Toys & Games, Baby Products, Stationery Fairs, and International Licensing Show a Huge Success

14 Jan 2016 – Organised by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, HKTDC Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, HKTDC Hong Kong International Licensing Show, and Hong Kong International Stationery Fair, which is jointly organised with Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd., attracted around 117,000 buyers, up 5.5 per cent over last year.

More than 45,000 buyers visited the Toys & Games Fair; the Baby Products Fair welcomed nearly 30,000 buyers; the Stationery Fair attracted over 20,000 buyers; and more than 20,000 visitors came to International Licensing Show.

HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said the fairs welcomed buyers from more than 120 countries and regions. For the Toys & Games Fair and Baby Products Fair, satisfactory growth was seen in the number of buyers from the Chinese mainland, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Russia, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. Large corporations including Toy“R”Us, Hamleys. Tomy and mainland retail chain store Leyou, Inc. as well as e-commerce enterprises from the mainland such as JD.com and yhd.com took part in the fairs alongside traditional and online small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Four market trends identified

Analysing the response from exhibitors, Mr Chau identified four market trends:

Innovative products stimulate demand

“At the Toys & Games Fair, a significant number of kidult toys caught the eye of buyers, including innovative products using magnetic levitation, holographic projection and augmented reality technology,” said Mr Chau. “Licensed animation products were also well received. This year, movie blockbusters like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Kung Fu Panda 3, Ice Age 5 and The Angry Birds Movie will be in theatres, boosting the related product sales.”

Mr Chau added, “Due to the ‘Two-child Policy’ and the “Year of Monkey” Baby Boom, buyers generally look favourably on the Chinese mainland market, expecting a rise of at least 20 to 30 per cent in sales. Some shopping malls and department stores have reserved more space for selling child, baby and maternity products. Despite the recent mainland stock market contraction, the sales performance of child and baby products, which have an inelastic demand, remain unaffected. On the contrary, parents are more willing to spend on high-quality and safe products, especially those with green concepts.”

Positive feedback on new products

Adran Chong, Managing Director, Soap Studio, an exhibitor at the Toys & Games Fair, said the company showcased licensed products of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (remote-controlled Batwing and Batman Cerebral Combat Trainer), catching the attention of many buyers. “The quality of buyers in the Toys & Games Fair is high,” Mr Chong said. “We have met buyers from enterprises like Toy”R”Us and Tomy Co Ltd who have shown their interest in sales cooperation on the first day of the fair. Furthermore, there are buyers coming from different countries like Panama and Kuwait who are very interested in the smart-tech and licensed toys. The fair helps our company explore new sales channels.”

Alan Fan, Senior Sales Executive of Yuneec International, whose Typhoon H product was recently awarded ‘The Best Unmanned Aerial Vehicle’ in the Las Vegas fair CES, said the buyer traffic was satisfactory. “Many buyers from the United States and European countries came to Hong Kong looking specifically for drones. They are looking for light and easy-to-use drones for consumers. The next decade will be the golden age for unmanned aerial vehicles,” he said.

Michael Lin, CEO at Holographic Toy Department, MIRAX Technology Corp. said last year they successfully developed smart games using holographic technology, and just managed to catch the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair in time to join the event. “We decided to launch our products in Hong Kong because of its robust toy trading and the fair’s large scale, which enables us to get in touch with buyers and exhibitors from all around the world,” said Mr Lin.

The mainland’s renowned e-tailer yhd.com is expecting a 1.5-fold increase in business this year. To meet rising demand, the company is planning to source more products and upgrade its system to show product promo videos. Its senior purchasing supervisor Kindy Lou said she was thrilled by the innovative products on display such as remote-controlled drones, app-controlled tanks as well as illuminating blocks.

Educational toys popular

Specialists in eco educational toys, Amazing Toys. was satisfied with the fair. Its General Manager Samuel Sy said the visitor flow was good and buyers were in the mood for sourcing. He added that a distributor from the Netherlands ordered US$100,000 worth of “green” toys at the fair, highlighting an upturn in the European market. Mr Sy said, with growing purchasing power, emerging Asian countries including Indonesia, India and the Philippines, have started to look for quality educational toys.

4D Cityscape Asia Limited launched the world’s first 4D layered puzzle with a mobile app. Company director Nick Leung said the China special edition map, which took three years of R&D, debuted at the fair, attracting many buyers from the mainland to purchase and sell in various cities. “Parents on the mainland are particularly willing to spend money on their kids, with an emphasis on educational toys. That’s why they are interested in this map, which can serve educational purposes,” he said, adding that visitor traffic was busier than at last year’s fair. There was a surge in the number of orders, and buyers from emerging markets and Southeast Asian countries, he noted.

4M Industrial Development Limited mainly targets the market for traditional toys. Last year they cooperated with Dino Codes, a multi-media company, to launch the AR Wonder Dinosaurs Series. The augmented reality technology allows parents and children to interact with the dinosaurs and take photos with them. Nicole Mak, Senior Marketing Officer of the company, pointed out that compared with last year, the number of buyers they reached increased by around 20 per cent, reflecting a strong market interest in parent-child interactive games with innovative technology.

Andrew Gyaraki, Area Manager of Regio Toy from Hungary, said he found six-to-seven new suppliers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Thailand at the show. Currently, half of their products are sourced from the Hong Kong fair. “It is the best place to look for high-quality toys at good prices,” he said.

On-site orders exceed US$2.6 million

Franki Tse, CEO China Market, Goodbaby International, specialising in baby strollers, noted a wider range of international buyers, not only from mature markets like Europe and America, but also from New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia. Leveraging the mainland’s ‘Two-child Policy’, there is a significant number of buyers from the mainland with a high incentive to buy. “On the first day of the fair our company received on-site orders with a total value of US$2.6 million, mainly from Asia. We expect a 5-to-10 per cent rise in total number of orders this year,” he said.

Lee Saem International, a Korean exhibitor, which distributes products to 38 countries, has expanded its overseas market through the Toys & Games Fair. Jun Hyeon Lee, Director of the company, said the highlight product this year was the child’s play mat with play tent, which was popular with buyers. They have already received orders from Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, valued at close to US$80,000 in total.

Larry Kung, Founder & COO of Leyou Inc., said the full implementation of the “Two-child Policy” on the mainland will definitely boost the demand for baby products and toys. Mr Kung pointed out that with mainland consumers’ rising expectations for branded products and the increasing popularity of cross-border e-commerce, the company needs to source more quality baby products from overseas to meet the strong demand of middle-class consumers on the mainland, and that Hong Kong exhibitions are undoubtedly the best venue for this. “We target various innovative products such as baby stroller for kids of different ages,” he added. “People in northern China believe that the Year of Monkey is a fortunate year for giving birth. Therefore, for the second half of 2015, we see a 20 per cent growth in turnover for maternity products.” Mr Kung said the company will open its own stores in first- and second-tier cities and franchise stores in third- and fourth-tier cities for business expansion. He expects the number of shops to double to 800 across 200 cities on the mainland.

Jin Li of Kidswant Children Product (China) Co Ltd said business has grown rapidly in the past few years. Driven by China’s “Two-child Policy” and the effect of the Year of Monkey, he expects revenue will grow from Rmb3.5 billion to Rmb 6.5 billion. “Wealthier couples will consider having a second child and they are also willing to spend more on the newborn baby,” he said, adding that he had identified some 20 Hong Kong, European and Korean brands and would like to close deals with them as soon as possible.
BLM Co Ltd., a retail chain in Bulgaria, specialises in the sale of high-end baby products. On her first visit to the show, manager Bilyana Valkanova said she had identified new suppliers. She expects to place about US$80,000-US$100,000 worth of orders.

Mature market upturn

Historic Sales from the US is a specialist in selling die-cast toy planes and cars through its online stores and more than 2,000 bricks-and-mortar shops. Greg Herrick, President and CEO said the company has discovered two new suppliers. The US economy is stable and the market condition is good, he said.
Lamprecht is the biggest baby products brand in Switzerland and its products are exported to 36 countries worldwide. Its Head of Purchasing, Marco Meyer, said he had identified six or seven potential suppliers from the mainland, Taiwan and Thailand, offering baby feeding, safety and care accessories.

The 42nd edition of the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, the seventh Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, and the 16th Hong Kong International Stationery Fair were held from 11 to 14 January at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, alongside the Hong Kong International Licensing Show (11-13 January). The four fairs attracted more than 3,100 exhibitors, setting a new record, as well as generating a synergistic effect to bring more diversified opportunities to both exhibitors and buyers.

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Joe Kainz Tel: (852) 2584 4216 Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org