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3 questions for Jörg Schmale
The countdown has begun: the doors to Kind + Jugend 2024 will open in about three months. What is the atmosphere in the organization and management team?
Clearly, the mood in the entire team is great. We have taken a lot of momentum from the fantastic Kind + Jugend 2023 and are already looking forward to September 3rd, when we will once again open the doors to the entire baby and toddler equipment industry.
We already received many registrations for this year during the last trade fair. And the positive trend has continued. Now we are already well above last year's level for this registration phase.
Many industry giants are once again taking part, and we are just as pleased about the numerous innovative start-ups and newcomers. For us as a trade fair, however, the well-known returnees in particular - including Cybex, done by deer and Artsana/Chicco - are a nice confirmation that we are on the right track and that our trade fair continues to be of central importance for the entire industry.
So there is a lot of anticipation, which seems to be justified. Can you reveal a few figures and insights into the status of the organisation?
Sure. We had already allocated around 60 percent of the stands during the early booking phase. We expect that we could even crack the 1,000 exhibitors mark in the end.
In my opinion, what makes Kind + Jugend so unique is the mix of well-known companies, young innovators and hidden champions. If you are already curious, you can browse through the constantly updated list of exhibitors .
Our planning is as good as complete. In the remaining months until the start of the trade fair, the entire team will devote itself to the concrete preparations. Our aim is to create at least as many “wow moments” together with our exhibitors as last year.
What can exhibitors and visitors look forward to? Are there any innovations that you can already announce?
First and foremost, exhibitors and visitors can once again look forward to an almost complete overview of the global range of baby and toddler products. No other trade fair is as comprehensive in this respect as Kind + Jugend. If you want to know what will be in children's rooms on all seven continents tomorrow, you have to come to Kind + Jugend. Incidentally, the manufacturers themselves exhibit here and are not represented by distributors.
As far as new products are concerned, I always like to refer to our Innovation Award , where an independent jury selects the most innovative products shown at the trade fair in eight categories. The winners will be announced at the trade fair. However, the nominations will soon be available on our website.
In addition, for the first time there will also be a new product-parcour where exhibitors can display their new developments separately. This will enable retailers to gain an even quicker overview of most of the trade fair innovations.
