Product category:
Exhibitions
News Release from: Events Industry Alliance | Subject: Toy Fair
Edited by the Marketingservicestalk Editorial
Team on 28 March 2007
Bolton Bear maker strikes gold at Toy
Fair
The wealth of orders won by Imran Hakim of iTeddy after he took a stand at the Toy Fair demonstrates the enormous power of events to generate business.
When Imran Hakim of iTeddy based in Bolton booked his stand at the Toy Fair in London in January 2007 he had no idea what to expect as a new entrant to the market However, iTeddy, a teddy bear with a built-in personal media player, proved hugely popular with the audience, so much so that Hakim twice had to draft in additional staff to cope with the level of interest from the trade professionals attending
This article was originally published on Marketingservicestalk on 21 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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All the leading buyers visited the iTeddy stand with genuine interest shown by most, including representatives from market leaders Hamley's, Toys'R'us' and Harrods.
By the close of the show Hakim expected orders for the Christmas peak to run to seven figure, a number that will challenge his work force but he has no doubts they will meet.
And it wasn't just trade interest: iTeddy featured on 5 News as well as on SKY.
The Sun and the Telegraph were among the nationals that interviewed Hakim for follow-up feature articles.
A delighted Hakim said: "GBP200,000 would not have bought the media exposure generated as a result of exhibiting".
iTeddy's investment in the show was between GBP7,000 and GBP8,000 and as a result of the company's participation in the event Hakim expects sales to exceed GBP10 million.
"To get to where I have got to in the last four days, I could have been knocking on doors for next three years", he said.
Hakim and iTeddy have subsequently appeared on the BBC's Dragon's Den and secured backing.
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