The market remains extremely price competitive however, and baby carrier sales prices were on average 20% down on the same period last year. Pushchair accessories were big in April; of the retailers surveyed, sales of accessories accounted for 25% of the overall spend in the pushchairs category. In particular parasols sold well as a result of our earlier sunny and warm weather.

Even following the Bank of England's rather downbeat tone recently, we are now beginning to read comments like: "City forecasters are revising up their growth predictions for Britain" (Sunday Times) and "The economy does appear close to stabilisation" (The National Institute of Economic and Social Research).

There is much debate as to when we will get the green shoots but one thing is clear, our birth rate is still at a high level in the UK and despite the recession, as a general rule, we seem to be riding the storm rather well in the nursery products industry. This has been evidenced by the interest we are receiving for our own trade show, BPA Baby & Child. After a rather ponderous start to the year, we have witnessed a strong demand from exhibitors to take space at our show in London in October. Silver Cross, Chicco and Britax are the latest big names to sign up and if this trend continues we are going to have a bumper show this year.

So don't miss out

In 2007 and 2008 we carried out research to understand just who was coming to our show and what other shows were on their calendar. The results were consistent over the two years and are very interesting.

We found that 50% of our visitors only visit BPA Baby & Child and go to no other show. The other 50% also visited Harrogate and within that number 15% Kind und Jugend. I strongly suspect that a survey of Harrogate visitors would yield similar results. What we are in effect seeing, is a definite split between the visitor bases to both major UK trade shows. Each has a large proportion of unique visitors.

We have said for a long time that you cannot ignore either of the UK trade shows if you are serious about your business and just doing one will not necessarily ensure you reach the people you need. Apart from the obvious geographic separation there are as many exhibitors and retailers who prefer an autumn fair to those that like a spring fair, it is whatever fits in with their business cycle best. Of course each show is markedly different as well with all the features and events that you would expect from the industry's trade association being embedded into BPA Baby & Child Fair to make it more than just a trade show and more of a total industry experience.

In the show itself you have the Launchpad, a village where only first time exhibitors can show. Consequently you get 30 or 40 stands with absolutely unique, never been seen before, products. Also in the show itself you will find the seminar theatre, which throughout the three days of the show runs informative and entertaining seminars on a range of topics that are absolutely "must see" for serious nursery products retailers. There are also special interest zones like the Early Learning Toy Zone and the Eco Zone.

During the show, the BPA Concept and Innovation Awards are finally judged and presented and these awards have seen a number of new businesses launched on to the market over the years.

Then there are the BACRAS; the product recognition awards that have gained a massive amount of kudos in recent years for the winners of these coveted awards. There are categories for all types of product and exhibitor and judging from a panel of experts takes place during the show itself. These awards are presented along with the BPA Nursery Retailer of the Year Awards on the Sunday evening of the show at the BPA Party and Awards evening.

So going to BPA Baby & Child is a chance to learn so much about the industry, receive the recognition your business deserves and be educated on a host of topics that will give you significant business advantage.

It also provides the greatest platform, of course, to do significant business. Retailers can benefit from the lucrative show offers that abound, while exhibitors will achieve an ROI that outperforms other forms of sales promotion and marketing by a considerable factor.

So I would say to those exhibitors that only attend one show in the UK that they are missing a trick and for those 50% of visitors that only attend either London or Harrogate they too are missing out and so is their business.

Technical update

There have been a number of recent amendments and new standards created for nursery products and toys - these are available via the BPA website www.b-p-a.org, with discounts available to BPA members.

Amendments now available

BS EN 71-1:2005 +A8:2009 Safety of Toys-Mechanical and physical properties BS EN 60335-2-15:2002 Household and similar electrical appliances - Safety - Part 2-15: Particular requirements for appliances for heating liquids

Imminent standards

BS EN 1930 Child care articles - Safety barriers - Safety requirements and test methods. We are still awaiting the amendment to come out for the second enquiry, but expect this imminently.

Replacement standards

BS 8510:2009 Child use and care articles - Safety of children's sleep bags - Safety requirements and test methods This standard replaces the BPA Code of Practice 2:2005

Peter D White

Chief Executive

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