Once again it's time for BPA Baby & Child and this year it's in its new home of London ExCel

It has certainly been a tough year for the UK economy and indeed most economies throughout the world and although the UK nursery products retail sector has performed better than most other retail sectors (except food of course), our industry has not been without its challenges.

Published: 02 October, 2009

But some good news is there appears to be early indicators of a light at the end of the economic tunnel and some more great news is we have an absolutely brilliant show waiting for all of you in London.

The visitor pre-registration numbers are now well ahead of last year and BPA Baby & Child 2009 looks like being one of the best attended fairs for some years.

So the show begins on Sunday 11th October at 9.30am and as the doors open we will reveal a host of great new products on show, many that have never been seen before either in the UK or indeed anywhere else in the world. From the Launchpad area, brought to you in association with Ni, and all across the halls there are exciting new ranges to see.

In addition we have a comprehensive seminar programme this year with presentations on wide and varied subjects from leading experts, these include how to find out all you need to know when entering the world of eCommerce including niche markets, multi-fronted websites with multiple prices and traditional marketing. You will also find out how to get to the top of Google by paying for it, but more importantly, how to get there without spending a penny! There are also seminars on market trends and point of sales statistics, on PR and on how to cope in a recession.

During the course of Sunday the final judging for the BACRAs product awards will take place. The winners and finalists will be recognised at the party and awards dinner in the evening at the Tower Hotel overlooking Tower Bridge in the heart of London. If you have not booked your ticket yet for the party and awards dinner you really must get a move on - they are proving very popular this year and numbers are limited.

We have a brilliant comedian and compere this year and a great band for you to dance to long into the night, if you have the stamina. It will be a fabulous night out with great food and entertainment and a great place to meet and network with fellow members of the industry.

In addition to the BACRA Awards we also will be presenting the much coveted Retailer of The Year Awards so make sure you are there. There will be e-newsletters giving you further information in the weeks running up to the show but to avoid disappointment please book early.

Returning to the show on Monday hopefully not too fuzzy headed you can relax in the seminar theatre on the BPA stand with a cup of coffee whilst you recover and the pick up on more of the seminar programme which is spread over the duration of the show.

On Monday it's press day and also the final judging and presentation of the BPA Concept & Innovation Awards. This year the winners will be announced and presented to by Tim Loughton MP Conservative Shadow Minister for Children. Our new concept entries this year have been absolutely outstanding and indeed revolutionary and we think we have found the next generation of innovators for the nursery products market. As with previous years we fully expect to see many of these on the market by 2010 so make time to watch this presentation and talk to the entrants about their great new ideas, they are guaranteed to fill you with a renewed inspiration.

On Tuesday we have further seminars to keep you informed and it's an ideal opportunity to mop up those stands that you have missed in the previous days and of course close those deals that you have been talking about on the Sunday or Monday. There are always plenty of show offers especially if you are a BPA Retail member, please look out for e-newsletters for more details on these or go to the website.

So if you were in two minds about attending this year's BPA Baby & Child I hope I have convinced you that you will be missing a great deal if you don't. It is a focussed event and a great place to update you on all that is new in the industry. It is the only event in the UK that puts together a comprehensive range of never before seen products, a range of new products that are all ready and available for the UK market. That combines this with a brilliant programme of informative seminars that will give your business a competitive edge for the year ahead and has the best party and awards night in the industry in the heart of London, what more could you want?

We are putting together accommodation packages together with the Guoman Tower Hotel which may be of interest to those wishing to make their trip to BPA Baby & Child an opportunity to also take in some of the sights of London, contact Christel or Sarah at the BPA for further information.

I look forward to meeting you at BPA Baby & Child please come along to the BPA stand and say hello.

Peter D White - Chief Executive

Tel: 0845 456 9570

Info@b-p-a.org

www.b-p-a.org

www.babyandchildfair.co.uk