Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - July/August 2024

AUTUMN FAIR AND FAIRE PARTNER TO SIMPLIFY BUYING FOR RETAILERS Autumn Fair, retail’s leading seasonal showcase for the home, gift and fashion industries, has announced an exclusive partnership with Faire, Europe’s leading wholesale marketplace. As Autumn Fair’s online marketplace of choice, Faire will help hundreds of exhibiting brands take orders on its platform from retailers attending the show. This collaboration will bridge online and offline wholesale for the first time in the UK and simplify the buying process for up to 20,000 independent retailers. Retailers at Autumn Fair will gain access to Faire’s extensive global network of brands, helping them to discover unique products, streamline their buying process and benefit from 60-day payment terms available on Faire. Exhibitors who use Faire will be featured in a new collection on Faire’s website, increasing their visibility among Faire’s hundreds of thousands of global retailers. A coordinated campaign will take place throughout the summer to show retailers and brands how to leverage this collaboration most effectively. This partnership between the UK’s largest wholesale businesses came from a desire from retailers to experience the best of both in-person and online buying. Trade shows like Autumn Fair offer buyers the joy of discovery; to touch and feel products, get inspired, and network. But in an increasingly digital industry, retailers are also seeking the reach and simplicity that Faire offers - to instantly connect with brands around the world, streamline their logistics, and manage their cash flow in one place. Katie Holmes from Autumn Fair exhibitor Sting in the Tail highlights the synergy and benefits of the collaboration saying, “So much has changed since Brexit and Covid. After 30 years of exhibiting the need for us to reassess the way we support existing customers and find new ones was urgent. Since joining Faire our existing customers benefit from having an easy way to browse our products, place orders and have extended credit terms, particularly welcome in the current climate. As a business we have found many new customers who have never attended trade shows, had an online presence on a large marketplace and found a way, once again, to export to the EU and beyond. It does allow us to be in control. We accept orders placed on Faire and via our website. We can refuse Fair orders if they clash with existing customers, upload new products quickly and sort into seasonal or special interest collections. “The synergy of exhibiting in person and selling on Faire gives us a presence in both worlds. They are both vital and complementary. This partnership will encourage the online only buyers to attend Autumn Fair and see all our products and encourage small, online, Faire-only suppliers to exhibit. It represents a resetting of the giftware trade marketplace.” Visit www.autumnfair.com 40 years of Messe Frankfurt Medien und Service GmbH Messe Frankfurt Medien und Service GmbH (MFS) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Founded in 1984, MFS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt and now consists of two areas: Fairconstruction and Media Services. The lasting success of the Group’s very first subsidiary is founded on providing exhibitors with the best possible visibility through stand construction and marketing services. “MFS was a great success from the very beginning, characterised by steady growth and constant advancement”, says Uwe Behm, Member of the Messe Frankfurt Executive Board, looking back on MFS’s 40-year history: “From the outset, the aim was to make our exhibitors as visible as possible at our trade fairs and to drive our growth by taking on board new developments – in recent years, these were mainly led by digitalisation and sustainability.” MFS started out in 1984 focusing on traditional analogue media such as trade fair catalogues, magazines and trade fair newspapers. In addition, its range of services relating to the Frankfurt trade fair centre was rounded off by posters, advertising towers, display cases and other advertising materials. In 1990, it was joined by a second area, Stand Construction, which was based directly on the exhibition grounds. Focusing on building and renting fully equipped and individual stands to exhibitors, it soon established itself as the main driver of MFS’s sales. By its third financial year, it was already offering exhibitors over 260 flexible system stand variants and meeting their demands for high-quality presentation forms while aiming to avoid waste at the same time. 13 NEWS & EVENTS

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