Q&A with Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG

unnamed-4Marek Jankowski, president of Baby Care Magazines International, recently spoke with Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, about the growth of Spielwarenmesse eG, toy fairs throughout the international community, and more.

Marek Jankowski: I remember us talking a few years ago. You mentioned that every year there are 200-250 companies queuing to exhibit at Spielwarenmesse. I suggested that you could build a new hall, but you were not convinced. You replied that assuming that the number of buyers remains stable, if they would scatter over a wider area, an average exhibitor would have fewer visits at their booth. But in 2014 you opened a new hall—3A. From today’s perspective, was it a good idea to build it?

Ernst Kick: Yes, I think, because we could have improved the quality of the whole fairground. I would say that the new hall 3A is one of the most modern halls in the world. And if you see it from the organisation view, the climate is better than in the old halls. We are also in discussion how to reconstruct the older part of the fairground. I think there can be some possibilities — not today, but in the future; I think it is also necessary.

MJ: Do you consider building another hall?

EK: Well, we are not the owner of the fairground. We are just renting the fairground and we are then financing parts of it, but it is the decision that has to be done by Nuremberg Fair. So we are a little bit outside of the discussions.

MJ: But if they make up their mind, you will benefit from it since Spielwarenmesse is the only event covering the whole fairground, isn’t it?

EK: That’s right, we are the largest fair in Nuremberg. But I’m not changing my mind. I think for us as the organiser of the fair it is really enough space right now. We have 170,000 square meters — to fill it is really a challenge, and to organize it as well. We also hear some comments that the fair is so big, that it’s hard to work it out.

MJ: I assume that those companies waiting for their chance to show at the fair do not represent all kinds of the assortment. Which product groups are most represented and in which halls do you have to struggle to find appropriate companies?

EK: We have most companies interested in the international field, like in halls 11, 12 and 12.2. We have less demand on the model railway because we already have all the existing companies. And there are always some changes coming as the markets are changing. We have a lot of interest in the electronics field, in the educational field, wooden toys, baby articles… But you are absolutely right: we do not have this high demand in all the product fields and this is logical.

MJ: So if you want to keep the fair organised in the same way year by year — I mean certain halls dedicated to the same kind of assortment — I can imagine it is very hard. In some halls, there is too little space available, while in the others you can hardly find enough interesting companies.

EK: Well, this is one of the challenges we have all the time. A trade fair is a living product. It is always the picture of the market and markets are changing constantly. So every year we organise a little bit the contents, the stands, but this is also good for us because that means also you see every year something new and unexpected. This makes it worthwhile to visit the fair. We are now in discussion about 2017 and I can guarantee you will see some changes in 2017 again. This is one of the fair organiser’s tasks.

MJ: Speaking about changes: in 2016 there will be few of them, in comparison to the previous years. Does it mean you did not find anything worth changing? Is the current formula perfect?

EK: I wouldn’t be myself if I said I am satisfied and everything is perfect. There is always something to change, there is room for improvement — as I always say to my people — and we have to follow these changes. Of course if you are looking on the services, all we can organise as the fair itself, we are in a perfect stage. But looking at the content, which is coming especially from the industry, we cannot influence it. We do not have products, we can only offer services. In that area, there is always room for improvement. It can be better qualified, there can be more new products for example. There should come interesting, really smashing inventions and I think this is the challenge for the industry. If you look at the lifecycle of most of the products, that it is just 1,5 years, producers are forced to do something, to push things in new directions. What do I mean by new directions? Of course, the influence from the electronics is coming, so they have to follow that way. The influence of sustainability has to be followed by the industry as well. That is what we are watching very carefully to show it every year in a different way.

MJ: Do you also think about new ways of presenting product? There are some new technologies like virtual reality headsets. Is it possible we will see such things in Nuremberg? However, it’s probably the exhibitor’s task, not yours.

EK: I would say it’s a must because the new generation of buyers and retailers looks also for state-of-the-art presentations. We are talking about how to improve product presentations by using 3D printers, QR codes, virtual reality etc. The exhibitors have to improve themselves and to professionalize themselves also in a presentation way.

MJ: Every year announcing the next edition of Spielwarenmesse you have mentioned accommodation. It is not the case this time. Does it mean there are finally enough beds in Nuremberg for all the visitors?

EK: No, there is no change. The only advice I can give is to decide as soon as possible to visit Nuremberg and you will get the room. During the fair, we are covering virtually all the hotels in the circle of 50 km. My second advice: you will have a six-day fair and the second half of it is as qualified as the first one — but it’s not so crowded and the possibility to get a better and cheaper hotel close to the fairground is much, much better.

MJ: Do you think that other fairs, maybe in China, could become the new number one in the toy industry in foreseeable future?

EK: I’m not sure because one of the most traditional markets is the toy market in Germany and we are the leading fair organisation, especially in toy fairs. I like competition because this always convinces us to do something more than necessary and gives us also the order that we have to organize it every year better. Our position is quite clear: we want to be number one and we want to keep number one. We watch the competition very carefully, of course, but what we see at the moment is that those fairs are more continental than international. And they have also different production places. If you look closely what they are showing in China or Hong Kong, this is quite different, not as qualified as in Nuremberg — and this is our policy: to be the best fair. Then you will automatically be the biggest one.

MJ: I have asked this question because Koelnmesse is more and more involved in trade fairs outside Germany, eg. in China or Brazil. I know that Spielwarenmesse also works abroad, in Russia, India and Turkey, but since China is so important to toy industry, it is probably the right direction to look in.

EK: We have to look in all directions and should not miss watching China of course. But finally, from the view to the international toy market, I think at the moment the largest market is Europe. It is approximately 26 billion US dollars — larger than the US market — so we are in the middle of the beating heart of toys.

MJ: You are going to start a new stationery fair Insights-X this October 2015. Does it mean that Back to School assortment will be removed from Spielwarenmesse?

EK: It would not be our strategy to take it out of Spielwarenmesse because we always defined it as some additional product segment. Insights-X should be an independent, single fair with its own character and own target groups. At Spielwarenmesse, there is just Back to School area as an additional segment, which is important and supportive for toy traders.

MJ: Do you think it might be a good idea for some toy companies to exhibit at Insights-X, playing a role of supporting assortment?

EK: Well, we are doing business with our fairs and I would never protect anybody from joining our programme!

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