The organiser of Spring Fair, the UK’s wholesale marketplace for home, greetings, and gift has confirmed that the show will take place from February 6-9.
Registration for the event, in Halls 1-8 at the NEC, Birmingham is now live.
Julie Driscoll, divisional managing director for retail, engineering and manufacturing at Hyve Group, said: “We are confidently planning for the show and are very much looking forward to seeing all of you there. As we always have done, we take our responsibilities around health & safety at our events incredibly seriously. Anyone entering into the NEC venue at Spring Fair (including those during build-up and breakdown) will need to show their valid Covid-19 Pass, or a negative result to a Lateral Flow Test taken within 48 hours. In addition, aligned to Government guidelines, all attendees will wear a face covering during the show.
“We are confidently planning for the show and are very much looking forward to seeing all of you there”
Julie Driscoll, divisional managing director for retail, engineering and manufacturing at Hyve Group
“Autumn Fair had an incredibly strong visitor density and buyers with real quality who had an appetite to see new products and suppliers and make buying decisions in person. Feedback from our exhibitors, old and new, was that it was their best event for many years.â€
The Seed Card Company, for example, stated: “We are blown away by how busy and productive it’s been. Our first order was taken by 9.15am, we’d already covered the cost of our stand by 11am, more than 30 orders were done by 5pm, and we had more than 100 serious leads to follow up on. We have never been to a show like it.â€
Sarah Ward, CEO, Giftware Association, agrees that the UK retail industry should continue to trade safely at Spring Fair: “The entire retail industry has learned so much from the pandemic, particularly the need and desire for in-person business and buying. Spring Fair is crucial for the future of the giftware industry, not just to source products but also to facilitate and build relationships, to forge new partnerships, and to discover and drive innovation and inspiration. I have complete confidence in Hyve Group and the Spring Fair team to continue to create brilliant and safe shows and communicate best practice to everyone involved and attending them.â€
Summing up the view from retailers, Julie Tigne from Owl and the Pussycat said: “I have attended Spring Fair for the past 10 years and it was really missed in the pandemic, you can’t buy online! I’m looking forward to seeing proper products again.â€
