Spring Fair International, the UK’s largest retail trade exhibition, will take place at the Birmingham NEC between 2nd-6th February, featuring some 3000 exhibitors, launching more than 300,000 new products to a retail audience of up to 70,000, from over 130 countries …
Part of Europe’s largest selection of trend-driven gift and homewares is the Home Interiors & Furniture in Hall 9, where buyers will be able to source furniture, soft furnishings, lighting, wall art and decorative accessories from some of the world’s leading suppliers.
Around 100 suppliers will participate in this sector, including Coach House, Dutch Imports, PD Global, Febland Group, Walton & Co, Malini, CIMC, Libra, Salco Group, McGowan Rutherford and Ascalon Design.
New exhibitors and international companies joining this year include Finoak, Ian Knapper, J&B International, Floots, Kettle Interiors, Artiga, Nydel, Designer Impex, Aristo Fabrics, TRP Charvet and J&B International.
As well as bringing thousands of market-leading suppliers together, event organiser i2i Events Group has also made significant investments in the free business content available at Spring Fair. The Trend Briefing Seminar Theatre in Hall 6 will provide a stylish backdrop to the absorbing seminar programme put together by an expert content team, dedicated to providing visitors with a wealth of invaluable advice and information that will keep them ahead of the retail game in the coming year.
The programme will get off to a start on February 2nd at 11.00 with an insight into interior home trends for spring-summer 2014, a presentation of the most influential themes, colours, materials and products for the home interiors market for the coming season. Trend Company will explain the key trends from concept to categories, to help inform buying for that period. This session will be repeated at various times throughout the show.
Home Interiors & Furniture hall manager Robert Sapwell says: “There are an increasing number of textile-based soft furnishing companies exhibiting at the show, adding to the feel of dedicated and specific home decor groupings. Similar clusters of aligned home interiors suppliers are continuing to aid buyers in better and more easily finding selected products. Home Interiors continues to grow from the hub of home and gift, adding to the wealth and overall diversity of suppliers at Spring Fair for 2014.”
Spring Fair offers huge cross-over buying opportunities, with 13 different product sectors present: Contemporary Gift & Home; Gifts; Children’s Gifts, Toys & Gadgets; Christmas Gifts, Floral & Seasonal Decorations; Gift, Home & Volume; Greetings & Stationery; Body & Bath; Fashion Jewellery, Accessories & Luggage; Home Interiors & Furniture; Kitchen, Dining & Housewares; Art & Framing; The Summerhouse; and The Party Show.
i2i Events Group has forged a strengthened partnership agreement with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), designed to inspire and support UK-based SMEs in their efforts to succeed in overseas markets. The partnership will boost international representation at Spring Fair and other i2i Events Group exhibitions in the year ahead, providing British suppliers with an entry point to international markets and offering a broad variety of pre-event and onsite benefits. These will include prominent Best of British displays and exporter trails throughout the exhibition.
Five UKTI Villages will be located around the NEC, featuring a total of 50 carefully-selected exhibitors, all entrepreneurial British companies with a particular strength in export business that are new to the show. UKTI will subsidise the exhibition space for these companies, most of which will be launching to the trade for the first time at Spring Fair International 2014.
An Export Theatre designed with invaluable networking opportunities in mind will be located within the International Buyers Lounge in Hall 4, also featuring a presentation of British-made products to entice overseas retailers. UKTI will assist Spring Fair exhibitors with a unique hosted buyer programme that will see 50 of the world’s leading department store buyers brought directly to the venue.
Spring Fair also promises a range of inspirational feature areas, content and demonstration theatres. In Hall 1 will be the newly-developed eCommerce zone, including a dedicated seminar theatre that will provide all the advice and expertise a retailer would need to develop a coherent e-commerce strategy. Present within this part of the show will be suppliers specialising in search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, email marketing, fulfilment services, payment solutions, analytics, e-commerce platforms and web design.
The fair also promises a world-class seminar programme, while, to further help guide their buying, visitors will be able to follow a number of product trails, including New Product, Creative Britain, Exporter, Licensed Product, Ethical Product and Retail Services. More new product inspiration will be found at the New Product Showcase and Contemporary Product Showcase in Hall 9, plus over 17 carefully-styled product displays at the entrance to each hall.
