Home & Gift Unveils A New Campaign

As Harrogate’s Home & Gift show gets ready to welcome visitors from 16-19 July, Clarion Retail has again teamed up with trend and design agency The Better Trends Company.

“We are excited to collaborate with The Better Trends Co. to infuse Home & Gift’s classic festival vibes with their Modern Psychedelic design trend,” comments show director David Westbrooke. “The campaign's nostalgic essence encapsulates the welcoming ambience of Home & Gift, where the retail community have gathered for over 60 years to celebrate the industry in a relaxed environment that allows for both networking and product sourcing.”

Adds David: “The show is gearing up to be another huge success in 2023, giving buyers the opportunity to discover thousands of new product launches courtesy of over 500 brands from across the UK and beyond.”

This year’s Home & Gift campaign was inspired by the Modern Psychedelic trend, reflective of customers' increasing desire to see thoughtfully designed products with a handmade edge, with the folk-inspired application of floral designs setting the scene to launch Home & Gift’s brand new Craft sector. Visit www.homeandgift.co.uk

• Progressive Gifts & Home magazine, along with its digital partner GiftsandHome.net, is a confirmed media partner of the show following many years of successful collaboration. Visit www.homeandgift.co.uk

For dedicated followers of fashion, lifestyle and beauty, SS24 sees the introduction of Just Around The Corner’s (JATC) new London venue, Tobacco Dock in Wapping, with the show taking place from 16-18 July.

“The decision to run the London show dates in line with other shows’ timeframe is a strategic move that shows an understanding of the busy schedules of industry professionals, making it easier for them to save on travel expenses, as they can visit several events within the capital in one trip,” explains JATC’s managing director Juls Dawson.

Just Around the Corner features Womenswear, Menswear, Together, Responsible, Footwear and Accessories, and also includes a Beauty and Lifestyle zone featuring home fragrance, home, seasonal gifting, cosmetics, skincare, grooming and wearable accessories.

Visitors to the show will be able to enjoy complimentary coffee, pastries and lunches from street vendors and artisan baristas. Visit www.justaroundthecorner.co.uk

The Exclusively show, taking place on June 13-14 at London’s Business Design Centre, will unveil a myriad of new products, to include consumable gift items, as well as trends insights and merchandising ideas. The show has a strong reputation for predicting commercial trends in housewares, gifts and small domestic electricals, with trend talks, trend tours for buyers and displays of exhibitors’ products pre-selected by trend agency Scarlet Opus. (See Kitchen Gifts on page 43-45). Visit www.exclusivelyshows.co.uk

Moving from its traditional September date to August, Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn has re-positioned itself as the first show of the Autumn buying season.

Taking place at the SEC, Glasgow from 20-21 August 2023, organisers Springboard say that the new show dates give buyers better timing for Christmas buying, allowing them to top up for Autumn as well as giving them an early snapshot of 2024 ranges.

Over a third of exhibitors are new to the show, to include Enesco, Swole Panda, Shu Da Living, Kate Trouw, Academie and Cairn Candle Company. Visit www.scotlandstradefairs.com

Leading UK garden retail show Glee, (NEC 27-29 June), will be introducing a brand new Home, Gift & Clothing sector - the first time that such a strong focus has been placed on gifting, homeware, fashion accessories and apparel.

Exhibitors include: Freckleface Home Fragrance; The Candle Brand; The Wheat Bag Company; Jarapa; Kushboo Soaps; Tilnar Art and Rainbow Designs.

“As well as inspiring garden centres to further diversify into lucrative new categories, we also want to show traditional home and gift retailers how to integrate gardening into their lifestyle merchandise mix,” explains Glee director Matthew Mein. Visit www.gleebirmingham.com.

Following on from the success of its inaugural show at Spring Fair in February, Source Home & Gift – which will colocate with Autumn Fair at the NEC from 3-6 September - has confirmed that the show will be triple the size, featuring eight sectors across Gifts; Homewares; Stationery & Greetings; Toys: Furniture; Textiles; Technology & Services and Packaging.

“We launched with 150 manufacturers in February, and in September we will welcome over 450 manufacturers, showcasing over 15,000 products from exhibitors who have never shown before in Europe,” states Suzanne Ellingham, director of sourcing of Source Home & Gift. “There is huge demand from UK businesses to find new suppliers and manufacturers to responsibly source from.”

Countries exhibiting include the UK, China, India, Pakistan, Portugal, Philippines, Germany, Bangladesh, Ghana and Uganda. Visit www.sourcehomeandgift.com

2023 has been a year of unpredictability for many retailers, with three Bank Holidays in May getting mixed reactions from gift indies. Nevertheless, for others in gift retail, it’s been a time to expand and build their portfolios, as PG&H discovered.