Playtime Berlin childrenswear trade show bows out

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Oct 4, 2018

After three editions, the Playtime Berlin childrenswear trade show is bowing out. The event was launched in 2017 by Picaflor, the organiser of Playtime Paris, aiming to attract buyers and exhibitors from northern and eastern Europe. However, it didn’t meet with the hoped-for success, as visitor numbers kept dwindling. In the last session, held on July 4 and 5 at the Palazzo Italia venue in Berlin, the show featured 84 exhibitors and welcomed 708 visitors, compared to 120 exhibitors and 738 visitors in January 2018. 

“Visitor attendance has not shown a positive trend, and we don’t see any sign that might enable us to envisage improvements in the future. We have reached the conclusion that perhaps there is no room for another childrenswear show in Europe for the time being, and that the German market is too fragmented to justify holding a fully fledged trade event,” stated Picaflor, which besides the Berlin and Paris editions also organises Playtime New York and Playtime Tokyo.

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Playtime Berlin isn’t the only childrenswear show held in the capital of Germany to have experienced such difficulties. The Kid's Wear show only lasted one season in 2012, Kids Camp, which was part of the Bread & Butter show, was only staged once in 2010, and the B&B Youngstars event, a second attempt scheduled in 2011 at Berlin’s old Tempelhof airport, had to be cancelled. More recently, the Cookies Show, dedicated to children’s footwear and lifestyle products, announced its discontinuation last spring.