While I am grateful for the opportunity to attend Spring Fair 2025 in Birmingham this year it was smaller than last year and for the time I was there if felt like there were fewer attendees.
Spring Fair has been the must-attend trade show for cards, gifts, homewares and related retailers in the UK and, often, from far away as Australia. I’ve been at least six times, and several times to the related event, Autumn Fair.
I know of some suppliers who have pulled out of Spring Fair to concentrate on web sales to their wholesale customers. Others have pulled out to focus on using platforms such as Faire. Speaking of Faire, they had a stand at Spring Fair, which to me is like having your competitor in your shop selling against you.
While the trade show halls were not as full previously – they used temporary walls to make a huge hall smaller – there were some interesting suppliers as well as plenty of existing suppliers to connect with.
There are a few challenges for trade shows:
The labour cost while you are away from the business in this world of reduced headcount is a challenge. The excellent options for sourcing without travelling to a trade show is a factor too.
For suppliers, these trade shows are expensive. In Australia, a basic small stand at a gift fair will cost more than $15,000 for the stand, furniture, staffing and related costs. Businesses have to weigh up the cost versus the return, which can take several to realise.
This all brings me to my point. The suppliers who don’t do well at these trade shows are those who approach them as they have done for years. Those who do best are those with a fresh approach, a time-attentive approach, pitching new ideas, opportunities and products. These suppliers are offering retailers new ways to make money in their businesses.
All of us involved in trade shows need to reinvent our approach to them. The trade show organisers are demonstrating disinterest in this, so it comes to us. I say us with my hat on as a supplier to retailers. We have to deliver more valuable and enjoyable experiences for retailers. We have to offer a new trade show experience.
The biggest benefit of getting to Spring Fair this year is the same as every year I have been – seeing trends months or a year ahead of when they hit in Australia.
Yes, the role of the trade show is changing. While they have a place, they are not what we build our year around any more.
Trade fairs are still important to us as a retailer as it is the most time efficient way to purchase for our store, speak to suppliers, see what’s new and to find new suppliers. We tried to shop online during COVID and it was just too time consuming. We also get a lot of benefit from my overseas retail trips with newsXpress as I am exposed to a lot of product that isn’t available in Australia but can be purchased through Faire.
I agree overall Shelley. I think the retailers dropping off are those who’d do a fair in a day. Those who invest more time are those drive greater value I think. I do think other platforms are challenging the traditional trade show.