BPA Show Review

As the BPA had expected the 2008 show at the NEC in Birmingham in October attracted 1800 visitors through the door - not a bad reflection of the resilience of the nursery goods trade, when you consider what the gloom mongers had been predicting for months beforehand. Yes, the show had noticeably fewer exhibitors, but this simply meant those companies that were there, got better space and were more likely to attract the right people to their products.

When trade shows expand to such as size that they fill three or more halls, it's a real job to find enough time to devote to all the products that deserve attention. With fewer stands buyers can be more selective, focus on products that may not immediately leap out at them and spend more time listening, questioning and developing a relationship with suppliers.

Kiddy were at the BPA Show for the first time and were beaming with delight at the constant flow of interest on the Sunday. European Sales Manager Daniel Kobryner said, ‘This has been a very successful debut for Kiddy and the reaction we have had to this cutting edge range of car seats has been fantastic. Our video demonstrated just why the Comfort

Pro and Infinity Pro are such safe designs, and at last we can bring the good news to the UK.'Concord, Britax and Dorel also reported solid interest and the sheer size of the Dorel stand, meant it could display Quinny, Maxi-Cosi and Safety First each against their own brand ‘wall' with plenty of space for walking and talking between them.

There was an exciting range of new product designs launched this year including Mountain Buggy's new ‘Swift' - a highly compact three-wheeler with swivel front wheel. Marbel was on show for the first time and used the opportunity to push the innovative K's Kids toys more towards UK retailers. Dorel showed off it's new colourways for the Maxi-Cosi Axiss in powerful red or black. Concord brought with them their new

Transformer prototype which covers Group 2 and 3 weight categories. The chair expands in all directions, as does Kiddy's Comfort-Pro (Group 1,2,3) which has been successful in other parts of Europe and expected to be available in the UK in the New Year.

Rob Holmes, Chairman of gro-group and BPA Show Director was in positive mood: ‘ This year's BPA Show provided a great platform to meet a large number of our customers, from national chains to independent retailers across the UK and demonstrate our wide range of innovative and exciting products.'

But he feels strongly that the decision to bring the show back to its original home, London, is the right one, ‘We will be at the impressive ExCel Exhibition Centre from Sunday 11th - 13th October.'

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