I was at the Home & Giving Fair in Sydney yesterday, one of three excellent trade shows for retailers in the gift and homewares space. There was plenty of excellent product for the traditional newsagency shopper as well as excellent product to use to attract new traffic. The mix of retailers at the fair indicates how blurred the lines between retail niches has become: jewellers, card shops, gift shops, homewares shops, jewellers, garden centres, department stores, convenience stores and newsagents. Everyone is looking for products for their business as it is defined today. Some were looking for products through which they can diversify. That’s what I was looking for. The Home and Giving Fair is usually seen as the poor cousin to the Reed Gift Fair. I was certainly impressed with opportunities I saw yesterday.