How to find your way around the Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg Toy Fair

 

The Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg Toy Fair, which takes place from February 3 – 8, 2011, is by a magnitude the largest toy exhibition in the world.  As an American and the Spielwarenmesse’s Ambassador to the United States, I can speak to how daunting (and exciting) the sheer size of the event can be.

I therefore want to give you a guide to the event so that when you attend you will feel right at home. So here goes:

As you can see above, there are an astonishing 17 Exhibition Halls.  Each Hall has a theme so if you are looking for a particular type of product, you can put your energy into a specific area rather than ranging across all buildings.

The Halls can be categorized as follows:

Hall 1 - Dolls, soft toys and baby

Hall 2 - Baby and infant

Hall 3 - Wooden toys, craft work and gifts

Hall 4A - Model railroad and accessories

Hall 4 - Mechanical, electronic and action toys

Hall 5 - Technical, education and action toys

Hall 6 - Technical, education and action toys and Country pavilions

Hall 7A  - Model construction, hobby

Hall 7 - Model construction, hobby, sport, leisure, outdoor and Country pavilions

Hall 8 - Sport, leisure and outdoor

Hall 9 - Festival, trend, carnival, arts & crafts, creative design, school, stationary

Hall 10 - Games, books, learning, multimedia

Hall 10.1 - Games, books, learning, multimedia

Hall 11 - Best of China, Country pavilions

Hall 11.1 - New exhibitor center, Country pavilions

Hall 12 - Country pavilions

Hall 12.2 - Miscellaneous products and companies

There is, of course, any number of ways to work the show.  You can work it by category or just start at one end and just keep going.  I do, however, suggest that you take the first day to do the latter.  It is amazing to just walk and take in the crowds; the varieties of products; the smell of wiener schnitzel, sausage and, yes, beer, in the many food courts and the sounds of a multitude of languages being spoken (never fear, though, English truly is the world language and most people speak it.)

It’s a good time and its good business.  Click here to register.

Comments

[peter trouw]

Richard, can you provide a hotel list?
Just booked my flight.

Are 3 days on the floor enough to cover this event?
I am a rep & will not be ordering any product, so I walk & talk to vendors about the US market, thats it.

rbizassoc@aol.com

[Richard]

Hi,

Here is a link for finding hotels in Nuremberg.
http://www.toyfair.de/all-around-the-fair/accommodation/?L=1

Best,

Richard