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Autumn Fair
Stepping Into
Autumn Autumn Fair, taking place at the NEC Birmingham from September 5-8, will be opening its doors for the first time since 2019, with exhibitors and retailers excited to finally re-engage in person. Co-located with fashion and footwear show Moda, PG&H put event director Jessica Dawnay into the hot seat to find out more about the show’s highlights. “We are so excited to be back and can’t wait to welcome our community to the NEC Birmingham after such a long time apart,” enthuses Jessica Dawnay, event director of Autumn Fair. “The show will be brimming with newness and inspiration, with tens of thousands of new products and over 600 brands. Feedback is really positive,” confirms Jessica. “If the last year showed us anything beneficial, it is how much people and businesses have missed face to face networking. It has given the industry a fresh appetite for physical shows.” Spanning Home, Gift, Fashion and Design & Source, the show includes Online Marketplace, hosted curated meetings and product trails, enabling visitors to search for sustainable and Made in Britain products and brands. In addition, an Autumn Fair app will further enable visitors to source products and connect with brands. New this year is the integration of Moda, which will be showcasing trend forward collections across fashion, footwear,
jewellery and accessories. “Moda will drive key crossover buying opportunities, additional footfall, and a host of new retailers,” explains Jessica. “As retail gets back on its feet, many businesses have diversified to offer their customers more choice, so Moda’s integration into Autumn Fair is a total nobrainer as lifestyle boutiques, department stores and garden centres want one easy to navigate, streamlined buying journey offering a one stop shop, where they can source fashion, lifestyle, accessories, gifts and homeware under one roof.” On the sustainability front, she adds that following the successful launch of the Sustainability Trail at Spring Fair 2020, the focus will continue at Autumn Fair with the launch of The Sustainability Library and a host of onsite initiatives. Top right: Jessica Dawnay, event director, Autumn Fair. Above: Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, shown at the #SBS Pavilion in 2019, will be back at Autumn Fair this September. Above right: Home fragrance will be among the sectors being showcased. Left: Visitors browse the aisles at a previous show.
“And don’t miss a visit to the #SBS Pavilion,” states Jessica. “We are continuing our partnership with Theo Paphitis’ #SBS Small Business Sunday, dedicated to showcasing new and unique products from ambitious start-ups and small businesses, and we’re excited to see all our winners at the show.” Also taking place at Autumn Fair will be curated meetings, planned across two days, bringing together buyers from national and independent retailers with relevant quality suppliers. As for online, Jessica explains: “it’s imperative that we deliver a 365 experience for brands and buyers. Earlier this year we launched Online Marketplace, a global digital trading arena enabling trusted brands and vetted buyers to trade all-year-round on a secure wholesale platform. It already features over 5000 products from 50 brands including Rex London, Felt So Good, Lisa Angel and Sass & Belle, as well as boutique
brands including Betty Hula, Seedball, and VENT for Change. With newness and curation at its heart, the Online Marketplace showcases a regular flow of new collections and enables brands and buyers to deepen relationships started in person at Autumn and Spring Fair.” As for the safety of exhibitors and visitors, Jessica confirms that the show has introduced Covid-19 status checks for all attendees on arrival, and has also updated its Safe & Secure Guidelines. Visit www.autumnfair.com Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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