The Playtime show to launch Playtime Online

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jan 30, 2018

Next June, Picaflor, the organiser of Playtime Paris, Playtime Tokyo, Playtime New York and the newly created Playtime Berlin, will launch Playtime Online, the virtual offshoot of the shows dedicated to the world of children, in response to the global transformation of the trade show formula. 

"Fewer and fewer orders are actually placed during shows, but the latter remain an essential contact point for buyers. We are about to end one of our biggest January [show] sessions," said Sébastien de Hutten, the man in charge of the Playtime shows, talking about the latest edition of Playtime Paris, which finished on 29th January.

In the same way that retailers work with cross-channel strategies, Picaflor wants buyers and exhibitors to be able to extend the twice-yearly physical show experience, making it available online at any time throughout the year. By subscribing to Playtime Online, brands will be able to manage their orders and stocks, link up their account to e-commerce solutions such as Prestashop, and chat online with buyers. The latter will be able to place orders more easily, and tap a broader range of brands, since also labels which do not exhibit at the shows will be able to subscribe to Playtime. Picaflor claimed there already is a waiting list with 150 names on it.  

"Between the Paris, Tokyo, Berlin and New York shows, we tot up a total of 15,000 visitors, and we have a database with details of 30,000 contacts. The website will afford great visibility to brands, and it is easily identifiable and accessible from the shows' I Love Playtime website," said Sébastien de Hutten.

Four years ago, Picaflor had already launched online with Playologie, a website which now brings together 1,500 buyers and 120 brands, among them also menswear, womenswear and design labels. The Playologie experience helped Picaflor develop Playtime Online. To host the two websites, Picaflor also set up Picaflor Editions, a division which will in future create B2B websites for other shows.