show news
Monday February 4 2019 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM
Spotlight on Autumn Fair
Retailers came together ahead of the Golden Quarter in early September to source new products and seek upcoming trends at Autumn Fair
international artisanal manufacturers showcased products ranging from soft furnishings and textiles to jewellery, home décor; ceramics and lighting. DesignFirst introduced new-to-market, original products from three show sectors, varying from artisanal soaps to handmade jewellery. Spring & Autumn Fair managing director Louise
Young said: “Off the back of what was a flat summer of trading for retailers, buyers came ready to be inspired by ranges for the up-and-coming major sell-through periods for retail.
“Looking forward, Autumn Fair
is evolving as we embrace the
showcase more than 200,000 new products to retailers stocking up for the festive period and the Spring season. The show organiser said buyers, visual
A
merchandisers and owners from independents, multiples, etailers, and tourist and leisure destinations were in attendance. These included attendees from Amazon, Asos, Boots, Celebrations, Dufry, Groupon, John Lewis, Joy, Kilkenny Group, Marks and Spencer, Morleys Stores Group, Merlin Entertainments, Natural History Museum, Next, Ocado, Tesco, The Hut Group, TK Maxx, Wayfair, Wyevale Garden Centres and ZSL.
utumn Fair saw 1,200 exhibitors take over Birmingham’s NEC from September 2 to September 5, to
At the Fair’s four live theatres, buyers gained
market insights and updates on trends that are driving consumer spending throughout the Golden Quarter and beyond. Visitors to the main stage had the opportunity to
hear from two leading lights in the retail sector: Theo Paphitis, whose retail empire covers 350 stores, including the Robert Dyas chain; and Holly Tucker MBE, founder of small business marketplace
notonthehighstreet.com and UK ambassador for Creative Small Business. Both shared insights from their personal journeys, as well as advice and predictions for the upcoming year. The Fair also saw the introduction of a dedicated
section for the best of Theo Paphitis’ #SBS (Small Business Sunday) community, designed specifically to celebrate the endeavours of independent start- ups. Theo tweeted straight after his visit to the show to say: “Autumn Fair’s been brilliant for this year’s #SBS winners. They had a great time in there, met loads of new contacts and made some money!” Another new initiative was the introduction of the
Autumn Fair Product Match online tool - an AI- powered product sourcing platform used by visitors to search for and find items at the Fair - which resulted in 63,955 products and people recommendations and 17,410 matches. Retailers were also given the opportunity to pick up a free glass of Prosecco if they found a match at Autumn Fair – posting their selfies from a Product Match wall using the hashtag #fairmatch. Also for the first time, buyers were able to sample
Theo Paphitis 32 |
housewareslive.net
the offerings of the new Global Handicraft and DesignFirst showcases. At Global Handicraft,
•
HousewaresLive.net Holly Tucker MBE •
twitter.com/Housewaresnews September/October 2018
structural changes in the market”
“It’s simply good news for all of retail that suppliers and retailers came together to make this year’s Autumn Fair a commercial success for those that visited and exhibited. It’s a good barometer for the Christmas trading period and into Spring.”
Plans for 2019 Following Autumn and Spring Fair`s recent acquisition by ITE Plc, the company has announced
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