Since 1990, Autumn Fair has become the premier show of the season for gift and home. A must-attended show for all UK and international buyers who are looking for new products and the latest trends in the sector. On September (6th-9th) will take place a new edition at NEC Birmingham, then if you are planning to assist or exhibit here, don't stop reading. We've been talking with the organizers to learn all the details and activities we will find at Autumn Fair 2015!
The novelties of the next edition
We are very excited to be launching The Light Show at Autumn Fair 2015, which we are holding in conjunction with the Lighting Industry Association. The Light Show will feature key industry suppliers including: Dar Lighting, Searchlight, Interiors 1900, Impex Russell, TP24, Endon Lighting and Illuminati. This is a strong time of year for orders being written for lighting, furniture and accessories and there are high expectations in the lighting world that Autumn Fair will attract a large number of high calibre visitors keen to view up to 100 fantastic lighting brands in one convenient location.
A big investment has also been made in the Autumn Fair website for 2015, with the aim of facilitating 24/7, year-round sourcing for retailers, who can now create their own unique ‘wish-list’ based on exhibitor profiles and product images that are hosted on our site. This makes it the ideal online hub for the retail trade, which can now enjoy browsing in the way consumers do from market-leading online shopping sites. To create your own wish list visit: www.autumnfair.com
3 reasons to visit Autumn Fair Birmingham
- Autumn Fair 2015 will showcase the most comprehensive selection of new product available to retailers across Europe in the second half of the year, bringing together 1400 suppliers across several market sectors, including: Contemporary Gift & Home, general Gift, Home, Children’s Gifts, Toys & Gadgets, Greetings, Craft & Stationery, Fashion Jewellery & Accessories, Table & Kitchen, The Light Show, Body & Bath and Volume Gift & Home. Visitors can look forward to seeing tens of thousands of new launches from some of the best brands in the business.
- A first class, freely available content programme of trend briefings, business insight, marketing tips, ecommerce insight and other presentations will take place across 2 seminar theatres for the duration of the show. Also running daily will be several Fashion Accessories catwalk shows from a full-scale runway.
- As the leading event of its kind in Europe, Autumn Fair offers excellent networking opportunities. It is the perfect place for retailers to catch up with many of their existing suppliers under one roof, whilst also keeping an eye out for potential new suppliers and hot new product trends.
What I have to know to exhibit in Birmingham?
The Autumn Fair venue, The NEC, Birmingham, is a fantastic exhibition space, centrally located in the heart of England, with great transport links and a lot of free car parking on site.
Benefits to exhibit here?
Suppliers who exhibit at Autumn Fair have access to tens of thousands of retailers from all around the UK and wider world. British manufacturers have access to most - if not all - of their major customers and can expect to meet a lot of new retailers as well. For international exhibitors this is the perfect place to launch to the UK market, especially for companies with new products ready for the Christmas buying period, or those who want the chance to display their key concepts and trend-leading designs ahead of Spring/Summer 2016.
The immense cross-over buying opportunities created by having so many different market sectors offered under one roof can also open doors that aren’t otherwise accessible to many companies. For example, a lot of traditional toy makers or suppliers of tableware want to tap into the gift market as well as their specialised sector retail outlets. As Autumn Fair is attended by many thousands of independent gift retailers and department store buyers, it is the perfect launchpad for companies who want to grow their customer base and break into new markets for export.
Some participation results from the last edition
Autumn Fair 2014 attracted:
- more than 29,000 visitors as retailers from 84 countries turned out to see
- 60,000 new product launches
- from 1,400 suppliers across 12 different market sectors.
There was a rise in footfall compared with Autumn Fair 2013 as more visitors opted to attend on multiple days.
A buoyant atmosphere was apparent throughout the event, where 400 companies were exhibiting for the first time this year. The positivity reflected a strengthened British retail industry that is benefitting from good tourist trade and a welcome bounce back in the furniture market amidst improved housing sales.
Buyers from some of the most prestigious stores in the world attended Autumn Fair to select new ranges from the wealth of product launches on display, including: Fortnum & Mason, Liberty’s, The National Trust, John Lewis, Selfridges, The Science Museum, Harrods, Topshop, WH Smith, Laura Ashley, The Eden Project, Homebase, Heal’s, Clintons, Haskins, Toys R Us, Sainsbury’s, Haskins, Tesco, Warner Leisure Hotels, River Island and Fenwick.
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy, chose to launch its new e-Exporting Programme at Autumn Fair. Lord Livingston, Minister of State for Trade & Investment gave the keynote speech announcing the Programme and Dan Wagner, CEO and founder of mobile payments company Powa Technologies, shared his perspective on how technology has developed over the years in Britain to help retailers.
The initiative is aimed at encouraging UK exporters to reach out to the generation of digitally-capable consumers who are increasingly influenced through online channels. With more and more retailers now adopting a multi-channel approach to delivering goods, services and information to the consumer, the increasing importance of e-commerce as a way of tapping into new markets is a key issue for the international retail industry.
Lord Livingston commented: “The UK leads the world in cross-border online sales, but there is still much more we can do to help British business seize this huge opportunity with forecasts of three billion online consumers in just three years.”