The first time I went ‘buying’ at a trade show, I walked round, collected every brochure in sight, bought nothing and never looked at most of the brochures again – they sat in their carrier bags behind the sofa for years! I was too overawed by the amount of choice and had not prepared properly for what I really wanted to buy.
Take the following advice to avoid wasting your time and your household space.
There are trade shows for all sectors of the retail industry held throughout the year, across the world. Use an internet site such as www.exhibitions.co.uk to search for those that are relevant to your business. Or check with the major exhibition centres themselves.
These include:
◆ the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
◆ Harrogate International Centre,Yorkshire
◆ Earls Court, London
◆ Olympia, London
◆ Excel, London.
The biggest trade show in the world is The Spring Fair. It begins on the first Sunday of February each year and runs for five days at the NEC, Birmingham. It is termed as a gift fair but covers a vast array of goods including:
◆ general and design-led gifts
◆ greetings cards
◆ cosmetics
◆ jewellery from plastic beads to platinum and diamonds
◆ luxury leather goods
◆ art and framing equipment
◆ household goods from bread boards to furniture, plastic bowls to china and crystal
◆ Christmas decorations
◆ soft toys, games and fancy dress.
There are halls for wholesale buyers who are buying in very large volumes, including those who are prepared to deal directly with suppliers from the Far East, not all of whom speak English.
