Spielwarenmesse returned to Nuremberg last week, with a strong party presence. Exhibitors tell partyworldwide.net how the show was for them and their hopes for the coming year.
Sergio Battaner, sales and marketing director, Palmer Agencies
“It’s been a fantastic fair. It’s always great to meet new and existing customers and distribution partners. Our stand is always lively being at the heart of the hall and our amazing animatronic products help to draw in the crowds.
“For the year ahead we hope for more optimism as the market settles and we can only hope for consumer confidence to begin to return. Halloween is always a key moment for families and friends to come together and celebrate and with it falling on a weekend this year, we have high hopes for a great Halloween season ahead.”
Julie Dommett, head of marketing, Anagram Europe
“It has been great. We’ve been exhibiting here for 35 years, but it’s our first as Anagram Europe, so it’s been fantastic to welcome customers, old and new and the reception has been so positive. We’re so happy and have had loads of people through, so it’s been incredibly positive.
“We have so many hopes and dreams for the year ahead. We’ve just launched our new latex lines, so we’re thrilled to be able to be shipping that out to customers in February. The response so far has been amazing, so we’re really pleased on that. We’ve got lots of new product launches planned throughout the year, so lots of exciting things to look forward to.”
Sofie Vandewyer, ceo, Sempertex Europe
“It’s been a crazy, but very satisfying week at Spielwarenmesse. We’ve seen a lot of people and after a crazy year in the industry, we are trying to see how the dust settles and we’re happy to be on the good side. We released some new colours here and everybody was happy to see the products. It’s also great to meet with other suppliers and everybody has reacted positively.
“I think that this year we will stay strong in the position of being the leading brand in decorator balloons and we have some surprises up our sleeve, so you need to keep an eye on us.”
Michele Gaudelli, commercial director, Club Green and Hootyballoo
“We’ve had an absolutely great show. It’s the first time that we’ve been here, we’re exhibiting with our partner, Fiesta Guirca and the feedback on the brand has been phenomenal, it really has. Because we are new to the European market, they see us as a new, fresh brand and we’ve had lots of great feedback – loving the brand, loving how elevated it looks. Hopefully we’ll have a great response following the show.
“We’ve already had conversations with the organisers and booked space for next year, so we’ll be here on a bigger scale, hopefully showing more new products next year and long may it continue.
“So far we’re seeing that the signs for this year are better. We’re feeling a lot more optimistic about how the market is going to go, we’ve got some great projects that we’re working on, so we feel very optimistic about the year ahead.
“I think although people are still being cautious, there’s more optimism in the market for the year ahead too.”
