Spring Fair, the UK's largest home, gift, fashion trade show which takes place on the 2nd – 5th February 2025 at NEC Birmingham, has launched a new Retail Insights podcast series for retail, and by retail, to celebrate its upcoming 75th anniversary and shine a light on businesses in the industry.
A first of its kind for a retail trade show, Spring Fair has collaborated with the legendary designer and TV personality Jeff Banks CBE to create the series of free podcasts featuring interviews with 15 industry figureheads which will run over a period of 14 weeks from the 20th October.
Posted: 15 October 2024
Fintech Miconex picked up the award for Best Creative Marketing Campaign for its end of term campaign at the Gift Card & Voucher Association Hall of Fame awards held on 12th September in London.
A commitment to driving footfall and spend in UK and Irish towns and cities through creative marketing was the driver for Miconex collecting an award at the recent Gift Card & Voucher Association Hall of Fame awards.
Miconex received the Best Creative Marketing Campaign award for their end of term campaign delivered across its network of over 80 Town & City Gift Card programmes in the UK and Ireland, including Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards delivered alongside Scotland's Towns Partnership. The local gift cards lock spend into local communities by encouraging 'shop local'.
Posted: 3 October 2024
Visitor registration is now open for Toy Fair 2025 , the UK's largest trade show dedicated to toys, games, and hobbies. The three-day showcase will be held from 21st to 23rd January 2025 at Olympia Events in London, spanning both the lower and upper levels of the Grand and National Halls, as well as a section of the Upper West Hall.
Posted: 1 October 2024
London Packaging Week is thrilled to unveil the winners of its inaugural Innovation Awards, sponsored by Fedrigoni, celebrating groundbreaking advancements in packaging across various categories. This year's awards recognise exceptional design, creativity, and sustainability in packaging solutions.
In a collaboration with Aston Martin, Bowmore has crafted a decanter that is as much a work of art as it is a vessel for this exceptional whisky. The design takes inspiration from the Japanese metalworking technique 'Mokume-Gane,' known for its unique layered patterns. This technique has been reimagined through layered carbon fibre sheets, creating the decanter's distinctive Mokume lid. The result is a lid that evokes a futuristic aesthetic and mirrors the natural black rocks of Loch Indaal, the home of the Bowmore Distillery.
Posted: 30 September 2024
The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) is excited to announce that all exhibition space for Toy Fair 2025 is now sold out, several months before the show takes place. Any companies still looking for space are encouraged to apply online and join the waiting list now. Visitor registration for Toy Fair 2025 will open in late September on the Toy Fair website, www.toyfair.co.uk, when the floorplan and exhibitor list will also be live for planning.
Posted: 19 September 2024
INDX is back and better than ever. Expect a calendar packed with buying focused events, a fresh market approach, and a completely revamped look and feel. Plus, a new website and revamped brand identity.
The following events will proudly claim National titles starting in 2025: INDX Kids becomes the INDX National Kidswear Show, INDX Man becomes the INDX National Menswear Show and INDX Intimate Apparel becomes the INDX National Intimate Apparel Show.
The following event titles have been revamped to better reflect the inclusivity and diversity of their product showcases: INDX Homewares becomes INDX Home, INDX Beds & Bedroom becomes INDX Beds, and INDX Toy & Gift becomes INDX Toys, while INDX Furniture, INDX Woman, INDX Sports & Leisure, and INDX Gift Food show titles remain unchanged.
Posted: 12 September 2024
Autumn Fair, the UK's leading seasonal trade event for Home, Gift, and Fashion, has once again solidified its position as a key order-writing trade event, drawing in a high-calibre of decision-makers and influential buyers. This season saw a 6% increase in buyers actively looking to source and buy new products, a 20% rise in the number of buyers with sole or joint purchasing responsibility, and 30% brand new buyers, underscoring the event's continuing importance for the retail industry.
Posted: 12 September 2024
Top Drawer, the UK's premier design-led buying event, opened its doors for the A/W season yesterday. Welcoming buyers and store owners to embrace the 'whirlwind of change' that is the current retail climate. This edition showcases more than 500 exhibiting brands across the most in-demand lifestyle sectors.
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."
Posted: 9 September 2024
The Gift Fair is thrilled to launch its Future Star Award. This award celebrates newcomers with exceptional potential to the UK Gift industry.
This award will provide a launchpad for talented entrepreneurs to show off their wonderful products in way they might not otherwise have the opportunity to.
This year, we were spoilt for choice so two wonderful companies have been selected, it was just too hard to pick one! The Gift Fair Future Star awards go to Cheeky Legends www.arrthi.com for their colourful and cheeky greetings cards and Little Roglets www.littleroglets.com for their beautifully painted animal collection.
Cheeky Legends was created by Arrthi Little, a cartoonist based in Hampshire creating entertaining characters in her signature style 'Cute, Chubby, Cheeky'.
Posted: 4 September 2024
"As I sit down to reflect on the past two decades, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude and pride at the journey Laura Darrington Design has taken," shares owner Laura. "What began as a simple idea after graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2000 has grown into something far greater than I ever could have imagined. This year marks the 20th anniversary of my business, and I couldn't be more thrilled to celebrate this milestone with the people who have been with me every step of the way."
Laura continues...
Posted: 2 September 2024
