Posted by Louise Prance on 9 September 2024
Top Drawer, the UK’s premier design-led buying event, opened its doors for the A/W season yesterday.
The show’s flagship sectors–Home, Gift, Greetings & Stationery, Play, Craft, Fashion, Food Emporium and Wellbeing–are complimented by Launchpad, a presentation of emerging brands from across all sectors who are new to the market.
Event Director, David Westbrooke said: “Top Drawer has a long, proud legacy of presenting store owners and buyers with products that will set their offering apart from the rest, and resonate with their customers. We’re thrilled to see that this curation has struck a chord with so many, and brought such excitement ahead of the all-important Christmas season.”
With a breadth of buyer types making their way through the door, the first day saw attendance by leading Indies and multis through to garden centres and department stores, including Borough Kitchen, Butler & Sweatman, Cornucopia, Domestic Science, HAYGEN, Jumpingbean, Junior Edition, Mooch, and The Dulwich Trader, through to the likes of Cranborne Garden Centre, Elys Department Store, Hoopers Department Store Group, National Galleries of Scotland, Scotsdales Garden Centre and TJX Europe.
Thousands more retailers are expected over the coming days, with registrations from Accessorize, Avoca, Barbican, Blue Diamond, Cardzone, Debenhams, Fenwick, Fortnum & Mason, Frasers Group, Harrods, Heal's, Historic Royal Palaces, Jarrolds, John Lewis, JoJo Maman Bebe, Lark London, Le Bon Marche, Liberty, Lords At Home, Monsoon, Moonpig, Morley Stores Group, National Portrait Gallery, National Theatre, National Trust, Natural History Museum, Next, Ocado, Oliver Bonas, Paper Tiger, Paul Smith, Rockett St. George, Rossiters Of Bath, Royal Ballet & Opera, Sainsburys, Science Museum Group, Scribbler, Selfridges, Southbank Centre, Squires Garden Centres, Starbucks, Tate, The Design Museum, The Natural History Museum, The White Company, Ulster Stores & de Gruchy, Urban Outfitters, Victoria & Albert Museum, Waitrose, Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Waterstones, WHSmith, and World Duty Free.
On the RetailRevealed stage, visitors were treated to masterclasses by TikTok Shop specialist Elizabeth Puddicombe and Retail Consultant, Therese Oertenblad. Founder of Design 44, Jade Devall gave insight into ‘mystery purchase’ selling models and how it can revolutionise sales, and The Gift Association CEO, Sarah Ward was joined by Mark Jones, Director of Gisella Graham for an insightful, informative conversation. The remainder of the programme is packed full of sessions set to transform businesses and boost bottom lines.
The stage will also host the show’s first Product Pitch a Dragon’s Den-style session where five brands will go head to head; pitching to a panel of industry leaders for the chance to win a one-week pop up within a major retailer most relevant to their business.
Mixing business with pleasure, the show’s first day came to a close with the Spotlight Awards; a celebration of excellence across exhibiting brands in 11 categories. During a live on-stage announcement, the winners were named as:
Best Newcomer: Ella Fletcher Designs
Best New Product, Fashion: Vurchoo
Best New Product, Food: MOTIF
Best New Product, Gift: Dynamic Lifestyle & Gift (Massive Distribution)
Best New Product, Greetings & Stationery: Rumble Cards
Best New Product, Home: WILDLIFE GARDEN
Best New Product, Launchpad: POTR
Best New Product, Play: Mr Pickles
Best New Product, Wellbeing: Self (ish) Company
Innovation in Design: Quadrigloo
Best Stand: Izipizi
Top Drawer takes place at Olympia London until 5 pm on Tuesday 10th September.
Find out more - topdrawer.co.uk
