Another new name has been added to the list of exhibitors for this year's BPA Baby & Child, marking a major coup for the show organisers. Steiff, the German company that is renowned the world over for its collectable teddy bears is to showcase its nursery range.

Now in its sixth year, The Baby Show saw a number of significant innovations at the recent NEC Birmingham event, confirming its appeal to the nursery industry. Following the successful launch last year of the 'Out & About' area at The Baby Show Earls Court, this theatre of brands developed significantly for the NEC Show.

Modern Baby has appointed a new Business Development Manager to support its drive to become Britain's favourite nappy. Hester Holt joins from A.M.S where she was responsible for sales, marketing and product development. Hester will spearhead the company's growth by recruiting and supporting the UK's nursery retailers, as well as being involved in the company's extensive product development programme.

The BPA is proud to announce that their year book for 2007 is now complete and available for purchase. This 'bible' is an industry must-have and contains vital information for all manufacturers and retailers of baby products.

Last year Bambino Mio launched a new midwife's pack targeting midwives and other health professionals. This information pack is free of charge to health professionals and contains; a Bambino Mio trial pack, cotton nappy information DVD, product brochure, user guides and a presentation on the benefits of cotton nappies. Since the launch of the pack the company have seen over 1,000 midwives and health professionals calling to receive one.

Warm and wet, swimming pools are exactly the kind of environment that all sorts of nasty bacteria adore. Luckily, chlorinated water and filter systems mean that most swimming pools are kept pretty clean. But pretty clean does not mean totally clean.

FunToSee Ltd is celebrating its success at the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) awards where it was named New Exporter of the Year for Surrey and Sussex. FunToSee manufactures and retails children's room make-over kits. Rachel Sellers and Louise Dutton, Directors of FunToSee, accepted the award from Danny Lopez, Director of Marketing at UKTI, and Richard West, formerly of McLaren and Williams Formula 1 teams, at the UKTI International Awards dinner at Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands.

Mia Moda is pleased to announce its new partnership with Kims who will now be the exclusive distributors of Mia Moda products in the UK. They are very excited to be working alongside such an experienced and proven, reliable partner who has many years in the nursery industry dealing in sales, distributing and after sales service.

What goes through a person's mind when they are planning a purchase? What is it that prompts them to choose one model or brand over another? Of all the questions I've been asked since setting up the Wilkinet Survey, this is the one that comes up most often.

Mothercare has increased its pushchair offering online with hundreds of new pushchairs available to customers. With over 250 pushchairs, the largest offering of a single retailer in the UK, it more than doubles the amount of pushchairs previously available on line.

Reusable cotton nappy company Bambino Mio Bambino Mio held its annual International Distributors conference at the end of April. Bambino Mio's products are now sold in over 60 countries worldwide. Distributors came from a far afield as Canada and Japan.

Q - When and where were you born?

A - August 1962, Bradford.

Q - Education?

A - Aireborough Grammar School, then Birmingham University then Leeds Law School.

In an increasingly competitive market, it is becoming harder and harder for nursery retailers, especially the independent, to maintain sales whilst achieving decent margins.

As all employers will know, the sheer raft of legislation that businesses have to deal with has increased substantially in recent years. Whether so much is needed is debatable. What does seem to be agreed on is that, for many employers, it can feel like walking through a minefield.

The history of retailing on-line has been one of boom and bust. In the beginning, many new companies set up on-line seeing it as a quick way to riches and it appeared that any on-line venture could attract limitless amounts of investment. Most failed. On-line trading is no different from other sorts of retailing - you've got to sell to make a profit!

It seems strange to be thinking about Christmas when we have yet to have our summer, but in the world of retailing we have to think ahead of ourselves. Indeed many of the larger stores will have already considered what they are going to offer and already placed their orders.

The TOLO® First Friends™ Train Set from John Crane Ltd is the perfect first locomotive for an inquisitive toddler and it joins a growing range of First Friends™ toys from TOLO® Toys that really do offer more to explore.

Lamaze has added ten new products to its toy range. The developmental features long associated with the brand are clearly identified by animal icons on new individual packaging, as physical, cognitive, language and social. Existing toys also feature new updated patterns and colour combinations, with character eyes as a focal point for engaging baby.

A birthday wish can be made over and over again with the Melissa & Doug Birthday Party playset from Flair. This wooden cake has six slices, can be decorated with a variety of toppings and comes complete with a wooden spatula, serving plate and smart convenient wooden storage box. There are seven candles too, so it's perfect for those early years' birthdays.

Say hello to the Pull-Along Pals from Great Gizmos! Their special articulated design makes them wiggle, waddle and wag their tails as they are pulled along, making a perfect pet for a toddler.

Using the Chicco Baby Steps Activity Walker a young child can stand on its own two feet and take its first steps confidently and safely – to the sound of music. As the walker begins to move, a melody plays.

Child safety is at the heart of everything that Clippasafe, the people behind the innovative Bump Belt, does. In Clippasafe's catalogue of products for the home, out and about and in the car, there is a huge range of useful items designed to keep children safe.

Not only that, there are a number of items that keep toys out of the way, making the home safe for everybody.

Joining the much loved Wheelybugs and Junior Tradesman building sets, is Hippychick's exciting new construction toy, PLANX. Suitable for ages three - 103 PLANX is sure to capture the imaginations of children and adults alike with its truly addictive 'back to the old school' simplicity.

'My Activity Ring' is a good example of the outstanding range of early learning toys from Latitude Enfant that is now available in the UK exclusively through leading distributor Cheeky Rascals.

Tomy's incredibly popular Discovery Range enables children to learn more about the world around them through play, interaction and discovery.

Cute, cuddly and above all a reassuring choice, Rainbow Designs' asthma friendly® toy range is a musthave for the modern nursery and provides peace of mind for parents and hours of play for little ones. Fun and innovative new additions for 2007 include the delightful Developmental Giraffe.

The latest activity toy from Tiny Love is the 'Activitot', a new concept in baby activity gyms. The Activitot has been designed to stimulate the development of physical and intellectual skills in babies and toddlers, so that they can learn through play.

The brand new iCandy Pear launched at Harrogate was said to be the sensation of 2007 and it is set to live up to that title. The latest addition to the innovative and stylish iCandy range will be launched to the public later this year as part of our ongoing consumer advertising campaign.

The end of July will see the arrival of the urgently awaited Trekker 3 wheeler stroller.

The latest addition to X-Adventure's UK range; Trekker combines ruggedness with lightweight & flexibility.

Now available - Tigex's award-winning bath and hygiene range in fabulous new Raspberry.

What is Bliss?

Bliss was established 27 years ago by a group of concerned parents and has since developed into the leading national charity working in this field. Their work is as relevant now as it was then.

It may be global warming. It may be my faulty memory. But winters don't seem to be as cold as they once were. And with so many mothers having their own car, fewer babies are being taken out for long walks in the bad weather.

The fabulous Bunker from Lodger knows how to set itself apart from the competition. Incredibly versatile, it has a two part design (a warm fleece waterproof outer shell with a soft, plush removable inner liner) so that it can be used year round. When it is cold and damp use both parts together, use without the lining for milder conditions, and use the liner alone on warmer days.

Sunshine Kids has extended its range of head and body protection products that will fit in all car seats and pushchairs, offering the consumer more choice and retailers more sales options.

Cute and cuddly that's the new bedding range and toys now available from The Red Kite Baby Co. Two new ranges have been added to the range portfolio that have been designed with both fashion and practicality as key features. As you would expect the price as always represents fantastic value and features quality fabrics and finsh you would expect to find on a premium brand range of nursery bedding and toys.

Bourgies' innovative range of travel accessories for babywear, toddlers and buggies originate from the Blue Mountains near Sydney. The region lies at an altitude of over 1,000 metres and has cold, frosty winters. Bourgies are designed for cold weather. The range is now available in Europe, exclusively from Sunproof Limited who specialise in Australian baby products.

Graco is offering retailers the chance to preview its forthcoming 2008 product collection during its customer open days, being held this summer at the company's Lichfield based headquarters. Tracey Bamber, VP General Manager for Graco UK & Ireland tells us more about what takes place….

Somewhere around half of all retailers don't sell soft shoes. Considering the growing market, this is very surprising. There are many reasons to have at least one stand of soft shoes.

Hippychick's collection of stylish, comfortable and fun leather and suede Shoo Shoos for babies and toddlers is available in a wide selection of new designs and colours for Spring/Summer 2007. New styles feature perky pinks, flirty florals and the latest additions to their very popular super safari animals.

Babyshoes.co.uk has supplied children's boutiques and Babywear shops for over 15 years with all leather baby pram shoes and first walkers. We keep all pastel colours and black and red patent in stock. We have agents in Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester who have our catalogue and ranges in their showrooms.

Since its 'birth' at a farmhouse kitchen table over seven years ago, Hippychick has grown into one of the UK nursery industry's most exciting, innovative and well recognised brand names. Named after the now cult 'Hipseat' that was the company's first product, Hippychick has gone on to champion over twelve new and unique nursery products - many designed by parents.

Nursery retailers are traditionally geared up to provide the things that a baby will need when it is born, but many are now seeing the benefit of looking after the mother during the months of waiting. The most obvious items for Mum are maternity clothes. This product area can be divided into three - fashion, practical and lingerie.

Prince Lionheart's Pregnancy Pillow is a must for any mum to be. The pillow is specially designed to support different areas of the body during maternity.

Developed and designed in collaboration with midwives and lactation consultants, the awardwinning Easy-Zip bra put AnnaCecilia® firmly on the map. Now the rest of the range looks set to keep them there.

gro-group® is adding another maternity must-have to its portfolio. The Bando is a stretchy band that extends the life of non-maternity tops, creating a fashionable layered look. The wide fabric band offers support to the lower back and is made from cotton that feels soft against the skin.

Most parents use or plan to use a baby monitor - just over 1 in 10 parents haven't used one and don't plan to either*. As Tomy well know, it is the most favoured brand with some 30% of the respondents purchasing one. Fisher Price and Phillips come next with 11% of parents, followed by the Angelcare from Safety First and Tommee Tippee, then Mothercare's own brand and finally BT.

The cleverest ideas are often the simplest, such as a night light on the baby unit of a monitor. It's just one of the features of the new Safety 1st Digital Monitor. The unit has up to 30 hours battery time, plus a 'low battery' indicator, as a reminder to recharge it.

Tomy's award winning baby monitor range has a perfect product for every price point. Tomy Walkabout models use exclusive technology which gives even clearer, interference free transmission and a host of innovative features to really make parenting easier - from two way talk back and remotely controlled nightlights, to guaranteed privacy and vibration alert. For quality, reassurance and peace of mind, trust Tomy, the UK's favourite baby monitors.

Summer Infant reinforces its leadership and innovative stance in the monitors market with added consumer benefits, better value for money and unique features.