Spielwarenmesse eG, trade fair organizer and marketing services provider for the toy industry and organizer of the world ' s leading toy fair Spielwarenmesse ® announced the opening of its Indian subsidiary at an exclusive reception at the Chambers, Taj Lands End in Mumbai on 17th May and at the Orient Express, Taj Palace in New Delhi on 18th May.

With the opening of the Indian subsidiary Spielwarenmesse eG aims to strengthen its presence in one of the world’ s largest growth markets. Ernst Kick, CEO of Spielwarenmesse eG, explains:“ Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd. gives us the opportunity to expand our services close to the market. We can respond to changes both flexibly and quickly, whilst gaining a lasting foothold here.” The main objectives of the new, wholly-owned subsidiary include representing Spielwarenmesse eG and staging Kids India. Katharina Janotta, former Director Fair Management of Spielwarenmesse eG in Germany, is heading the new subsidiary as Managing Director. She states that,“ The opening of the Indian subsidiary has generated a positive response from the industry as those in the business of toys and children’ s products see it as Spielwarenmesse ' s belief in the future of the Indian market.”

Spielwarenmesse eG has been successfully organizing Kids India in Mumbai for the past three years. Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd. organizes the trade fair in cooperation with the Sports Goods Export Promotion Council( SGEPC), The All India Toy Manufacturers’ Association( TAITMA) and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce( IGCC). The fourth edition of Kids India which is set to run from 15 to 17 September 2016 at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, will occupy 2 halls this year for the first time. In recent years, the trade fair has established itself as India’ s biggest international B2B event for products related to children.

“ The decision to expand was prompted by the incredibly positive response from both exhibitors and visitors in the last three years,” states CEO Ernst Kick.“ The extra area will enable us to offer all our exhibitors sufficient space for their product presentations, whilst accommodating new features such as special shows that provide our audience with extra added value.” One such feature is the Back-to- School Area which celebrates its debut this year. This special zone invites manufacturers from the school requisites and stationery fields to showcase their products such as school bags, pencil cases

and writing utensils. Of course, established areas like the World of Toys Pavilion for international exhibitors and a Seminar & Workshop Area will also be included again.

Many of the exhibitors have been appearing at the event since the very first year – among them companies such as Brightway Exports International, Chicco, Frank Educational Aids, Funskool, G. B. Sports, Innisfree Education, Jasco Handicrafts, Mattel, Pegasus Toy-Kraft, Prem Ratna / Rupratna Marketing, Simba and Vardhaman I. Q. Toys. John Baby, CEO of Funskool India said“ For several years Funskool has been associated with Spielwarenmesse in Germany- the world’ s largest toy fair in Nuremberg, and in India we are delighted to be associated with Kids India. Our current focus is to make toys for the global market by leveraging our capability in developing and making quality toys and Kids India presents an excellent platform for us. The fair has exceeded our expectations and we are now looking forward to participating at Kids India 2016.” More than 60 % of the exhibition space is already booked for 2016 including participation of leading national and international brands from the fields of toys, baby items, licensed products, sports goods and leisure and hobby articles.

The fair provides the perfect business platform for domestic and foreign manufacturers, distributors, exporters / importers, consultants and trade bodies to come together.“ We have been visiting Kids India since the inception of the fair and come back satisfied every year. No other fair

in the country has the same international flair and the same level of professionalism. I’ m very impressed with the quality of the exhibitors and the products and trends showcased and look forward to coming back next year”, says Aruni Mishra, Chief – General Merchandise of Future Enterprises Limited. Like last year the Indian government will provide a sponsorship for international buyers who visit Kids India and more international buyers

are expected to attend the fair this year especially from the neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal and so on.

As part of its efforts to provide a networking platform for the industry, Spielwarenmesse India organized a networking evening jointly with the Sports Goods Export Promotion Council( SGEPC) in Jalandhar on 12th April. The evening was very well attended by manufacturers and exporters based in the region which belong mainly to the sports goods product segment.

Raghunath S. Rana, Chairman, SGEPC and Dharam Mahajan,

Vice Chairman, SGEPC were kind enough to grace the event with their presence along with various other committee members. Katharina Janotta, Managing Director, Spielwarenmesse India, gave a presentation highlighting the latest developments at Kids India 2016 and at Spielwarenmesse ® 2017. The initiative was well appreciated by the industry.

To gain further momentum and to increase further awareness about the fair, Spielwarenmesse India plans to organize dealer meets jointly with its partner association TAITMA in cities such as Hyderabad and Kolkata in the coming months.

We cordially invite you to the fourth edition of Kids India.

See you in Mumbai!

For further details and participation, please contact: Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd. info @ spielwarenmesse. in + 91 11 47168825