Post Show Report CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2022. Spring
The 27th edition of the International Exhibition for Child and Junior Fashion, Maternity Wear – CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2022. Spring – took place at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, on 21–24 February 2022.
This spring edition of CJF was extremely successful, exceeding all expectations and attendance forecasts. It once again confirmed its status as a sought-after international platform for the seasonal wholesale in the children's fashion industry and the traditional meeting place for manufacturers, distributors and representatives of trading companies operating in this market segment.
The show’s leading position was confirmed not only by the wide participation of well-known international brands, but also by the large-scale representation of manufacturers of children's clothes from the Russian regions.
Dates: 21–24 February 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
Exhibition area: 5,335 sq m
Attendance: 8, 980 visitors
Represented brands: 236
Russian exhibitors: 182, including G’n’K, Noble People, Trade-Decor, Malenkaya Ledi, Bovebum, Batik, Truvor, Van Cliff, Naslednik Vyzhanova, LeValdo™, Karamelli, Mialt, Avrora, Artel, VESTER, CHARMY white, Isel, Piccino Bellino, etc.; newcomers were Lel, MONIKA MO, Miagia, PTITIT, and Super Pups
Foreign exhibitors: Mayoral, Super fit, Pablosky, iDo, Keddo, OshKosh B'gosh, Kerry, DIDRIKSONS, Monte Blaze Polo Club, Kidmen, Baykar, Tugi, etc.
Countries: 14 (Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkiye, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
Group stands: Irkutsk and Kostroma oblasts
Product sectors: clothes for children, footwear for children, accessories for children, Premium – premium clothing brands, Teens – clothes for teenagers, retail equipment, fabrics and garment accessories
Sergey Katyrin, President at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
“CJF – Child and Junior Fashion is an effective business platform to increase supply in the Russian industry of children’s clothing. It provides every opportunity to market professionals and experts to discuss the main trends affecting demand and find effective solutions to maintain and stimulate it.”
Conference programme
CJF 2022. Spring featured over 30 events with 45 leading industry experts: designers, analysts, retail and e-commerce specialists, representatives of the parental community, technical regulation bodies and leading Russian universities overseeing the development of the fashion industry, bloggers, and licensors. The total number of attendees to these events amounted to more than 1,000 professional visitors.
The programme was opened on February 21 with the session on certification regulations from the ROSTEST Academy: Changing the Rules of Certification and Supervision of Circulation of Children’s Goods: How Businesses Should Handle the New Risks. The event attracted a large professional audience, including both manufacturers and importers. There was an open dialogue between representatives of the children's goods industry and regulators.
The session featured presentations by leading Academy experts such as CEO at Rostest Nina Moshchenskaya, Head of Internal Compliance Service Yulia Vasiltsyun, and Deputy Head of Certification of Chemicals, Medical Devices and Consumer Goods Department Elena Varaksina. According to the speakers, the changes in legislation have led to changes in the business environment and certification, in addition to being a barrier to market entry, has become a source of risk for each delivery of products. The experts gave the participants practical advice on how to reduce the risks of certificates and declarations being invalidated and offered effective tools to solve the problems.
Another session of the ROSTEST Academy, Mandatory Labelling Requirements for Children's Clothing and Footwear, was devoted to technical regulation issues. Market participants received answers to the most important and complicated questions related to conformity assessment rules and labelling of children's goods, clothing and footwear.
Nina Moshchanskaya noted that the number of participants grows with each meeting, and while last year we had to explain the basics of certification from scratch, this year's session participants came to the meeting with specific questions.
At the end of the session, the exhibitors had a change to get personalized consultations for ROSTEST representatives.
The Forum on the Children’s Fashion: How to Enter Marketplaces and Not Run at a Loss, organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with XWAY, was a success. XWAY CEO Anton Larin, Executive Director Vadim Solynin and CIO Alexey Svetlovsky discussed the most relevant topics for sellers in 2022: the prospects for e-commerce, the trend towards omnichannel business, state support measures on marketplaces, the advantages of sales management with IT developments and flexible infrastructure. Representatives of marketplaces as well as current sellers were invited to participate in the programme, sharing their experience and presenting successful cases for increasing sales and turnover on online platforms.
There is no doubt that the most exciting event of the first day of the exhibition was The Choice of Young Champions fashion show. The show was organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with the Pelageya Gymnastics Center (Moscow) and devoted to the Russian team (#ÊÎÌÀÍÄÀÃÅÐÎÅÂ) at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The fashion show featured well-loved winners and medalists of Moscow championships, national and international competitions, gymnasts from the Olympic Reserve School and the Pelageya Gymnastics Centre, led by Polina Gruzdeva, a world-class gymnast, multiple winner and medalist of international and national competitions in rhythmic gymnastics. They presented collections of such well-known manufacturers of children’s clothing as Smena, Slavyanka (TRUVOR), Mamma Mila! Factory, Stilnye Neposedy, Minidino, Aruna, and others.
Red Carpet Studio was the general partner of the show. The company is an author of the children's animated series Space Doctor Cat. It presented licensed products on the catwalk – children's accessories featuring the characters from the series.
A large number of audience members attended the events, which took place in the presentation area of the EXPO-ACADEMY project.
The Blogger Day forum, organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with the OLYMPX digital agency, also was a success. Anna Kilimnichenko, managing partner, director of the Internet Advertising Department of OLYMPX, consultant for strategic marketing and web marketing special projects, spoke about the principles of working with influencers and gave examples of successful collaborations. Popular bloggers Alisa Krasovitova, a blogger with 1 million subscribers who founded a children's party decor studio, and Yulia Mironova, a blogger with 2.6 million subscribers, took part in the event and analysed the accounts of exhibitors and gave a number of practical tips.
At this edition of CJF, EXPOCENTRE AO continued its partnership with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics aimed at improving the skills of industry professionals. Related workshops were moderated by Director at the Fashion Retail and Fashion Industry Competence Development Center at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics äèðåêòîð Svetlana Kostenko.
Elena Raykova, Assistant Professor at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, shared her expertise airing the Workshop on a Buyer's Competences: Knowledge of Product Features and Characteristics as a Basis for Successful Purchasing. Raykova elaborated on the professional qualities of a successful buyer and gave practical advice on how to ensure profitable procurement. The expert drew attention to the issues of vocational training, noting that there were several options for updating the knowledge and competences: courses, master classes, case studies, as well as a master's programme (distance learning over two years).
Well-known stylist, journalist, author of the Arsenic and Lace fashion and clothing podcast, author and lecturer at the Fashion in Modern Media programme of supplementary education at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Katya Shtern spoke at the Workshop ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter: How to Reach Children's Hearts by Registering Parental Preferences. Celebrity case studies. The fascinating analysis of the collections and preferences of famous personalities and their children could not fail to impress the CJF visitors and aroused great interest.
On February 21, Elena Pismenskaya, who is a regular partner of CJF – Child and Junior Fashion, founder of Kids Fashion Retail, expert, lecturer at the Creative Industries Center of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Russian School of Style, the Academy of Fashion and Style, and the Russian Fund of Educational Programs “Economy and Management”, hold the Workshop on the Modern Format of Children's Retail: Offline & Online. On February 22, she gave her recommendations at the Workshop on What to Expect from the New Season: New Opportunities, Recommendations for Working with Different Categories of Children's Clothing.
The 23rd edition of the Russian Trade Forum for Suppliers of Children’s Goods was organised by Imperia and EXPOCENTRE on the second day of the exhibition. The speakers of the Analytical Session on the Children’s Market 2022: What Will a Manufacturer Make Money off in the Transformed World? were such well-known experts as Head of the Observer service line at the Ipsos international research company Marina Luchina and representative of the Romir research holding Elena Shishova. They spoke about in detail about the latest trends in the children's goods market and in consumer behaviour.
Representatives of such leading marketplaces as OZON, Detsky Mir and goOmni discussed the dynamics of online sales of children's goods, working models and terms of cooperation with marketplaces, diagnosis of problem areas in online sales and other issues of great practical importance during the Online Session on the Sales Growth Algorithm on Marketplaces for Manufacturers of Children's Goods.
The forum’s key event was the Purchasing Centre for Retail Chains™: Children’s Goods. More than 30 buyers negotiated the supply of children's products with commercial directors, heads of purchasing departments at more than 20 retail chains and online retailers.
A regular series of workshops of the Fashion Consulting Group Academy, organised by EXPOCENTRE AO in partnership with Fashion Consulting Group on February 22, generated a lot of interest. The series was opened by the Workshop on Modern Loyalty Programmes in Children's Clothing Sales. Natalia Chinenova, a lead expert in retail business technology at Fashion Consulting Group, spoke about the definition of loyalty as it relates to the trade in children's goods. She believes that loyalty is the mood that business owners must create in an offline shop so that their customers want to return again and again. The speaker answered questions, backing them up with case studies from well-known companies.
Galina Kravchenko, Director of the Assortment Department at Fashion Consulting Group and Head of FCG in the FASHIONSNOOPS.COM Russian office, explained which styles, colours, materials and patterns would boost sales of the children's clothes and footwear in the FW 22/23 season at the Workshop on Fashion Trends for the Children's Clothing to Boost Sales in the FW 22/23 Season.
The Workshop on Social Media as a Full-fledged Sales Channel for Children's Clothing Brands by Katerina Diveeva, Director of Communications at Fashion Consulting Group and digital marketing expert, was devoted to promotion of products in social media.
Ekaterina Eliseeva, an expert and the founder of Practical Fashion Solution, shared her experience of mistakes and successes of children's shops at the Workshop on Children's Shops – Experiences in Opening and Management. Speaking Honestly About Mistakes and Success. The speaker talked about the experience of a children's goods shop, elaborated on how to build retail sales and what a shop owner needs to pay attention to today. She also listed the problems faced by consultants and shop owners, including the lack of a brand book, mistakes in shop design, overcrowding, logistics issues, etc. Owners and retailers need to take these factors into account in order for sales to be successful.
The second workshop by Ekaterina Eliseeva on How not to Overpay for Delivery of Children's Goods in Times of High Competition was a full house.
One of the most important events of the current edition of CJF was a presentation of the 3rd Russian Project of Testing Children’s Goods ‘Moms in Action. It was organised by the Council of Mothers Russian Public Organisation and Parents’ Choice ANO in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO.
The Russian project for testing baby products 'Moms in Action' is now in its third year. Its aims are to boost implementation of the Demography National Project, support honest business and promote quality baby products and clothing in the Russian market. The project is gaining momentum every year, despite the constantly changing realities. More and more products are being tested and given a quality rating by direct consumers who are caring parents from all regions of Russia who choose only the best for their children.
During the meeting, which took place on 23 February, representatives of the Council of Mothers and various product ambassadors told Russian manufacturers and distributors about the project and presented the opportunities it offers.
First Deputy Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO Sergey Selivanov welcomed the participants on behalf of EXPOCENTRE. He expressed his special gratitude to Parents’ Choice ANO, the Council of Mothers and personally to Tatiana Butskaya, Chairman of the Council and State Duma deputy, who took part in the presentation, and to Elena Danilevskaya, moderator of the meeting, Federal Curator at the Council of Mothers, Head at the Moms in Action project, for support in organisation of children goods trade shows and active participation in them.
As Elena Danilevskaya noted, the Moms in Action project has been in existence for three years and is constantly gaining momentum. In the course of the project, mothers and their children conduct tests of children's products, clothes and footwear, make creative videos, and form an opinion on the product based on practical results. All project ambassadors are trained at the Product Testing School and can give competent advice to parents who want to buy the highest quality and safest children's products.
The participants of the Workshop on How to Manage Customer Behaviour and Enhance the Effectiveness of a Children's Clothing Store discussed the ways to strengthen the efficient operation of a children's store. Expert in visual merchandising and store design, founder of the VM Guru agency, magister at the ÀrtEZ Academy Anna Balandina shared the secrets of how to make the Veni Vedi Emi formula work. She spoke in detail about how to create an efficient clothing and children's goods store, as well as the rules of its layout, zoning and design trends. According to Anna, visual merchandising is very important as it is a comprehensive marketing tool responsible for the planning and design of retail space and the presentation of goods at a point of sale. Sales will depend on how the product is presented and how well the zoning is done.
The attendees of the Workshop on Why a Brand for Everyone is Utopia. Brand Uniqueness learned that sellers have to know their customers well. Tatiana Vasilyeva, founder of the E-2 creative agency for clothing brands, introduced the criteria for correctly identifying the target audience and its importance in creating a unique selling proposition. According to the expert, the better a salesperson knows their target audience, the more accurately they know what to offer. Emina Ponyatova, expert in assortment planning and analytics, spoke about basic and fashion products.
The Workshop on How to Increase Children's Goods Sales by 20% in Two Months by Implementing Systemic Fashion Marketing by Irina Pishchuk, a fashion marketing expert, marketing systems expert, writer, head at the Academy of Fashion Marketing (AFM), and the Workshop on a Great Seller: How to Increase Sales in a Children's Clothing Store by Maria Gerasimenko, expert in strategic management of the fashion business, founder of Fashion Advisers and the Online Fashion Advisers School, generated a lot of attention from the professional audience.
For the first time, the Melnitsa licensing agency, which sells licenses and promotes projects of the Melnitsa Animation Studio, took part in the show and hold a Presentation "When the Licensor is a Guide to the World of Trends". Elena Berezhkova, Head of Licensing Department at the Melnitsa licensing agency, and Anna Alekseeva, Head of the Fashion Category at the Melnitsa licensing agency, talked about professional tools used to get the best effect when creating a children's collection, and shared up-to-date information on the Moonzy and The Barkers licences and brand development strategies. They also announced the first licensed limited-edition collection for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the film "Brat" together with the INCITY brand.
On the last day of the show, there were workshops on how to successfully sell children's shoes. Svetlana Dolzhenko, the expert in sales of children’s and teenagers’ shoes, and staff training, founder of the Shoes by the Rules retail project, held the Master Class on How to Sell Children's Shoes and pointed out what today’s customers need. She gave the audience practical advice on how to run a children's shoe shop, what knowledge salespeople need to have, and what they need to know about children's feet to get the right advice on choosing shoes.
The topic of selling children’s footwear was continued by Anastasia Akulicheva, brand manager of INDIGO KIDS (NSK Lux OOO, Novosibirsk) at the Master Class on Children's Shoes F/W 2022-23 – Emotion Design. She spoke about colour trends and their application in children’s shoe design as well as the key trends of F/W2022-23.
Olga Shibetskaya, a Lovemark marketing expert, founder of the Mind Tonix Academy, head at the H2O.Business Evolution consulting company, spoke at the Workshop on Increasing Sales Through Effective Communication with the Customer about trends in communication with the customer in 2022, the influence of seasonality on communication with the customer, and managing a content plan.
The Profashion Publishing House, the TOP SECRET model agency in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO organised a special STREÅT STYLE FASHION show of Russian designers and brands.
As part of the exhibition, there were regular fashion shows of children’s clothes – CJF. Children's Catwalk. It once again brought together collections of exhibitors such as Charmy, Duwali, Indigo Kids, ISEL Kids, L'amir, Kotofey, and Olmi.
We would like to express our gratitude to all our exhibitors and participants in the conference programme, our General Internet Partner RDT-INFO, and all media partners for their support.
We are looking to seeing you at the 28th edition of CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2022. Autumn at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, on 27–30 September 2022. The show will be held concurrently with the 27th edition of the Mir Detstva International Exhibition.
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Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO