Post Show Report Mir Detstva 2021

The 26^th edition of the International Exhibition for the Children's, Mir Detstva 2021, took place from 21 to 24 September 2021 at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds. It is the largest event in the children's industry and children's fashion in Russia, Eastern Europe and the CIS.

For the convenience of exhibitors and B2B visitors (distributors, retail chains, wholesalers), Mir Detstva was held in parallel with the autumn edition of CJF – Child and Junior Fashion. It was a great opportunity to see all new products and trends of children’s goods and clothing under one roof at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds and sign contracts aimed at saturating the Russian market with quality toys, goods for newborns, creativity, clothes, footwear and accessories for children and future mothers.

Dates:  21–24 September 2022

Venue: EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia  

Organised by EXPOCENTRE AO

Supported by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade

Under auspices of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Floor space: 12,000+ sq m

Total attendance: 15,000 professional visitors

Exhibitors: about 400 companies (Alisa Group, Grat West, the ROSMAN Publishing House, Konik, Company Optima, Nasha Igrushka, Nordplast, Polesie, RIKKI, Red Carpet Studio, Rant, Russkiy Still, Sima Land, Simbat, CTC Media, Step puzzle, Simba Toys Rus, Gamma, TNG, EDM, Phoenix+, Unitoys, etc.)  

Represented brands: 1,000+      

Countries: 17 (Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the UK, the USA) 

Product sectors: Goods for newborns and infants. Games, toys, hobby supplies, models. Creativity and design, stationery. Licensed goods for children. Licensors/right holders, trade mark and brand owners. School supplies. Supplementary education for children. Children’s furniture, furniture and equipment for preschools. Sports equipment and facilities, multifunctional equipment for playgrounds. Everything for Christmas and New Year celebrations

General Internet Partner – RDT-INFO.RU

The show received official welcome addresses from Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin, Chair of the Russian Council of Federation Committee for Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova, Deputy of the Russian State Duma, coordinator of the Mothers' Platform "Time to Give Birth", Chair of the Mother’s Council, President of the Association of Manufacturers and Consumers of Goods and Services for Children “Parents’ Choice” Tatiana Butskaya,  Chair of the Expert Council on Culture of the Youth Parliament under the Russian State Duma Aleksandr Solonkin, Member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation on the Implementation of the State Policy on the Protection of Family and Children, President of the Children's Goods Industry Association Antonina Tsitsulina, President of the Art Industry Association Irina Egorova, Executive Director of the Russian National Parents' Association for Social Support of Families and Protection of Family Values Larisa Sanatovskaya, and Director General of EXPOCENTRE AO Alexey Vyalkin.

The official opening ceremony was attended by Deputy of the Russian State Duma, President of the Association of Manufacturers and Consumers of Goods and Services for Children “Parents’ Choice” Tatiana Butskaya, Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Maksim Fateev, Director of the Department of Socially Important Goods Industry Development of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Dmitry Kolobov, Chief Freelance Specialist in Paediatric Rehabilitation at the Russian Ministry of Healthcare, Deputy of the Moscow City Duma Tatiana Batysheva, Member of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation on the Implementation of the State Policy on the Protection of Family and Children, President of the Children's Goods Industry Association Antonina Tsitsulina, Director General of EXPOCENTRE AO Alexey Vyalkin, and other officials.

According to the speakers, these trade shows represent the best of what is now manufactured for our children. Despite the difficult pandemic year, Russian manufacturers managed not only to cope successfully with new challenges, but also to increase exports of goods for children. During the official tour of the show, the guests viewed the stands and appreciated the level and quality of the key categories of children's products on display.

Show highlights

Mir Detstva 2021 chose the animated series Space Doctor Cat as its ambassador. The series was created by the Red Carpet Studio with participation of Hollywood’s legendary writer Jack Enyart. Before the exhibition Red Carpet Studio released a promotional video in which the Space Doctor Cat and other characters from the cartoon series invited visitors to Mir Detstva and guaranteed their safety and following all anti Covid-19 measures. A large team of animation professionals took part in the production of the video.

Thanks to the active participation of Russian regional organisations supporting small and medium sized businesses, the participants included companies from the Tatar and Udmurt Republics, the Perm and Stavropol krais, and the Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Chelyabinsk, Ivanovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Lipetsk, Moscow, Omsk, Orel, Ryazan, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tomsk, Tver, Ulyanovsk, and Yaroslavl oblasts.

Conference programme

The show was complemented by a busy conference programme with more than 40 major events of Mir Detstva 2021 and CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2021. Autumn. In order to involve as many professionals as possible, the events took place in both offline and hybrid formats.

The first day’s central event was the EXPO-Forum on Children's Goods Industry 2021. Revival. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO, ROSTEST AO, the Russian Quality System (Roskachestvo), and Innovative Center of the Textile and Garment Industry OAO.

The forum, as part of its support for the implementation of the National Project for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Support for Individual Entrepreneurial Initiatives, brought together not only practical sessions aimed at developing the children's goods and clothing industry, but also congresses which covered strategic issues of this country's future in relation to the upbringing of the younger generation.

The forum’s sessions included Measures to Support Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Talking to Businessmen; School Uniforms: Quality from Raw Materials to Products; What You Have to Know about Certification of Children's Goods to Manage Your Business More Effectively in the Conditions When Certificates are Invalid; the Development of the Children's Industry in the Eurasian Economic Union; and Labelling of Children’s Goods. They were held in different formats – online, offline and hybrid – to make information relevant to business development, including certification and labelling, available to entrepreneurs in different regions of the country.

The sessions were moderated by Deputy Head of the Russian Quality System Yulia Mikhaleva, Deputy Head of the Russian Quality System Elena Saratseva, Director General of ROSTEST Nina Moshchenskaya, Strategic Development Director of Innovative Center of the Textile and Garment Industry OAO Konstantin Bandorin, and GR Director of Yandex E-com and Foodtech Dmitry Rusakov.

The participants included Trade Representative of Russia in Kazakhstan Andrey Babko, Trade Representative of Russia in Tajikistan Evgeniy Korenkov, Deputy Representative of Russia in Kyrgyzstan Ainur Samanov, Deputy Director of the Department of the Investment Policy and Development of Small and Middle Entrepreneurship of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development Olesya Teterina, Deputy Director of the Department of the Textile and Timber Industries of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Veronika Bobrovskaya, Deputy Head of the Rospotrebnadzor's Department of Federal State Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection Marina Kochneva, Head of the Children's Goods Industry Unit of the Department for Development of Socially Important Goods of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Olga Chusovskaya, Head of the Division for Ensuring the Functioning of the Digital Product Labelling System of the Department of the Digital Product Labelling and Legalisation of Trade in Goods of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Vadim Derunov, Head of the EEC Labelling and E-commerce Division Ilya Kabanov, Director of the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy of the Russian Academy of Education Tatiana Solovieva, Project Head of the Project Department of the Industry Development Fund Maria Krasavina, Head of the Consumer Goods Export Support Project of the Russian Export Center Maksim Chapov, Specialist in Trade Technology of Detsky Mir PAO Mikhail Levedinsky, Head of Lamoda's Labelling Implementation and Development Programme Lyudmila Shmygaleva, Executive Director of the Corporate Business Development Department of Sberbank PAO Alla Sbitneva, representatives of different unions, associations, Innovative Center of the Textile and Garment Industry OAO, and exhibitors.

On the forum’s key events was the Conference on the Impact of Games, Toys, and Visual Content on the Patriotic Upbringing of Children. It was organised by the Expert Council on Culture of the Youth Parliament under the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly and the National Project Support Fund for Educational and Upbringing Initiatives in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO.

The conference was moderated by Elena Kalgina, Executive Director of the National Project Fund, member of the Expert Council on Upbringing of the Russian State Duma Committee on Education and Science, member of the Board of Trustees of the Victory TV Channel (Channel One Russia) and member of the Council on Culture of the Youth Parliament under the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly. 

Chair of the Expert Council on Culture of the Youth Parliament under the Russian State Duma Aleksandr Solonkin noted in his video address to the conference participants, “Today, we are the ones who are responsible for the trends that are formed for young people and children. In the era of the information boom, when social networks are setting the trends of who the leaders are for young people, we all have a responsibility to develop creative industries, to be responsible for the patriotic education of young people, and the interaction of government and business in this regard". According to Mr. Solonkin, "there is a severe lack of nationally oriented toys, cartoons and fairy tales".

Dmitry Matyushenkov, Chairman of the Legislative Council of the Youth Parliament under the Russian State Duma, addressed the conference and paid special attention to the content of modern computer games played by children and young people.

There was also a great deal of interest in the presentations of Deputy Head of the Military Patriotic Work and Cooperation with Public Associations Directorate of the Main Military and Political Department of the Russian Armed Forces Aleksandr Mischenko, Rector of the Ivanovo State Polytechnic University Evgeniy Rumyantsev, Deputy Director for Development of the Borodino Field Museum Reserve Larisa Berezova, People's Artist of Russia, member of the Public Council of the Russian Ministry of Culture Vladimir Surovtsev, Executive Director of the Russian Historical Reconstruction Clubs Mikhail Shmaevich, Deputy General Producer for Strategic Development of the Animation Business of Red Carpet Studio Natalia Ivanova-Dostoevskaya, advisor to CEO of the Red Square Media Holding Mikhail Schegortsov, Depeche Mode brand owner and industrial designer Elena Shkarupa, and other participants.

A resolution from the conference will be sent to the relevant committee of the Russian State Duma.

Events of the ROSTEST Academy: Declaration and Certification: Redefining Familiar Concepts, were organised by ROSTEST AO in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO from September 21 through 23.  

These events included a session of the EXPO-Forum on Children's Goods Industry 2021. Revival called What You Have to Know about Certification of Children's Goods to Manage Your Business More Effectively in the Conditions When Certificates are Invalid, The AQUARIUM networking session with regulators (representatives of ROSTEST, Rosstandart, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Federal Customs Service) and different panels. What does the future hold for the children’s industry? Changes in requirements for children's products; What is the right certification?; and How can compliance certification reduce the risk of fines and help exports?

The speakers gave participants useful recommendations and explained the rationale behind the changes, and how the certification services market had already changed and was still changing.

The participants in the AQUARIUM Networking touched on the hottest topic which is the recent changes in the control legislation and the risks of invalidating certificates of conformity, declarations of conformity and test reports retroactively. The speakers were Director General of ROSTEST Nina Moshchenskaya, legal advisor Yulia Vasiltsyun, and Development Director Olga Vlasyuk, who explained in detail how to manage the new risks. Any additional costs associated with the invalidation of certificates will have an impact on the cost of the final product.

Nina Moschenskaya highly praised the event saying, “As a certification body, we are always trying to increase our knowledge about new technologies and new products from our partners. And where else, if not at this exhibition, one can learn what is going on in the industry. We are very satisfied with the way all the events organised by ROSTEST within Mir Detstva were held. We received a lot of positive feedback and suggestions. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep the market informed in a timely manner, as well as suggest solutions.”

The Forum on the Successful Launch of Children's Shops on Marketplaces: Real Cases, Statistics and Forecasts, took place on September 21. It was organised by XWAY, the largest operation partner of marketplaces. The forum was moderated by Anton Larin, expert in retail and ecommerce, co-founder of XWAY. XWAY Operation Director Vadim Solynin spoke about the trends and prospects of online retailing, the stabilisation of the retail market, the growth of user interest in e-commerce, and which marketplaces to look out for. The speaker also pointed out that the Big Three – AliExpress, Wildberries and Ozon – remain at the top of e-commerce in Russia. The presentations by Head of Products for Children and Mothers at AliExpress Russia Ksenia Sapon, Head of Sales at Mart Anastasia Bardina and CPO at XWAY Alexey Svetlovsky attracted a lot of interest.

September 21 was also the Day of SMM and Bloggers. The Blogger Day Forum enjoyed a great interest from the audience. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO and digital agency OLYMPX. Anna Kilimnichenko, managing partner, director of the Internet Advertising Department of OLYMPX, consultant for strategic marketing and web marketing special projects, lecturer at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, not only moderated the event but also spoke about 2021/2022 trends in SMM promotion, the art of product presentation on social networks, the promotion of a children's shop, the secrets of organising photo and video shoots with children for TikTok, and studies different accounts. The event ended with a battle of bloggers and marketers, in which well-known bloggers and representatives of exhibiting companies took the stage. 

The three day marathon on Community Management & Social Media in Promotion of Children’s Goods and Clothes was devoted to effective promotion of goods in social media. It was held within the Expo Academy project on September 21–23 by digital agency OLYMPX jointly with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics with support of EXPOCENTRE AO. The marathon covered such relevant topics as the Community Management. The Basics of Community Building, Visual Design of a Blog. How to Design a Blog with Style, and How to Sell Effectively Via Instagram.  

The marathon’s speakers were Svetlana Kostenko, Director at the Fashion Retail and Fashion Industry Competence Development Center at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Anna Kilimnichenko, managing partner, director of the Internet Advertising Department of OLYMPX, consultant for strategic marketing and web marketing special projects, lecturer at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, and Sergey Derkachev, a well-known brand designer.  

The most active participants in the marathon were awarded certificates for discounted training in the Community Management & Social Media in the Promotion of Children's and Fashion Industries professional development programme at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.

Traditionally important events held by KVK Imperia, KK Symposium and EXPOCENTRE AO took place on 21, 22 and 23 September.  

The 4^th Russian Conference ‘A Winning Formula for a Store for Children. Goods for Newborns and Multiformat’ was held on 21 September. The conference participants were representatives of children's retail, specialising in goods for newborns, as well as multi-format children's retail.

Leading research agencies GfK Rus and Ipsos highlighted the current situation in the market of goods for newborns and talked about a new buying behaviour of parents in 2021. Top experts in children's retail development shared working tools and tips on attracting and retaining customers in offline stores.

In the Retail Chains Centre^тм the experts from Triout&Partners, Paper Planes, REALPRO Branding & Consulting, DEZA, FRONT Total Branding and others gave retail representatives practical advice on positioning children's retail in a time of falling customer traffic, on working with customers and service in offline outlets, on branding in children's retail, and much more.

The 22^nd Russian Trade Forum for Children’s Goods Suppliers with Retail Chains Centre^тм was held in a new interactive format. The first foresight session was devoted to forecasts for the children's goods market: what will the toy of the future look like? What marketing tools are dying and what will never lose their power? How will the consumer of the future make purchasing decisions regarding children's goods tomorrow? These and other questions were answered by experts from PSYHEA, NPD Group, the Higher School of Economics, and TopMinin. In the second session, suppliers – who are direct participants in the children's market – shared their unsuccessful experiences of supplying online, working with marketplaces and bloggers. The day ended with an interactive business game, a preparation for the Retail Chains Centre^тм, where the networks themselves taught suppliers how to present children's goods flawlessly.

The key event of the forum was the traditional Retail Chains Centre^тм: Children’s Goods. 95 buyers from 45 children's and FMCG chains and dozens of supplier companies held more than 1,000 supply talks in just one day. The largest chains in Russia and the CIS came to update their assortment: Dochki Synochki, Detsky Mir, Ozon, VotOnYa, Bubble Gum, Yerkemay, Perekryostok Vprok, Kotofey, and many others.

The participants in the 4^th Russian Business Forum on the Market of Licensed Goods for Children talked about how not to get lost among thousands of brands and choose the license that will inevitably pay off, what pitfalls of working with licenses await licensees. The speakers included Maya Moskvicheva (Riki), Valentina Kursanova (0+ Media), Tatiana Rekhtina and Daria Toritsina (STS Media), Roman Fedotov (Olimp), Alina Lant and Marina Luchina (Ipsos) and others.

For the first time, Red Carpet Studio, which is an exclusive creator of an ecosystem of projects dedicated to the development and production of web series in Russia, took part in Mir Detstva and its conference programme. The studio specialises in the production and international distribution of animated content for children. At its stand, Red Carpet Studio presented two new projects: Space Doctor Cat and Pugashki. The visitors also could get acquainted with the studio's products and watch all the episodes of the presented animated series. A presentation (September 23) of new projects of Red Carpet Studio was devoted to the topic of An Animation Brand as a Means of Communication. Its speaker was Deputy General Producer for Strategic Development of the Animation Business of Red Carpet Studio Natalia Ivanova-Dostoevskaya.

On September 22 and 23 the Expo Academy featured the highly successful Business Marathon: An Effective Team: How to Build a Result-Oriented Team. Its speakers gave attendees practical recommendations on personnel management and marketing strategies. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with the First International Digital University. The two crash course – The Team and Business Processes, and Marketing and Sales – were a success. In particular, marketing expert Sergey Gromov talked about how to strategise, where to start and what to get the client interested in for increasing sales.

The 3^rd International Conference on the Culture of Play of Today’s Children was organised by the Association of Children’s Goods Industry Enterprises and the National Association of Russian Toy Makers on 23 September. The conference brought together academic experts, educators, game and toy manufacturers, designers, marketing experts and public authorities responsible for the development and regulation of the toy and game industry, as well as all those interested in the present and future of children.

The discussion focused on children and their games in an era of global transformation. Representatives of various research schools touched upon philosophical and socio-cultural contexts of children's play, play technologies of upbringing, education and development of children, habilitation and rehabilitation with the help of toys. The most vital topics were raised in several discussions about the influence of online environment on the child's real world, popular children's trends, game environment design, gender specificity of modern children's games, regulation and expertise of games and toys. Representatives of public authorities talked about plans to update standards and requirements in the toy and game industry.

President of the Children's Goods Industry Association Antonina Tsitsulina said, “It is important to create a professional community of manufacturers, designers, and researchers of games and toys in Russia. It is great to see that many domestic companies are consulting with psychologists and studying initiatives and practical experience. We have accumulated enormous scientific expertise in game technology and education, and there is great potential for creating projects that are successful on a global scale. We will definitely continue the dialogue on play culture with both Russian and foreign experts.”  

One of the most important events of September 23 was the Russian Conference on Safe Childhood. It was organised by the Council of Mothers Russian Public Organisation and the Parents’ Choice Expert and Educational Support Center for Parents with support of EXPOCENTRE AO, and moderated by Deputy of the Russian State Duma, coordinator of the Mothers' Platform "Time to Give Birth", Chair of the Mother’s Council, President of the Association of Manufacturers and Consumers of Goods and Services for Children “Parents’ Choice” Tatiana Butskaya. The conference participants discussed the problems related to ensuring proper quality and safety of children's goods on the Russian market. The reports of Federal Supervisor of the Mothers' Council Elena Danilevskaya, Head of the Children's Goods Industry Department of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Olga Chusovskaya, and Deputy Head of the Russian Quality System Elena Sarattseva were met with great interest.

The conference hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the 7^th International Children's Goods Award “Parents' Choice 2021” and the Moms in Action 2020-2021 Competition. Click to see the winners.

Throughout the exhibition, the Expo Academy hosted daily practical events with renowned industry experts sharing their experience in various aspects of successful business building:

• Workshops on How to Sell Successfully.  Marketplace Analytics, a New Approach to Shaping a Product Grid in the Age of Online, the Digital World Retail. What people expect from retail, and how to change it, Client-Oriented Services, and How to Turn a Children's Fashion Shop into a Brand and Increase Sales by 20%+

• Master classes on a Continuous Training System for Retail Salespeople, Effective Photo and Video Content for Marketplaces, How Single-Handedly Launch a Unique Brand, to Engage in Foreign Trade, Create a Franchise, and Change the World Around You, and Five Life Hacks from the Pros for Promoting Your Products on Wildberries

• Presentations of the ESSAONE Platform is Your New Experience in Buying from China, New Trends in Merchandising. Development of Licensed Products via Examples of FUNKO, PYRAMID, PALADONE, BANDAI, etc., and Programming Without Displays: an Advance in Kindergarten and School Equipment

The 14^th Russian Forum of Model Makers, organised by ICM OOO in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO, brought together major Russian and foreign players of the models market.  The participants discussed and presented the market trends and announced the next innovations and products. 

The most fascinating event of the show was the 21^st edition of the Moscow International Festival of Balloons, which was organised by Europa Uno Trade with support of EXPOCENTRE AO. The festival welcomed more than 500 professionals from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Ukraine. The best teams of artists, designers and decorators from various parts of Russia and other countries demonstrated the art of creating balloon compositions, figures, bouquets, costumes, and much more.

The festival included the Russia Open Professional Balloon Design Championship. Winners were determined in seven categories: Large Sculpture, Kraft Bouquet, Bouquet for Delivery, Balloon Costume, Black Box, Twelve Minutes (the fastest category), and Photo Competition (a new online category). The world famous masters of balloon design shared their professional secrets with the beginners and experienced decorators during several workshops. Over one million balloons were inflated during the exhibition days.

Mir Detstva 2021 and CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2021. Autumn were concluded with the award ceremony for the winners of the Soyuzexpertiza competition for goods for children and teenagers held by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The 27^th edition of the International Exhibition for the Children’s Industry – Mir Detstva 2022 – will take place at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, on 27–30 September 2022.  

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Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO