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July-December 2020 Special Edition

INDUSTRY UPDATE

Welcome to AGHA’s new initiative to connect buyers and suppliers in the gift and homewares sector.

Following one of our most successful Sydney Gift Fairs in many years, who would have envisaged that within weeks the world would be turned upside down.

Despite planning and sales for the 2020 Melbourne Gift Fair being well underway, in early April AGHA made the bold but correct move to cancel the Melbourne Gift Fair, recognising the restrictions would mean there was no way the exhibition would proceed. This early decision meant that exhibitors and visitors did not commit to financial outlays in order to attend, but it did mean AGHA had to refund all payments made by exhibitors.

By cancelling one of the largest annual industry events has meant that the crucial buying opportunity for thousands of retailers would be compromised. AGHA had the option of running the exhibition later in the year, but after much industry consultation it was concluded that it would be too late for the lucrative Christmas buying cycle and there was still uncertainty regarding large scale events being allowed to open. The risk was too high.

As the peak industry body, it was incumbent on AGHA to ensure that businesses remained connected during this time and therefore

immediately launched two new online initiatives to ensure retailers, stylists, designers and the industry in general remain connected with leading suppliers from across the country.

The new e-Gift Fair Online Industry Catalogue highlights a huge range of new and exciting products and brands from leading industry suppliers, filling the gap that would have been occupied by the traditional printed catalogue. The online catalogue will be updated monthly and has many exciting features that enable quick and easy access to suppliers including embedded videos, photos and contact details.

In addition, the AGHA Online Supplier Showcase is a new searchable showcase of thousands of products from hundreds of leading suppliers from Australia and overseas. The Showcase will become the definitive go-to resource for retailers, stylists and designers to source new season products in addition to the well-known brands and traditional best sellers. Download supplier catalogues, access videos and make direct contact with suppliers using the chat facility. Users can create free accounts to keep track of their favourite products and suppliers across all desktop and mobile devices.

Both online resources will be expanded over time and I am sure you will find these invaluable in ensuring that your business in up to-date with the best of the industry suppliers.

I must congratulate the entire AGHA team who have done an amazing job by launching these two initiatives, from scratch to completion in under six weeks.

Let’s all meet and restart our industry at the AGHA Sydney Gift Fair, February 2021 at Sydney Olympic Park.

Wayne Castle, Chief Executive Officer Australian Gift & Homewares Association

What’s inside

Introducing AGHA Business Assist

2020 Online Supplier Showcase

Buy local The Australian Made Campaign

Home renovation trends

Instagram Updates

Meet the AGHA Business Partners

Product Category Listing

Industry Supplier Listing - New October update

Member Profile: Pivoting Through Covid-19 - New

Christmas Product Picks - New

Save the date for AGHA Gift Fairs 2021

VIEW ONLINE SUPPLIER SHOWCASE | Look out for this button!

Tip: All advertisements click through to a detailed supplier listing on our new Online Supplier Showcase. Simply click on each advertisement to view product images, videos, brochures, supplier contact details and more.

To view on mobile please download the free Issuu app, available from the App Store or Google Play