International Trade Fair for our Children's World

By WTC Guest Blogger Jessica Toutsis, RoomMates Décor

In the Eastern European toy industry, the Kids Russia Fair in Moscow is the aspirant fair everyone is flocking to. Also known as the “International Trade Fair for our Children’s World,” products including children’s toys, hobbies, baby, outdoor, playground and sports are all featured. 

Having the reputation as one of the most important trade shows for the Russian toy industry, the Kids Russia Fair is the perfect place for distributors, licensors, vendors and buyers to establish themselves in the market. For RoomMates Décor, the largest manufacturer of peel & stick wall stickers, the Kids Russia Fair is a great place to strengthen relationships with international distributors. Receiving featured booth placement with Russian toy distributor Konik Ltd. at the show, both RoomMates Décor and Konik Ltd. benefited, and also received increased foot traffic from the larger space.

Irina Fedotova, Head of Marketing and Advertising for RoomMates Russia / Konik Ltd. was very happy with the quality of the attendees. 

“Our RoomMates product planogram showcased some of our top selling designs in the Russian market, and allowed retailers to envision what our products could look like in the aisles of their stores.”

Take a quick trip straight to the Kids Russia Fair right from your desk and watch highlights from this year’s show!

Jessica Toutsis is the Digital Marketing Manager for RoomMates Decor, headquartered in York, PA, and writes on trade show experiences for the World Trade Center blog.

Hannah Judges Enactus Competition

By: Hannah Copenheaver

I had an awesome opportunity to represent World Trade Center as a judge for the Enactus regional competition in Washington, DC on March 29. For those who are unfamiliar with the organization, Enactus is an international non profit that brings together students, colleges and businesses who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better more sustainable world. Enactus chapters are located in colleges around the world (in 36 countries!) and each team creates community development projects centered around improving the livelihood of their respective community. 

Enactus puts on an annual series of competitions to provide a forum for college teams to showcase the impact of their efforts, which are evaluated by business executives serving as judges. Winning teams from six regional competitions, like this one in Washington DC, advance to the one national competition for the United States. There are 35 national competitions around the global and the top winners from each country advance to the prestigious Enactus World Cup, which moves locations each year around the world. 

During the Washington, DC regional competition, 47 mid-Atlantic college teams presented their projects and achievements in fifteen minutes or less. I was able to judge seven of these presentations. Nearly all had a visual presentation with pictures, infographics, testimonials, and videos. The student groups were comprised of typically four to six presenters with the rest of their teammates providing support in the audience. Teams were extremely well rehearsed and perfectly poised - even their outfits were matching! They take this competition extremely seriously. I can speak from my experience on the York College of Pennsylvania presentation team - it is no joke!

At the end of a very long day, the judges tallied up their results and 29 teams were crowned "Regional Champions", allowing them to attend the national championships in St. Louis, MO in May. Congratulations to the following Pennsylvania Enactus chapters:

• Cairn University – Langhorne, PA
• Immaculata University – Immaculata, PA
• La Salle University – Philadelphia, PA
• Penn State Altoona – Altoona, PA
• Saint Francis University – Loretto, PA
• Saint Joseph’s University – Philadelphia, PA (Rookie of the Year)
• Wilkes University – Wilkes-Barre, PA
• York College of Pennsylvania – York, PA

Best wishes to all at the national championship!

Doing Business in Eurasia

By Hannah Copenheaver

On March 22, we hosted a roundtable discussion with the Mid-Atlantic Russian Business Council/Mid-Atlantic Eurasia Business Council in Harrisburg that addressed emerging business opportunities in the greater Eurasian region. 

A panel of experts discussed a variety of topics, ranging from legal, regulatory standards, and taxation, that influence the way Eurasian counties conduct business in their respective markets. 

Here is a brief overview of the speakers and their key points:

Ulf Schneider, Founder and Managing Partner, SCHNEIDER GROUP
- Eurasian Economic Union has 182.5M people, 20M sq km, and 14% of world's land. Key concepts include the free movement of goods, services, capital and people.
- Russia continues to be the largest country in the Eurasia region, with 146 million people and $1236 billion (USD) in GDP in 2015. Their GDP is ranked at #13 in the world. 
- According to the "Doing Business Report" (2016), Ukraine presents the most challenges in the region, especially in the categories construction permits, paying taxes and paying across boarders. 
- Kazakhstan presents new opportunities, as they recently joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2015.
- In conclusion, Eurasia has a "diverse mix of different countries"click here to download the presentation

Siarhei Nahorny, Senior Counselor, Trade & Economic Affairs, Embassy of Belarus in the U.S.
- Belarus has 10 million people with $63 billion (USD) in GDP in 2015.
- The country is located in the "heart" of Eurasia, bordering Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Ukraine.
- Belarus has 400 enterprises with US capital investments. The US invested $90M in the country last year alone.

Elena Liaskovskai, Director, International Tax Desk – Central & Eastern Europe & Russia, PwC
- Forming a LLC is the most frequent way for a US company to set up an entity in Russiaclick here to download the presentation

Jonathan Nelms, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

- One of the largest problems in the region continues to be corruption
- Jonathan reviewed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and its prohibited offenses, including anti-bribery, falsifying books and record keeping, and incorrect internal auditing controls.
- Some common red flags include over invoicing, unusual credits, requesting payment to a third country, extravagant gifts, among many others. Don't do it!
click here to download the presentation

James Thomas, Assistant Vice President, Sales & Marketing, ASTM International
- Suggested forming an MOU with the local partner company to signify that you are committed to the new relationship

Tina Weyant (WTC), Elena Liaskovskai (PwC), Siarhei Nahorny (Belarus Embassy), James Thomas (ASTM), Ulf Schneider (Schneider Group), Jonathan Nelms (Baker McKenzie), Val Kogan (MARBC), Lydia Sarson (German American Chamber), Hannah Copenheaver (WTC)

New York Toy Fair: A Must on The Trade Show Checklist

By WTC Guest Blogger Jessica Toutsis, RoomMates Décor

Last month thousands of vendors and buyers attended the New York Toy Fair to explore thousands of toys, games and youth entertainment products within a record-breaking 415,000 net square feet of exhibit space.

Not familiar with the New York Toy Fair? Produced by the Toy Industry Association™, Inc. (TIA), Toy Fair strives to work with businesses involved in creating and producing toys of all kinds to kids both young and old. A central meeting location for those all over the world, Toy Fair sheds insight on key trends in the industry and innovative consumer products that will hit the market in the year ahead.

For one business, RoomMates Decor, Toy Fair is a great opportunity to generate partnerships with international distributors of various countries to sell peel & stick wall decals where distribution in that country does not yet exist. Also a successful sounding board for countries’ retailers to be put in touch with distributors and establish facetime to discuss strategy and supply, Toy Fair benefits each type of attendee - vendor, retailer and distributor in one common space. 

With so many toys all in one place, it’s guaranteed to be an exciting trade show! If you weren’t able to attend this year, this is one trade show you don’t want to miss! Registration for Toy Fair 2017, taking place February 18 – 21, opens this fall. For more information, visit www.toyfairny.com.

Adam Say, International Sales Director and WTC Board Member, at the Toy Fair

 Jessica Toutsis is the Digital Marketing Manager for RoomMates Décor, headquartered in York, PA, and writes on trade show experiences for the World Trade Center blog.