Editor's notes

With so much competition out there in the juvenile business, it's more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve. Of course, it's always a challenge to do so. "New, innovative products" are what almost all the retailers we spoke to coming into last month's ABC Expo were looking for, and many of them said they found them (see story, page 16).

There's a balance, too, that needs to be struck. Innovative products and designs are great, as long as they're not so far out there that they alienate the consumer. I was thrilled to see bold new colors and patterns on strollers at the ABC Expo — pink in various shades was everywhere, as were brighter colors such as turquoise and orange — a refreshing change from the standard navy blue.

Many of these colors have migrated across the pond from Europe, and European styling and design influences were apparent in the gear sector at the show.

So when I attended the Kind + Jugend show in Cologne, Germany, the week after the ABC Expo, I was on the lookout for more trends that might cross over to the States (see story, page 20).

It was an eye-opening experience — somehow very familiar, having been at ABC several days before, and also totally different. Some manufacturers who I had just seen the previous week in Las Vegas were showing completely different goods for their European audience. Some were taking American trends and bringing them to Europe. And then, of course, there were the European companies who don't have a presence at all in the States.

What was interesting was to look at the differences in products — how products brought from the U.S. were changed for the European market, and which European trends might have the legs to make it over to the States. Certainly color and fashion can migrate in things like fabrics, but what I came away most interested in was the furniture design, particularly for the nursery.

In Europe, clean-lined, retro-modern looks were everywhere — a striking difference from the States, where furniture tends to be very traditional, especially in infant. Modern, contemporary looks are creeping into the juvenile market over here, but will they ever make it beyond high-design specialty stores and major urban markets?

It's hard to know what the public will be ready for — and when. And that, of course, is the challenge of staying ahead of the curve.