Grown-up problems of the children's market

The first Intersectoral Forum on Grown-up Problems of the Children's Market. War of the Worlds: Offline vs. Online took place within Mir Detstva. It was attended by leading experts in the book and stationery business, manufacturers of children's goods, and managers of large retail chains.

The forum was organised by the Booksellers Association, the Russian Book Union, and EXPOCENTRE, with the support of the International Academy of Preschool Education (IAPE), the Association of Development of Quality Preschool Education (ADEQPE), and the Book Industry magazine.

The forum's participants discussed key issues of the development of related industries, the creation of a joint retail support programme at the state and industry levels, as well as amendments to current legislation.

The forum was opened by Tatiana Butskaya, First Deputy Chair at the Russian State Duma Committee on Family Protection, Issues of Fatherhood, Motherhood and Childhood and coordinator of the Strong Family federal party project.

Tatiana Butskaya stressed that today the children's goods market is rapidly transforming, with a significant portion of sales going online. That is why it is so important to create new rules and mechanisms to support Russian manufacturers. In this regard, the draft law on the so called Russian shelf is of particular importance, as it is aimed at ensuring priority access of domestic products to customers both in offline stores and on marketplaces.

Svetlana Zorina, Chief Editor at the Book Industry magazine and President at the Booksellers Association, spoke about the special importance of holding this intersectoral forum within the relevant exhibition.

According to Ms. Zorina, it was the first time that it was possible to bring together players from different industries on such a representative platform: representatives of the book market, manufacturers of goods for children and creativity supplies, government representatives, and experts. As the speaker emphasized, the main task of the meeting was not only to discuss current challenges, but also to develop specific proposals that would be reflected in the final resolution.

"Today, the online retail already occupies more than 55% of the book market, and by the end of 2025 we predict growth to 60%. The problem of an imbalance between sales channels exists and continues to grow. Therefore, our goal is to develop a common programme of action and propose specific solutions that will help minimize contradictions," said Svetlana Zorina.

The forum was attended by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Russian Ministry of Education, different associations, market participants, and experts.

Following the results of the forum, a resolution will be prepared with proposals from the participants to the Russian federal executive and legislative authorities.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO