Bubble London opened its doors on the largest s/s edition to date last month. Over 250 of the finest children’s brands from across the world made for a fantastic variety of products and attracted retailers both from the UK and overseas. Buyers from independent boutiques through to Harrods, Selfridges and numerous department stores flocked through the doors on 19‐20 June at the Business Design Centre, Islington.
New signings to the show, UK launches and the return of firm retail favourites made for an increase in stand sales of 26 per cent on June 2010 figures. The visitor footfall also increased by over nine per cent over the same period.
With the demand for specialist children’s products ever growing, Bubble London played host to an abundance of new, interesting and diverse collections featuring many organic and hard‐to‐find products, which garnered positive reactions from both buyers and brands.
Liz Harris, owner of retail store Grange Clothing commented: “I am here to look at eco‐friendly ranges and I’m surprised at just how many are here. There is such a great range of different products on offer at this show”.
Lucy Jewson, co‐founder of childrenswear brand Frugi said: “We were blown away by our results at Bubble London this season – orders were up by a third over last season, which we are absolutely thrilled about. Even though we had five staff on our stand, finding a moment for a bite to eat was almost impossible we were so incredibly busy. We are all absolutely chuffed with the phenomenal reaction we had to our Spring ‘12 collection, knowing it hit the mark perfectly is a great boost to everyone back at the office to know all their hard work was worth it.”
This season saw the newly launched free retail‐oriented seminar programme featuring a hand‐picked selection of industry speakers from retail specialist companies. Each seminar was filled with retailers eager to obtain invaluable business advice, a much appreciated added value initiative, providing them with practical assistance on how to improve their business and ultimately their bottom line.
Romaine Coonghe, director of online childrenswear retailer Junior Styles Ltd said: “The seminar programme is a great addition to the show as the industry is ever changing so it was wonderful to have business people right there at the show for everyone to benefit from. The speakers were brilliant and I was so impressed with the range of topics as I can use the information learned to act as a barometer for making sure my business is running in the right way.”
Other highlights from the show included organic and fair trade brand Green Baby being crowned winners of the inspirational Stand Out competition, which saw brands competing for an exclusive prize. The judging panel included Kate Carter from the Guardian, Laura Kirkpatrick editor of CWB Magazine, Zarah Hartung from exclusive Irish online retail store Cherish Me and retailer Sarah Crossland from It’s all about the boy who awarded the brand for its imaginative and effective use of stand space.
Keen to ensure the show continues to deliver value, event director, Lindsay Hoyes, commented: “We are acutely aware that travel to trade shows is a great commitment of both time and budget for all buyers and we are continually thinking of ways in which we can add value and inspiration to the event. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, a superb success and we will continue to build on these elements in 2012. We have prided ourselves on nurturing an intimate relationship with both brands and retailers, something that has become a characteristic of the show. Since acquiring the event back in 2008, we have ensured that whilst growing the size of the show to include the best of international brands and seeking out new and innovative products, we have worked hard at retaining its unique personality and the bond it shares with its many supporters in the trade.”
To further strengthen its relationship with the trade Bubble London has bolstered its communications programme to fully embrace the social media opportunities available to facilitate 365 day/year interaction with all audiences. Its twitter account is extremely busy throughout the lead up to the show, during and in the days and weeks following the event. Its Facebook page has become a favourite of those wishing to share their collection news or amazing finds at Bubble. Its two‐way interactive approach to marketing remains Key to keeping the brand in focus year round and not just at show time.
The next Bubble London will take place on 29‐30 January at the Business Design Centre, Islington and will feature the autumn/winter 2012 trends for childrenswear, footwear, accessories, toys, interiors plus much more.
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