‘Golden opportunity for gift shops’

Glee is the UK’s leading garden retail show, focusing on building year-round profits for buyers and suppliers within the core gardening and outdoor leisure product categories

This year the focus at Glee - the International Festival for Garden, Leisure and Pet - will not just be on the great outdoors, as a brand new Home, Gift & Clothing sector is about to take shape on the exhibition floor.

While Glee has long hosted key exhibitors in these categories, the 2023 show will be the first time that such a strong focus has been placed upon gifting, homeware, fashion accessories and apparel. This is testament to garden centres’ success in extending their in-store offerings, and also offers a significant opportunity for other retailers.

With its late June exhibition dateline, Glee takes place at the prime time for pre-Christmas buying, enabling retailers to get an angle on the hottest trends and plan their merchandise ahead. Glee 2022 saw retailers come out in force to do their ‘Christmas shopping’ and this year’s Home, Gift & Clothing sector has grown as a result.

Glee offers a golden opportunity for gift shops to get ahead of the curve and secure orders before the busy trading period. Visitors will be able to source from top-flight suppliers offering products that range from candles, toys, and crafting kits, to greeting cards, giftwrap and stationery, while specialists in hats, scarves, gloves, boots and other winter warmers will help retailers get set for the festive season.

Some of the biggest names in the greeting cards industry will showcase their latest collections and merchandise solutions including UK Greetings, Woodmansterne Publications, Noel Tatt Group, Giftwrap UK and Museums & Galleries.

Joining them on the show floor will be British companies exhibiting a wide variety of gift and homeware product, much of which has a sustainable angle or is made here in the UK.

These include The Candle Brand, The Crafty Kit Company, Playpress Toys, The Wheat Bag Company, Out of the Kiln (Pam Peters Designs), Alex Sharp Photography, Robert Frederick, Kushboo Soaps, Tilnar Art, New English Teas, Ivy & Twine Candles, Jarapa, Hippychick, Playmonster UK, Seedball, Art on Scarves, Victoria Eggs, Freckleface Designs, Rainbow Designs, thrilled that such an exceptional mix of companies will be joining us at this year’s show, many of them for the first time.

“As well as inspiring garden centres to further diversify into lucrative new categories, we also want to show traditional home and gift retailers how to integrate gardening into their lifestyle merchandise mix.

“Millions of British consumers are out in their gardens digging, planting up containers on balconies, or cultivating houseplants. The upsurge of interest in nature and the desire to be more sustainable is driving huge interest in certain sectors - pots and planters, gardening tools, outdoor clothing and seeds, for example - and we want to show gift and home retailers how they can benefit from these vital growth areas.

“Not only can buyers take steps to break new ground at Glee, but they can also stock up on the crucial staple products which will keep tills ringing in the run-up to Christmas. Whether it’s home fragrance or giftwrap, flower vases or gardening gloves, wall art or woolly socks, Glee is the show which addresses all angles of the consumer lifestyle shifts that are shaping retail.”

Naked Shells, Brass Bee and Soake.

Also participating in Glee 2023 within the Home, Gift & Clothing sector are major overseas manufacturers such as Pantherella International Group, Maison Bel, Bachmann Europe, Fountasia, Biohort, HellmannVersand, and Burstenhaus Redecker.

Glee director Matthew Mein commented: “Home, Gift & Clothing is an exciting new sector for Glee, and we’re

What: Glee

Where: NEC Birmingham

When: June 27-29

Visit: www.gleebirmingham.com