26 Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn kickstarts busy trade show season Orders were plentiful, buyers were sourcing products and business was done at the revamped Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn. Moved from its traditional late September date to 20th to 21st August, the Show proved to be a huge success attracting buyers from all over Scotland and overseas. With 115 exhibitors from gifts and homeware, to crafts and cards and jewellery to textiles, the new early date allowed retailers to source stock and place orders in advance of the English trade gift shows. Many retailers are running low in stock following a very busy summer tourist season with North American, Far Eastern and cruise ship visitors returning to Scotland in their droves. The new Craft Gallery proved a hit with a host of creative suppliers of jewellery, crafts and textiles, which is particularly popular with galleries, high end retailers and those looking for something a little different. The Launch Gallery for new young companies was full with some 17 exhibitors such as Muka Jewellery, The Ink Balm, LilyBee, Purple Sage Soap Company and Victoria Gordon Art, to mention just a few. Elsewhere buyers enjoyed seeing new exhibitors such as ENESCO, Academie, Lancaster & Gibbings, as well as connecting with Show favourites such as Glen Appin, Siabann, Maccessori, Artcuts and many more. Kirsty Gibson from ENESCO said: “This is our first time at Scotland’s Trade Fair and we’ve seen many new customers, especially ones that we’ve wanted to supply for years, so this allowed us to meet them face to face. The new timing is useful as we can show our Christmas stock and get ahead on sales for next year pre the January shows.” Mark Saunders said: “Confidence at Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn 2023 leapt after a tough couple of years. The show saw an increase in exhibitors of 10 per cent and a huge increase of new exhibitors to the show. Products were of a very high quality and perfectly suited to gift shop buyers up and down Scotland and buyers responded with a vastly improved turnout on the last two years and placed orders confidently over the two days. Suppliers were delighted with the number of buyers they met at the show and the number and quality of orders they received. “The primary reasons for the increased market confidence was an earlier dateline for the show which moved from late September to August. This has meant buyers are able to place orders before the Autumn series of shows in England with more budget at their disposal. In addition, very strong overseas tourist numbers in Scotland have driven more people through gift shops. Finally, for overseas visitors the low pound means gift shop purchases are very good value. If these conditions continue through late summer and autumn, it bodes well for Scotland’s Trade Fair Spring in January.” That’s a wrap at Autumn Fair! Thousands of retailers including Sainsbury’s, Next, Dunelm, Boots, Ocado, Waterstone’s, Osprey London, Brand Alley, Tropic Skincare, Scribbler, Clintons, Oliver Bonas, Fenwick Ltd, Cardzone, Lakeland, M&S, Matalan, Pengethley Garden Centre, Aldi, Tesco, TJX Europe, Toys R Us, The Works, WHSMITH, and The Walt Disney Company, to name a few, converged at the NEC Birmingham from the 3rd to 6th September to shop the show for their next bestsellers across a huge breadth of product categories within Home, Gift and Fashion. Many enjoyed special features including the New Product Showcase and the Gift Of The Year Showcase which took centre stage in Hall 6 as well as an insightful and visual content programme on the Inspiring Retail Stage & Moda Catwalk. Daniel Mayhew, Event Director, Spring & Autumn Fair says, “Both the Gift Of The Year Showcase and New Product Showcase displayed some of the best products in show and buyers made a beeline for Hall 6 to discover the hottest designs for the season ahead. We really enjoyed creating a dedicated space to champion our Autumn Fair newcomers, and love to see how much our visitors enjoy these and the stimulating content we offer on the Inspiring Retail Stage & Moda Catwalk. Thank you to everyone who has attended and taken part in the show.” Naomi Pollard, Head of Publications at TrendBible offered vital insights into the Interior Lifestyle Trends for 2024 and an overview of four key Macro Trends that carry throughout the year, as well as 2024 Gifting and Celebration Trends offering visitors a head start on the key trends impacting consumers and the opportunities for celebration from Valentine’s Day through to Christmas. On Tuesday, circularity took centre stage. Helena MansellStopher, Founder of Products of Change, James George a Senior Strategist and Consultant in Circular Economy, and Mike Swain a Products of Change Ambassador for Packaging, opened with ‘Navigating the Future of Sustainability: Part 1’. The Products of Change team took the audience through significant changes to UK, Europe and Global legislation, from the UK’s new Packaging Tax, Europe’s Net-Zero pledge, the Digital Product Passport and 2024’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EDR). For further information visit www.autumnfair.com . Spring Fair takes place on the 4th to 7th February 2024, visit the website: www.springfair.com
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