5 minute read
Spring Fair intro
Retail expert Suzanne Ellingham knows exactly what makes seasonal buyers feel festive – and as she tells Sarah Welsh, the sheer wealth of Christmas product and sparkle promised by Spring Fair simply can’t be beaten…
Suzanne Ellingham knows a thing or two about trade events that grab retail headlines for all the right reasons. After all, she’s Head of Content at international exhibition experts Hyve Group for good reason.
But sitting at the helm of shows including Autumn Fair, Glee and Spring Fair, even she couldn’t have predicted the events of the past two years, that ultimately led to last year’s NEC extravaganza converting to a virtual only edition.
Suzanne is sure of one thing though when we speak – not long before Christmas 2021 – and that’s not only that Spring Fair 2022 will be going ahead in style (from 6 to 9 of February), but that demand for it is greater than perhaps ever before in its history.
“Retailers really want this show,” Suzanne, who has worked at Hyve Group for four years, insists. “And everything we do is with buyers in mind. When we ran Autumn Fair and Glee at Birmingham’s NEC in the autumn, the reception was just amazing.
“The fact is that if you’re buying online you can’t assess the quality of products and see and touch exhibitor’s ranges. Being able to see products in person makes a real difference – and you’re not having to visit 10 show rooms. Both exhibitors and visitors want Spring Fair back!”
Looking back to the start of 2020, Suzanne says Spring Fair went ahead that year to a great reception, but then of course just weeks later everything in the retail landscape had changed.
“Spring Fair was one of the last big trade shows held in 2020,” Suzanne recalls. “We were aware of COVID at the show and had already made small contingencies, like having hand sanitiser and face masks available – but when the March lockdown hit the impact was huge. It was transformational for all industries, but especially retail.
“Spring Fair is held in February for a reason. It aligns to when buyers are actually buying for Christmas, and the year ahead, so if the date moves it becomes another show. That’s why the physical show had to go fully digital in February 2021, because the health of our team, exhibitors and visitors had to come first.
“Last year we ran our event solely to connect retailers and suppliers. It was very much a networking event and there was a business need for it, but we did it in a non-commercial way. In terms of orders our expectations were massively over exceeded and so many good news stories did come out of it, but a virtual offering can never replace the in-person show.
“Retailers want to get back to normal and that means attending trade shows. I think people value them even more now.”
The huge scale of the Christmas offering and massive range of festive suppliers who showcase their ranges at Spring Fair – many with product that’s either brand spanking new or exclusive for the show – means that many buyers wrap up their seasonal buying at the NEC.
Alongside household names like John Lewis and W H Smith, Spring Fair is also a hugely important event for the garden centre
Suzanne Ellingham
sector, and Suzanne reports that at least 25 garden centre owners will be buying at the show this year. But it’s not just a chance to stock the shelves with everything from decorations in every possible colour you can imagine to festive homewares that’s important. Visual merchandising inspiration is also top of mind for visitors.
“Exhibitors in the Christmas Hall go all out,” she says. “They bring a high level of production value with them to Birmingham because there’s a two-way benefit to supporting retailers with brilliant display ideas. If buyers can translate the visual magic easily to their store settings, it’s a win-win for everyone.
“And not only is there a fantastic mix of festive exhibitors expected at the show this year, but buyers are coming armed with knowledge from a digital Christmas 2022 trend session we held for them in December, in conjunction with leading forecasting agency TrendBible. It all adds up to people being incredibly engaged with buying for Christmas.”
New for this year at Spring Fair is a curated meeting programme that Hyve has invested in. It pairs buyers with exhibitors based on mutual areas of interest, and the platform will ensure that Spring Fair is even more valuable to bigger buyers.
“Spring Fair is our biggest show and we understand what’s important to buyers,” Suzanne explains. “It was 95 per cent sold out by mid-December and that’s never happened before at that stage.
“Foot fall is something that’s quite hard to comment on, but – on the basis of Autumn Fair – we expect a great turnout at Spring Fair. Some of our Autumn Fair exhibitors told us that they had their biggest sales days at a show in 25 years – and we expect the same at this show. What we do know is that buyers are coming here to buy.”
For more information visit: www.springfair.com
Christmas Flair at Spring Fair
Christmas sits in Hall 5 at the show, within the wider Gift section that opens the show and runs from Halls 1 to 5, and the festive hall itself is famed for its extravagant show stands and visual merchandising inspiration. “The Christmas Hall is magical and takes days of work to set up,” Suzanne reveals. “That could be up to five days of build for some festive exhibitors, working up to 18 hours a day.” All the festive exhibitors are ones to watch at Spring Fair ranging from big hitters to brand new names. Key names on Suzanne’s list this year include Kaemingk, Woodlodge Products, Mercer Agencies, Shatchi, Swift Imports, Art File, Lows of Dundee Ltd and Honest Love Our Planet – to name just a few.
