Hygiene products, electrical appliances - World of Baby Furniture Children's furniture and accessories Shortly before the fair, the panel of experts will nominate a maximum of five products per category to compete in this year's Kind + Jugend Innovation Award. One product from each category will then be presented with an award. As usual, the awards ceremony will take place as part of the official opening of the trade fair on the morning of 17th September 2009, at the "Innovation Area" in Hall 11.3 in the presence of trade visitors and press representatives. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Exhibition News :: home page |