Glee

Get set for a summer festival feel!

Glee event director Matthew Mein gives us the lowdown on this year’s Glee show

“Whether gift buyers are looking for established brands, emerging talent, or access to the latest innovations, Glee has it all and so much more”

What makes Glee different from other trade exhibitions in the buying calendar?

Glee is the most important event for the gardening, leisure and lifestyle community, and is the UK’s leading garden and outdoor living trade show. Each year, Glee presents the most exciting brands, innovative products, and inspiring garden, home and gift retail insights. Bringing together the whole of the industry under one roof, the annual exhibition acts as a central hub for face-to-face trading, networking, and the growth of new ideas.

How will you make this the best Glee yet?

After the huge success of Glee 2021 as the first in-person event in two years, we’re determined to build on this momentum, especially as the industry continues to witness unprecedented growth. Benefitting from a new dateline - the biggest move that has taken place in Glee’s 47year history - that is better designed to support the needs of manufacturers and renewed buying cycles, the 2022 edition will take place with a newly cultivated experience. It’s going to be one to remember!

Is there anything new this year that visitors should look out for?

With a new mid-summer date, Glee is set to benefit from a summer festival feel unlike never before. Not only will retailers be better armed with their range needs for the year ahead following the peak spring sales period, but the June timing will provide outdoor entertaining brands with a chance to shine thanks to Glee’s new outdoor demonstration area, aptly known as Fire, Grill & Chill.

A first for Glee, this dedicated section - located in the outdoor area at the rear of Hall 20 - will create a central networking hub where suppliers of outdoor cooking solutions will create a mouthwatering backdrop. The wider outdoor entertaining portfolio of products including fire pits and patio heaters will also debut in this area, making for an unrivalled interactive showcase.

In addition, Glee will continue to be a hotbed for all the latest product innovations to hit the market. Whether it’s new additions for the autumn sales period, updates to bestsellers or even trendled innovation set to shape spend in 2023, Glee will be home to it all.

Glee

How many exhibitors and visitors are you expecting?

The appetite for Glee 2022 has outstripped any of our expectations. We expect to welcome more than 400 exhibitors, of which an estimated 40% have never been seen before at the show, making this year’s event bigger and more vibrant than before, proving that our sector is stronger than ever - and that innovation is helping to create an exciting future for gardening.

Visitor wise, as always, we know Glee will attract thousands of quality buyers, buying teams and owner operators from the multiple and garden centre sector, as well as high street stores, ecommerce giants, home and gift retailers, plus representatives from builders’ merchants, garden designers and landscapers.

What product sectors can visitors expect to find?

Featuring eight dedicated show sectors - Garden Care; Landscaping & Garden Decoration; Food & Catering; Retail Experience & Services; Outdoor Entertaining; Home, Gift & Clothing; Plants; and PAW for pet and animal wellbeing, Glee will be home to thousands of product innovations and merchandising support tools to ensure the 2023 sales season is the most exciting yet.

What gift companies will be exhibiting?

Home, Gift & Clothing is a thriving section of Glee, and this year will be no different. Returning brands include Woodmansterne with its new plastic-free range; APAC, the distributor of Bolsius Candles; sock specialist HJ Hall; Tilnar Art, offering environmentally friendly and Fair Trade products; and the multi-award winning Willsow, with its range of plantable children’s books.

New brands set to debut at Home, Gift & Clothing include VENT for Change, with its range of ethical and eco-friendly stationery; organic tea supplier English Tea Shop; sustainable ladies’ fashion expert M&Co; indoor play specialist Kidzplay; Summit/PMS International with its selection of camping equipment; and UK Greetings, with its range of award-winning greeting cards, gift dressing and social expressions.

Can you tell us about any initiatives at the show?

This year’s edition will welcome a number of new initiatives, all designed to help the show’s exhibitors and visitors ‘give back’ and protect the planet, reduce waste, and raise funds for the industry’s charity, Greenfingers.

With sustainability at the centre of Glee, we have recently established a partnership with Grow My Tree, which works with local partners in countries in the Global South to plant trees at scale, for reasonable costs, and with an ethical codex. Through this partnership, we are giving each attendee the chance to ‘plant’ a free tree.

Floral Thursday – our special fundraising event on behalf of Greenfingers - will be returning on the final day of Glee. This event sees thousands of visitors and exhibitors come together to show their ‘flower power’ in aid of Greenfingers’ ongoing fundraising activities. Anyone that has reached for the floral clothing - from ties to socks to shirts and suits - is invited to buy a raffle ticket which will enter them into a prize draw to win fabulous prizes while, more importantly, helping to top up the fundraising total for the charity.

Glee will also be working with Event Cycle to help exhibitors remove and repurpose any items that otherwise would have been thrown away. Items donated by exhibitors are given to charity and community groups, as well as back into the events industry. Exhibitors can find out more about this initiative by visiting the Exhibitor Manual.

Finally, we are excited to welcome back the Young People in Horticulture Association (YPHA) and provide it with a platform to promote the work of the Association to those aged under 35 in the horticulture industry.

Although the government has removed remaining domestic Covid restrictions in England, do you have any plans in place for visitors and exhibitors to still follow basic safety measures?

While Covid restrictions have now been lifted in the UK, to ensure the health and safety of everyone, we will continue to work in line with the Association of Event Organisers’ ‘All Secure Standard’ alongside government advice. This includes not attending should you display any symptoms of Covid-19 or if you test positive.

While mask wearing is no longer mandatory, Glee will remain a mask-friendly event. Hand sanitising stations will be available throughout the venue and increased cleaning regimes, particularly in high traffic touchpoints, will continue to take place. Additionally, the NEC’s ventilation system has been upgraded to high efficiency F7 media, which will circulate clean and safe air.

What’s your earliest memory of Glee?

My earliest memory is from 2006 - the year I joined the team. I recall being at the NEC and seeing the volume of the halls and the layout that was so unique to Glee, together creating a hugely impressive event. The show also highlighted to me just how great a sector garden retail is, and how much I wanted to be part of it.

Finally, why should a gift buyer consider attending Glee?

Despite the pressures of the last few years, the popularity of gifts, homeware and outdoor clothing shows no sign of abating, helping to keep tills ringing year-round as consumers look to optimise key gifting events and add value to their homes and gardens with stylish accessories. At Glee 2022, this popularity will be evident within the ever-expanding Home, Gift & Clothing section.

Gift buyers will be able to access a wide range of brands offering everything from outdoor clothing ranges and picnicware to seasonal decorations, games, toys and books, as well as complementary brands and products from Glee’s wider offering.

What’s more, all of these exhibiting brands are ready and willing to do business with gift buyers from both garden centres and gift shops, with a combined offering that is designed to work for both this season and beyond, thanks to our new dateline which has positioned the show at a more convenient time within the annual buying cycle. Whether gift buyers are looking for established brands, emerging talent, or access to the latest innovations, Glee has it all and so much more.

At A Glance

What: Glee 2022 Where: NEC Birmingham When: Tuesday June 28 9am-6pm Wednesday June 29 9am-6pm Thursday June 30 9am-4pm Call: 0203 3545 9752 Email: visitor@gleebirmingham.com Visit: www.gleebirmingham.com