By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
At the start of February, the Spielwarenmesse will present the latest trends, products and topics for the industry at the Toy Business Forum.
The 2023 Toy Business Forum will 18 international speakers and 21 presentations focusing on industry trends, retail, digitalisation, the metaverse, sustainability, and diversity. The presentations at the Toy Business Forum can be viewed live on-site or streamed via the Spielwarenmesse Digital platform.
Presentations will be given every day in Hall 3A between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. during the event. In the mornings from Wednesday to Saturday, representatives of the licensing industry will introduce the latest topics from the field at the LicenseTalks. The final event each day will be the presentations on the Spielwarenmesse ToyTrends.
Eva Stemmer, the founder of Licensing International, Licensing Magazine and BRANDmate, will inform visitors of the latest developments in licensing, demonstrate examples of best practice, and offer tips and tricks for newcomers to the industry during the LicenseTalks.
For broader trends in the market, Reyne Rice, an international toy and trend expert, will present ‘Emerging trends and future innovations in toys, games and play technology’ with other industry experts on the Wednesday of the fair. In addition, Steve Reece, an expert consultant to the toy sector, will be speaking on ‘The Future of Toys’ on Thursday.
At the end of each day from Wednesday to Saturday, Reyne Rice and metaverse expert Dominik Griese-Kentschke will take turns presenting the 2023 ToyTrends.
Afterwards, a Live on Stage program will allow exhibitors to take the stage for the Toy Business Forum. In 20-minute slots, companies will present their businesses, product portfolios and new products.
The trend themes of digitalisation and the metaverse will be areas of focus for the 2023 Toy Fair. Julia Frings, Project Manager at the Institute for Retail Studies IFH KÖLN, will host a presentation on how smartphones have become a prominent shopping tool.
Achim Himmelreich of Capgemini Deutschland will use his expertise in digital transformation to discuss how retail can prepare for the metaverse.
Niklas Wittkowski of TikTok will host a presentation on the concept of Millennial Marketing and how to communicate with Generation Z with the aid of the TikTok platform.
Discussions on sustainability and diversity in the retail trade and in toy development will also be held during the Toy Fair. A presentation on Sustainable Shopfitting will be hosted by Frank Bittel of PPM Planning + Project Management Pro in the Wednesday slot.
On Saturday, Sharon Keilthy from Ireland will share her experiences as founder of the world’s first toy shop with a fully ecological orientation as an example of best practice.
Themes of diversity and gender in the toy range will be explored by Olaolu Fajembola and Tebogo Nimindé-Dundadengar of Tebalou on the Thursday, and by Sascha Verlan of Wort & Klang Küche on the Sunday.
The 2023 Toy Business Forum will take place from Fe. 1 to Feb. 5, 2023. The complete Toy Business Forum program, as well as comprehensive information on the upcoming speakers, is available on the official Spielwarenmesse website.
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