On my way to the Nuremberg Toy Fair

Just when I got my body clock set back to east coast time, it’s time to get back on a plane and head to Nuremberg, Germany for the 2010 Spielwarrenmesse (Toy Fair). It’s okay because I love this trade show. It truly pulls the entire toy world together in one spot at one time and regales them with over 1 million unique toys.

While there, I am going to be very busy with my Building Our Future Conference Nuremberg as well as a talk I am delivering to the Toy Business Forum on the topic “Quo Vadis Toy Marketing.” I am going to come in contact with lots of interesting people and spend time on the trade show floor so here are some of the things I am hoping to find out:

What is the outlook for 2010? Are manufacturers and retailers feeling optimistic like the Americans? Will they be more aggressive?

Will we continue to see the use of new and different materials? Europe is ahead of the curve when it comes to concerns regarding phthalates and other materials so it will be interesting to see what they are doing?

Will we see a move to lower retails like we are seeing in the US or are Europeans willing to pay more for their toys?

Gerrick Johnson, toy industry financial analyst, termed this year the year of the Hamster. Surprisingly, I did not see any Hamster toys in Hong Kong. Will we see them in Nuremberg?

Finally, will we see lots of new ideas in toys or is the industry still being conservative?

I’ll let you know what I find out.