Kind+Jugend 2019 underlines its leading function as the international trade fair of the baby and toddler outfitting industry

The number of exhibitors was at a record level， the visitors of a high quality and international： that was the result of Kind + Jugend 2019， which ended on Sunday after four successful trade fair days. The trade fair， which， with nearly 1，300 suppliers， set a new exhibitor record， was also convincing on the visitor side. Around 24，000 trade visitors from 133 countries took the opportunity to gather comprehensive information， order and network. The internationality increased again slightly for both exhibitors and visitors. The exhibitors once again described the decision-making competency of visitors as outstanding. A large part of them belonged to the business management levels."In this year too， Kind + Jugend demonstrated its entire lively diversity. The demonstrably high competence of the visitors and the enormous internationality of the event are the decisive factors for its great success as the worlds most important platform for the entire industry"， according to Gerald B？se， President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. New products and concepts with a future orientation， such as digitalisation and connectivity， provided new impulses. Special consideration was given this year to the theme of sustainability through the sustainability initiative of Kind + Jugend in the textile segment.

This year too， the trade visitors of Kind + Jugend came from all commerce channels of relevance for the baby and toddler outfitting industry. Wholesale and retail trade， specialised trade， department stores， drugstores and online commerce were represented nationally and internationally and in all company sizes.

The share of foreign trade visitors increased slightly to 77 percent. Besides Germany， the main countries of origin of visitors were the EU countries， especially France and Italy. The presence from the United Kingdom declined slightly. The share of visitors from Central and South America increased significantly， especially from Bolivia， Brazil， Colombia and Peru. As in previous years， the visitor presence from the USA， as well as from Asia， in this case especially from Korea， was strong. Visitors from the Middle East also came increasingly to Kind + Jugend in Cologne， especially from Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

The top trends of this years Kind + Jugend included e-mobility for prams. Digital products for child care and the childrens room repeatedly provided material for discussion， while the "The Connected Kidsroom" special event familiarised visitors with many applications and devices. The theme of sustainability at Kind + Jugend received even more visibility and attention through the sustainability initiative of the trade fair in the textiles segment， and should be further developed in future in a segment-oriented fashion. Start-ups were able to present themselves for the first time at the trade fair under favourable conditions. This initiative will also be continued next year. With award ceremonies， special events and a broadly based lecture programme， Kind + Jugend this year once again offered both exhibitors and visitors a comprehensive overview of trends in industry and commerce. Trend experts from Germany and abroad made use of the opportunity to present the latest studies and analyses to an interested trade public， to explain business models and introduce best practices. These also included， for example， the German association of childrens outfitting manufacturers （BDKH）， representatives of a leading online trader from Asia and a top influencer from the USA. Consumer trends from countries like China， German-speaking countries， Turkey， Russia and the USA were also a theme on the stage of the Trend Forum.