Post Show Report CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2024. Spring
31st edition of the International Exhibition for Child and Junior Fashion
EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, 19–22 February 2024
This season, CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2024. Spring brought together more than 200 key companies of the children's clothing, footwear and accessories industry and demonstrated unique new products and designs reflecting the current trends of 2023/2024 and general trends for the entire children's market.
The key topic of the spring edition was the discussion of HR issues in the industry with the participation of government representatives and heads of relevant colleges and universities. It was encouraging to see that students and young professionals took an active part in the educational events organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with leading industry associations and were able to talk to potential employers right on the show floor.
Maxim Fateev, Acting Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO
“The exhibition is being held for the 31st time. In 2024, it will be held in the Year of the Family announced by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The issues of child protection and preservation of family values are extremely important for all citizens of the Russian Federation. Children's fashion is an important part of creating and preserving family values.”
Managers and other specialists of production companies, representatives of wholesale and retail chains, distributors working in this market segment discussed topical issues of children's clothing industry development, got acquainted with new collections, found new partners, and formed business development strategies.
CJF. Children's Catwalk presented well-known and new brands at its fashion shows.
Dates: 19–22 February 2024
Venue: EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia
Organised by EXPOCENTRE AO
Under auspices of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Exhibition area: 5,500+ sq m
Attendance: 8,675 visitors
Exhibitors: 250 brands
Countries: 5 (Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkiye)
Russian exhibitors: G’n’k, Malenkaya Ledi, Piccino Bellino, Truvor, Dan&Dani, VAN CLIFF, Parizhskaya Kommuna, Karamelli, DENITA, Mialt, etc.
Foreign exhibitors: Alberello, iDo, Terrateen, Locoloco, Baykar, Step Corap, San Bebe, etc.
Country pavilion: Turkiye (occupied 700+ sq m to accommodate 25 brands)
Russian regional group stands: 5 (Kostroma, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod and Vologda Oblasts, Krasnodar Krai)
Product sectors: clothes for children, footwear for children, accessories for children, Premium – premium clothing brands, Teens – clothes for teenagers, retail equipment, fabrics and garment accessories
Conference programme
This year’s conference programme offered 30 events with the industry’s leading experts.
This year, the programme opened with the Conference on the Staff in the Textile and Garment Industry: Problems and Solutions. The conference was organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with the Parents' Choice Association of Consumers and Manufacturers of Children's Goods, the National Project Fund for Support of Educational Initiatives, and the I’m on Style project.
The event was moderated by Tatiana Butskaya, First Deputy Chair at the Russian State Duma Committee on Issues of Family, Women and Children, and Daria Brovkina, President at the Parents' Choice Association of Consumers and Manufacturers of Children's Goods.
Tatiana Butskaya, First Deputy Chair at the Russian State Duma Committee on Issues of Family, Women and Children
“This topic is very important for us today. It is about not only the field of children's goods but also all areas of domestic production. Thousands of our schoolchildren and students dream of finding their vocation and being useful to their country. We will not succeed without our valued workers. No machine can replace the boundless human creativity. As we have found out today, the work in the textile and garment industry can be very creative.”
The conference was dedicated to the development of solutions to HR issues in the textile industry in Russia and brought together major players in the children's clothing and footwear market, representatives of executive authorities, educational institutions, and business support structures. The speakers discussed measures aimed at raising the prestige and income level of personnel of textile and garment enterprises, promotion of professional orientation of teenagers (organising tours for schoolchildren to sewing factories and holding discussions in their families), measures to support young professionals in production, and introduction of innovative teaching methods into the educational process, including the use of VR and AI.
Maxim Fateev, Acting Director General at EXPOCENTRE AO
“We aim for young professionals, university and college students to take part in our exhibitions every year. They will meet professionals, representatives of major brands, companies, executives and middle management here. It is extremely important that young people stay in the country, receive professional training of the highest standards, adopt the experience of previous generations, and create new ideas in accordance with the motto of EXPOCENTRE that is Exhibiting the Future!”
The speech of Daria Brovkina was devoted to the shortage of personnel that is currently a trigger point for the majority of textile industry manufacturers. The situation became more complicated at the beginning of 2023 due to the beginning of a new stage of economic development and the growth of tailoring orders. As a result of the conference, a resolution was prepared and sent to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and relevant departments.
A unique masterclass designed especially for students of textile colleges and universities – I am a Master: a Dream Profession – was organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with the National Project Fund for Support of Educational Initiatives.
The event was moderated by Elena Kalgina, a member of the Moscow Region Civic Chamber, co-creator of the I’m on Style project for young designers, founder and Executive Director at the National Project Fund for Support of Educational Initiatives, member of the Board of Trustees of the Victory TV Channel (Channel One Russia). In her opening speech, she spoke about the achievements of the first season of the I'm on Style project and presented a video of the participants' work in the project.
Alyona Depechemode, a co-founder of the I’m on Style project, entrepreneur, founder and head of brands, designer, shared her experience in fashion brand development and invited everyone to participate in the second season of the I'm on Style project. According to Alyona, the main criterion that is important for participation is a strong desire and readiness to overcome all difficulties.
The invited speakers also included Maria Shevchenko, a designer, founder and lecturer at the first 3D Couture School of 3D garment design and visualisation, lecturer at British Higher School of Art and Design, and Nadezhda Kozhevnikova, CEO of the New Couture Events agency, co-owner and organiser of the New Couture B2B showroom in Paris. They elaborated on the process of creating a fashion brand from product design to sales.
In conclusion, the masterclass attendees saw a fashion show of clothes designed by the participants of the I'm on Style project, a brand that was created in front of 85 million viewers during the first season.
EXPO Academy featured the first Forum on How to Create a Perfect Children's Dream Fashion Boutique. Tips from Seasoned Veterans: Design, Window Dressing, Perfume, Merchandising, Team, which brought together experts in merchandising, window dressing, design, aromas for clothing shops, and teamwork. The forum was moderated by Elena Danilevskaya, Federal Curator of the Russian Children's Goods Testing Project ‘Moms in Action’.
The programme included a masterclass and several sessions on various aspects of developing your own children's clothing shop and managing it effectively.
Marina Polkovnikova, a managing partner of Polkovnikova & Partners Group, hold the Session on Turnkey Opening of a Store. Algorithm of Creation and Implementation of a New Store Concept. Real Deadlines and Figures.
Viktor Malygin, Head of Educational Programmes at Fashion Consulting Group, conducted a session in which he pointed out various features of sales area organisation as a tool to attract customers and increase sales.
Elena Masalitina, an aromatherapist and perfumer, revealed the secrets of the human sense of smell and gave some practical advice on what scents to use to attract and retain customers.
Anna Balandina, a founder of the VM Guru agency, told how to bring a retail outlet to a resourceful state outlining seven applied techniques for increasing sales.
In conclusion, Yana Oreshina, professional business coach for working with teams and executives according to ICF international standards, held her Masterclass on Business for the Soul. How to Build a Comfortable Effective Work in a Small Team and Competently Distribute Roles, which included an interactive game.
The forum participants discussed what was needed to open a turnkey shop, an algorithm for creating and implementing a new shop concept, how to properly organise the trading area of a children's shop to attract customers and increase sales, how to attract and retain customers forever, and how to bring a retail outlet to a resourceful state.
The 3rd Forum on the Integrated Internet Marketing for the Children's Industry was a success. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE and the OLYMPX digital agency. The forum’s moderator was Anna Kilimnichenko, a managing partner and director at the Internet Advertising Department at OLYMPX, consultant for strategic marketing and web marketing special projects, and lecturer at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
The forum’s sessions were dedicated to trends of Internet marketing in the children's industry, updates in the laws on advertising marking, effective promotion of children's clothing brands in social media, and other topics.
ROSTEST Academy held the Workshop: Dialogue with an Expert. How Not to Get Lost in a Maze of Requirements for Children's Products on February 29.
Yulia Vasiltsun, Head of Internal Compliance at ROSTEST AO, and Yulia Aleksandrova, Deputy Head at the ROSTEST-Moscow Certification Body, Chair at the ROSTEST Expert Council, gave their recommendations on how not to get lost in the maze of requirements for children's products, how to prevent cancellation of certificates and declarations and what to do if an authorisation document is suspended, and spoke about suspension of authorisation documents using real cases.
The Trend Tour of New Products of Children's Clothing Manufacturer: Trends and Hits of Collections and the Review of Trends for Winter/Spring 2024/2025: the Fashion Industry's Top Moods, Colours, Prints and Shapes were devoted to the current trends of the children’s fashion. These events were organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with CARLIN Creative Trend Bureau Russia (France).
A trend review and trend tour were conducted by Anastasia Kotova, a well-known expert and head of CARLIN Group's representative office in Russia. Participants and listeners of the project had a great opportunity to review new collections of the leading market players and meet their partners and market experts.
The 26th Russian Trade Forum for Children's Goods Suppliers took place on February 20. It was organised by EXPOCENTRE and KVK Imperia Forum. The forum’s experts gave practical advice on how to ensure sales growth in the children's market and how to promote goods on social networks and marketplaces. The participants spoke about the legal aspects of licensing and its impact on a brand's marketing strategy.
The Workshop on Marketing: Levers of Sales Growth That Will Shape the Rules of the Game in the Children's Goods Market in 2024 covered the issues of licensed use of children's brands.
The Business Switchboard served as a venue for negotiations with retail chains and manufacturers of children's clothing, accessories and footwear. The two-day programme included a business navigator with the issuance of route sheets for buyers of children's goods, a retail switchboard, which included negotiations between retail chains and exhibitors, and the Supplier and Buyer Competence Centre, which was an open business programme for the development of retailers' competencies.
The Consultation Centre offered consultations for retailers from key trade development experts.
As usual EXPO Academy offered workshops with leading experts who discussed with a large audience the secrets of success in the children's clothing market, changes in promotion tools in the market, promotion of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer through distributors and dealers, and fashion trends for children's clothing to increase sales in the coming season. They also talked about how to increase repeat sales in the shop, international logistics, the possibility of supplying goods from unfriendly countries, and trends in global fashion of children's clothing.
Elena Pismenskaya, a founder of the Kids Fashion Retail consulting agency, held her Workshop on Distribution 2024: Where to Go for Sales and the Masterclass on Effective Work at an Exhibition. The events were organised by EXPOCENTRE and the Kids Fashion Retail consulting agency. Elena shared her experience in developing a children's clothing brand, maintaining its image, and spoke about ways to increase sales.
The Workshop on Effective Psychological Techniques of Working with Objections and Manipulation of Customers in Clothing and Footwear Shops was organised by EXPOCENTRE and Wconsulting. The workshop was held by Evgeniy Danchev, an expert on increasing sales in the fashion market, author of the Practical Guide to Increasing Sales of Shoes and Accessories, and creator of an online school for fashion market managers. Based on his experience in the fashion market, Evgeniy spoke about various manipulations to which customers resort in clothing and footwear shops, and to each of them picked up effective ways to resist them.
Two workshops were also held by Tatiana Novinskaya, a practitioner with experience in own retail stores, certified economist, certified business coach, author of the Profitable Store educational programme, and Yulia Skopina, expert in foreign economic activity, founder and CEO of YUSKAS OOO with more than 13 years of experience in foreign economic activity.
Svetlana Dolzhenko, an expert in sales of children’s and teenagers’ shoes, and staff training, founder of the Shoes by the Rules retail project, held the Masterclass on Salesperson Training as a Tool for Sales Growth in a Children's Footwear Store.
The Masterclass on Top Five Fashion Marketing Tools for Increasing Sales of Children's Assortment in the Spring-Summer 2024 Season was organised by EXPOCENTRE in partnership with the Academy of Fashion Marketing (AFM). Its speaker was Irina Pishchuk, a fashion marketing expert, expert in marketing systems, writer, head at the Academy of Fashion Marketing (AFM). She spoke about how to see and set up sales funnels in a business to get potential clients and sales, marketing actions to execute your sales plan 100% or more, maintaining social media for sales, not just to entertain your target audience, how to create scripts that will increase conversion to purchase, and setting up affiliate programmes to attract customers for free.
On February 21, EXPO Academy hosted the Workshop on Top Typical Mistakes in Buying. How to Minimise Residuals When Purchasing: Tips from a Distributor with 20 Years of Retail Experience in Russia and CIS Countries. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE and Totallook Kids OOO.
Tatiana Klyonova, Key Account Manager at Totallook for Russia and the CIS, and Marina Byakina, a certified business coach in the B2B segment of Luxury & Premium Retail at Totallook, introduced their company that has 20 years of experience in the Russian market, and spoke about preparations for the new purchasing season.
During the workshop, attendees got insight into typical mistakes made by buyers and tips on how to avoid them.
Yulia Karagodina, a professional production fashion designer, fashion analyst, expert in creating commercial clothing collections in the fashion business, mentor, co-author of more than 120 collections and 2,500 clothing designs, offered the participants in the Workshop on the Global Children's Clothing Fashion: Trends, Examples. Where to Move to Remain a Relevant Brand unique information on how to build their own business strategies.
One more important event of the conference programme of CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2024. Spring was the Forum on E-commerce in 2024: Trends, Opportunities and Effective Tools for Scaling Business in the Children's Clothing Industry. The event was organised by EXPOCENTRE and the operational partner of marketplaces XWAY.
It forum moderated by Anton Larin, an expert in retail and ecommerce and XWAY co-founder.
During the forum, XWAY representatives reported on the development of e-commerce and covered a wide range of such topics as trends and prospects of the marketplace market in 2024, analysis of the children's clothing category: how this segment is developing on Ozon, Wildberries and Yandex Market, Yandex Market as a channel for selling and promoting goods for children: opportunities and advantages of the platform, an online shop as an additional sales development channel: why a brand should develop this format and how to promote it correctly, and success stories of sellers in the categories of children's clothes, children's shoes and toys.
The Session on Ten Keys to Successful Team Motivation in a Children's Goods Store and the Workshop on Fashion Trends for Children's Clothing to Increase Sales in the FW 24/25 Season were moderated by Maria Gerasimenko, an expert in strategic management of the fashion business and founder of Fashion Advisers and the online Fashion Advisers School. She detailed how to create a friendly supportive atmosphere for effective teamwork in a children’s goods store.
During the Workshop on Fashion Trends for Children's Clothing to Increase Sales in the FW 24/25 Season, Head of Development at Fashion Consulting Group Maria Shchennikova shared her forecasts for the main fashion trends of the FW 24/25 season in children's clothing and gave a number of recommendations for purchasing.
CJF. Children's Catwalk 2024. Spring shows of children's fashion collections took place on February 19–21. The project once again brought together on the catwalk the collections of the exhibition participants – manufacturers of clothing, headwear and footwear for children and teenagers. Nine brands presented their collections: Edelweiss Trading House, Charmy white, Isel kids, Kerry, L'amir, Loloclo, Nordman, Pixel, and Smena.
The project was organised by PROfashion media holding and EXPOCENTRE with the participation of children's modelling agency and school TOP Secret.
We would like to express our gratitude to all our exhibitors and participants in the conference programme, our General Internet Partner RDT-INFO, and all media partners for their support.
We are looking to seeing you at the 32nd edition of CJF – Child and Junior Fashion 2024. Autumn at EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia, on 24–27 September 2024. The show will be held concurrently with the 29th edition of the Mir Detstva International Exhibition.
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Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO