Great buzz as early date for Scotland’s Trade Fair pulls in retailers
Plenty of buyers, orders and business done – plus fun! – marked Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn’s new earlier August slot, kicking off the season in great style.
Off the back of a busy tourist season organiser Springboard Events reported a great buzz at Glasgow’s SEC last weekend as retailers stocked up for the second half of the year and Christmas.
Greetings exhibitors including Hole In My Pocket, Clare Baird Designs, Pink Pig, and The Grey Earl – pictured enjoying show set up in the video below – were among the 115 stands at the two-day show, covering cards, crafts, jewellery and textiles, many with a distinctly Scots flavour.
The new early date, moved from its previous late-September timeline, allowed retailers to source stock and place orders in advance of the English trade gift shows as many retailers have been running low in stock following a very busy summer tourist season with North American, Far Eastern and cruise ship visitors returning to Scotland.
Christmas orders were flowing as well, giving suppliers decent lead times to fulfil them, and buyer Judith Gray, from National Museums Of Scotland, said: “It is very important to have a show at this time of year as you can spend more time seeing suppliers, searching for new ones and seeing the products in person. Nothing beats sourcing at a trade fair.”
The new Craft Gallery proved a hit with a host of creative suppliers of jewellery, crafts and textiles, and the full Launch Gallery included new greetings publishers such as Little Giorgo’s Designs and Victoria Gordon Art.
Show director Mark Saunders added: “Confidence at Scotland’s Trade Fair Autumn 2023 leapt after a tough couple of years. The show saw an increase in exhibitors of 10% and a huge increase of new exhibitors to the show.
“Products were of a very high quality and perfectly suited to gift shop buyers up and down Scotland and buyers responded with a vastly improved turnout on the last two years and placed orders confidently over the two days. Suppliers were delighted with the number of buyers they met at the show and the number and quality of orders they received.
“The primary reasons for the increased market confidence was an earlier dateline for the show which moved from late September to August.
“This has meant buyers are able to place orders before the autumn series of shows in England with more budget at their disposal. In addition, very strong overseas tourist numbers in Scotland have driven more people through gift shops.
“Finally, for overseas visitors the low pound means gift shop purchases are very good value. If these conditions continue through late summer and autumn, it bodes well for Scotland’s Trade Fair Spring in January.”
