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Direct from Market: ABC Kids Expo

Jane Kitchen -- Gifts and Dec, 10/18/2010 6:10:30 PM

Las Vegas - The 8th annual ABC Kids Expo was held here from October 10-13 and, as has been the case every year ABC show floor The show floorsince the show started, this one was the biggest ever - this market is a growing one. Featuring furniture, bedding, room décor, accessories, toys, gifts, baby gear, maternity clothing, layette, and apparel, this show covers anything a store could need for babies and kids.
Held this year in the South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the ABC Kids Expo took up two floors and nearly one million square feet of exhibit space. Close to 1,000 exhibitors were on hand, and show organizers said that while final retailer attendance was still being tallied, pre-registration was running nearly 15 percent ahead of last year.
Everyone from large manufacturers like Delta Enterprise and Graco to small start-up "momtrepreneurs" was represented, with large companies taking up private, walled-in spaces on the perimeter of the market and small booths mixed in throughout.
The mood was generally positive, though not ecstatic, with most retailers and manufacturers saying that things were looking up. Retailers are still having a tough time, but most seemed quietly optimistic about 2011.
"It's been fantastic," said Keyth Jackson of DwellStudio of this year's market. "2009 was a tough year for everybody."

EventsNew Products Reception

This year's show included several special events, some with a long history, some held for the first time.
The New Products wine and cheese reception was widely attended, with buyers and media getting a sneak preview of some of the newest and hottest products to be on display at the show the next day. For a nominal fee, the event offered manufacturers the chance to showcase a single item from their launch to a captive audience.
The JPMA annual Innovation Awards were announced at a press conference just before the show opened on Sunday. Winners included Sassy's Silly Squirts, a line of bath toys whose tops and bottoms can be interchanged and designed to combat mildew problems; True Womb's Sleeper Swaddle; and Fisher-Price, for a combination swing and highchair.
All Industry BanquetThe All-Industry Banquet took the form of a sock hop this year, and featured entertainment from Bowzer of ShaNaNa fame, along with Shirley and the Shirelles. Classic cars, cotton candy, mini hamburgers and roller skating hostesses helped make the event a success, with show attendees dancing (and networking) into the night.
And the first ever maternity runway fashion show included not just Maternity Fashion Showmaternity wear, but children's wear, accessories, and even strollers taking to the runway.

Special Sections

Naturally Kids and Modern Child were two juried sections of the show that showcase these fast-growing segments of the juvenile products category.
Manufacturers exhibiting in the Naturally Kids area must make a majority of their product line from sustainable natural and/or organic raw materials and compounds, and be an industry leader in reducing emissions and supporting environmental concerns worldwide. With concerns about BPA in plastics, chemicals in fabric, and toxins in paint and stains, "green" products are trending upwards everywhere, but nowhere more so than in products made for babies and children. This section was jam-packed with exhibitors from the toy, bottle, apparel, furniture and bedding categories, as well as many of the trendy new cloth diaper manufacturers (these are not the cloth diapers your mother used, by the way - these are cute, hip and gift-worthy).
2 Red HensIt was in Naturally Kids that Gifts & Dec found diaper bag company 2 Red Hens, there to launch their new Studio line of "castoff couture," featuring adorable repurposed cashmere sweaters for little girls; pillowcase dresses made from - you guessed it - vintage pillowcases; flower brooches made from old bridesmaids dresses; and stuffed animals made from felted wool sweaters, recycled denim and old glass buttons. All are handmade in Colorado, and have a completely unique look.
President Lori Holliday Burley said reception to the new line had been good.
"We didn't really know what to expect," said Burley. "This is never our best market - people come to buy furniture, but you have to be here."
Geared for Imagination showed Topozoo, a new creative toy line with a green story, available in safari, dinosaur or monster themes. Domestically made from recycled wood, finished with non-toxic Topozoo Topozoostains, and packaged in recycled boxes, the heads, bodies, tails and legs of the animals can be interchanged; the company boasts that 440,000 unique animals can be made from the three sets.
3 Sprouts showed off their line of fun, eco-friendly accessories, including a new line of organic cotton canvas totes with large appliquéd animal faces crafted from eco-spun felt made from recycled plastic bottles. How's that for green?
Also in Naturally Kids, Kate Quinn Organics showcased their wonderfully vibrant line of organic cotton clothing for babies. Assistant creative director Marissa Mullins said traffic was slow the first day of the show, but picked up quickly after that.
"We've always had good luck at this show," said Mullins.Kate Quinn Organics
Her counterpart, director of merchandising Natasha Stiles, said Naturally Kids was a great fit for the company, but she also felt they could have just as easily been in Modern Child, and worried that some stores may have passed by the Naturally Kids area all together, thinking "natural is too granola."
Upstairs, in the Modern Child section, clean-lined furniture, bedding and accessories were well represented by companies like DwellStudio, Boon, and Skip Hop, and the aisles buzzed with activity. Geometric patterns, modern elements, ethnic cues and either muted or bright color palettes took center stage, with form and function marrying closely in a marketplace that is, above all, about function.
Boon continued to grow its line of functional and sleek products, with impressive new bath tub appliqués, beautiful snack containers and sippy cups (yes, we said beautiful), and a nifty wall-mounted space-themed mobile, Stellar.
DwellStudioDwellStudio debuted a line of infant furniture as a counterpart to its modern crib bedding, which included three finishes on a crib and dresser, along with two glider rockers.

Just next door, celebrities Tiffani Thiesson (of "90210" fame) and Lonni Paul (a Petit Nestfinalist on HGTV's Design Star) teamed up to launch a new line of infant furniture, bedding and glider rockers that are both domestically produced and environmentally friendly, dubbed Petit Nest.
And children's clothing manufacturer Zutano teamed up with bedding producer Kids Line to produce a line of licensed crib bedding and room decor that translates three of the Zutano Zutanoclothing company's most popular designs to the nursery in themes of lions, elephants and owls.

Louisville in 2011

Next year, the ABC Kids Expo moves to Louisville after eight years in Las Vegas. Sentiment about the move was mixed and unsure. Those who are tired of Vegas welcomed the move as a fresh new venue where buyers might concentrate more on buying and less on partying, while many fretted that Californian and international customers would shy away from the less convenient location.
"(Louisville) is more family-friendly," said 2 Red Hens' Burley. "(The show) has been here long enough. We have a lot of great stores in the Southeast, and it's more central for people. I think they'll have more traffic."
Kate Quinn Organics' Stiles said she wasn't sure what to think about the move to Louisville, but she did worry about how it might affect her international customers. "A lot of Canadian people came to this show," she said, "and I don't know if they'll come to Louisville. We might lose a lot of Californians too, and other international traffic."
DwellStudio's Jackson also had mixed feelings. "We're a little up in the air," he said. "We walk in with open eyes and hope that it works out. I think it may be a great way to connect with some customers maybe we haven't had a chance to connect with before."

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