Shanghai

The largest city in China, Shanghai is a metropolis with more than 17 million inhabitants and one of the most important economic centers of Asia. It is the first city with a magnet train connection to the airport and will be the organizer of the World Expo in 2010. The modern and stylish city is located at the Huangpu River with hardly anything left over from the old city.

This year, Toy Expo attendees realized the growth of the city and its emerging market. The fourth international trade fair for toys, gifts and hobbies was held in the city earlier this fall. With two large, halls one cannot really call the exhibition a world fair, but the fair does have a lot to offer in terms of quality for Chinese and Western buyers.

Shanghaimart accommodates the Shanghai Toy Expo, organized by Nuremberg Spielwarenmesse eG and the China Toy Association. With 267 exhibiting companies—up from 218 exhibitors in 2004—in two halls and 15,400 visitors, the exhibition is not very large, but has firmly established its market position as the fastest growing.

The fair is an excellent mixture of various Chinese exhibitors that often do not participate in other fairs, as well as various European companies—mainly from Germany—that are anxious to conquer the Chinese market.

They found the gigantic market potential and want to be the first ones there. Some are still pioneering; others already found a way to make a profit from the enormous market, which in upcoming years will still be growing by giant leaps.

This year, there were 22 European companies including SIGG and Geomag from Switzerland; Hornby from the United Kingdom; Graupner, Ravensburger, Zoch, Sieper Werke (Siku), Heros, Fleischmann, C. Riethmüller and Haba Habermaass from Germany; the Italian federation Assogiocattoli and the Spanish toy federation, Asociación Española de Fabricantes de Juguetes.

International companies, Silverlit and Hasbro, were also present. At Hasbro, the presence of Alan Hassenfeld, former chairman and founder, drew a lot of attention.

Frits Passet, international sales and marketing director, Hornby, London, the collectible train model manufacturer, was one exhibitor that realized the Chinese market is the one to move into more so in the coming years.

“For us this is an excellent exhibition,” says Passet. “We are here for the third year in a row and introduce our new representation in China. However, the Scalextric racetracks are produced in China; as a European manufacturer we do not have permission to sell directly to the local market. Because of that, our goods have to be exported to Hong Kong, and after that to be imported back to China. But China is a fast growing market, and we want to be part of that,” he adds.

The opportunity to develop new contacts and individual markets for new product was also a show highlight.

Thomas Weidl, Zoch, Munich, Germany, manufacturer of board games, lives and works in Shanghai and represents the company and controls the production of the games by Chinese producers. While the Chinese are not familiar with board games, he is working on getting them better acquainted. There is also a German population of 12,000 in Shanghai, which is already a market.

Gisela Kolb of Ravensburger, Amersfoort, Netherlands, found new contacts, and there were a lot of them. When asked if it is difficult to bring games to the Chinese market she says that the bilingual packaging helps.

“Many of the boxes are in two languages (English and Chinese) and the rules also. Besides that, puzzles do not need language.” She also noticed that the Chinese are very interested in educational games.

Swiss company Geomag S.A., manufacturer of magnetic construction rods, was present for the first time with an enormous stand. The company built a four-meter tower at the show, representing the famous Jing Mao Tower of Shanghai.

“We like to make a statement with our stand,” says Jeff Evans, business development director, Geomag. “We are the biggest, and that's the way we like to promote ourselves. Our product is by far the most expensive, compared to our competitors, but the Chinese people like to have a top product with a brand name on it. And with the slogan 'Swiss made,” we have a good trump in our hands.”