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Spring Fair 2016, an i2i events exhibition, enters its 66th year with a refreshed layout and

support from 14 industries all under one roof. Spring Fair Portfolio Director Nick Davison explains: “Consultation with our customers revealed the need for certain modifi cations to the hall layout and access points to improve footfall, so we’ve implemented a raft of new changes to meet those requirements in 2016.”

Express entrances, linking walkways and edited layouts will further improve the fl ow of visitors to the Spring Fair, helping them to get the most out of the excellent cross-over purchasing opportunities.

The largest retail event in the UK buying calendar, Spring Fair prides itself on each sector offering a ‘show within a show’ and the event acts as the sole trading event for industries from specialised jewellery to party products.

Tens of thousands of buyers from across the UK and further afi eld visit each year – 44 per cent of whom do not attend other trade events with 75 per cent of visitors placing orders with suppliers as a result of their attendance at Spring Fair.

Hall 5 will house Children’s Gifts, Toys & Gadgets within the complementary Gifts sector. Incorporating an array of products from plush gifts, games, gadgets and traditional wooden toys right through to pocket money purchases, novelties, crafting kits and educational items – the line up is sure to excite! Licensed products will also be big at the show, with Star Wars, The Avengers, Minecraft, Disney characters, Spiderman and Batman all trending, while personalised plush and Segway also come to the fore

as hot properties.Iain Morgan, CEO of

Bladez Toyz explains what opportunities the event offers. He said: “Spring Fair is a great central point in the UK for us to meet retailers face to face.It gives a diverse mix of buyers, and opens doors for us into other sectors with the gift side of our business.“We have a diverse range of lines, from toys to gifts and pre-school, so having

such a selection of retailers visiting the show gives our new launches a great audience. We are launching new Star

Wars droid BB-8 in the form of an RC infl atable with sounds at Spring Fair, as well as our new pre-school and gift lines.”

On who should visit the stand, Iain added: “As we are launching new lines, we would encourage pre-school and gift-specifi c buyers to visit our stand – we have a new stand design that we are really excited to show off – 80 per

cent of our items are new and improved, and we have a fantastic demonstration station for our mycropodz lines, that includes a demo-pool for our RC Mycro Yacht!”

Under the new banner of Greetings & Gifts, Hall 3 will include the UK’s only dedicated event for the party products industry. The stage is set for balloon demonstrations and seminars and there will also be runway shows hosted and sponsored by fi eld experts Pioneer/Qualatex and Amscan.

Lauren Shipmna of Posh Paws returned to exhibit at Spring Fair 2015 after a few years’ hiatus. She said: “Last year was a huge success for us and hence the reason we are exhibiting again in 2016. Spring Fair offers us the opportunity to meet with a whole host of independent toy and gift retailers, we picked up a raft of new customers last year and we’re looking forward to catching up with them again at the show.

Spring Fair 20167 – 11 February 2016NEC Birminghamwww.springfair.com

In with the newWith the tagline ‘quench your thirst for new’, this year’s Spring Fair will provide everything you need to refresh tired looking shelves and get hold of truly innovative product lines, as well as speaking to those at the heart of the gift and home trade community

PREVIEWSPRING FAIR

The visitors to Spring Fair are serious buyers with a good knowledge of their company requirements Anna May, The Carat Shop

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Retailer’s speak…

“Along with Autumn Fair, Spring Fair is the only exhibition I attend. Buying-wise for me it is the pinnacle event of the calendar, and I will be preparing for it accordingly. I will purchase half of my yearly allocation in person at the show, but I also fi nd the catalogues available extremely helpful. I take them home, study them from cover to cover and they infl uence the other half of my buying for that year.” David Webster, Castle Toys, Windsor

Amscan

JANUARY 2016 223

Fresh shootsWe speak with two new exhibitors to the fair this year – Access All Areas and Wooky Europe, and hear what it is about the event that attracted them and what they can hope to achieve

“Spring Fair gives us the opportunity to meet with a broad range of buyers and that mass appeal is really what our product is all about. Our main expectation is that we’ll be meeting a lot of new faces and establishing some fantastic new partnerships. We always bring some Scottish hospitality to trade shows, and plan to have some live ukulele demonstrations, so visiting 5H68 in Hall 5 won’t just be a place to discover a great business opportunity, but also an enjoyable stand to visit. We have experience working with high street chains, as well as small independents. Whether you’re a buyer for a multiple, a toy, music or gift specialist, or just keen to learn more about the opportunity for music products in mainstream retail, you should get in touch.”Sean Kelly, Managing Director, Access All Areas

“We are introducing i-loom which crosses over toy/gift/craft buyers so wanted to hit the widest buying profi le. We are looking forward to creating a real stir with i-loom and being able to spend time with customers new and old. We have all angles covered, boys, girls, craft, technology, cosmetics, jewellery, design, art – the lot!” David Williams, European Sales Director, Wooky

“Our product mix is suited to many gift and greeting retailers and the opportunity to showcase our whole range at an event like Spring Fair is extremely important to us. Any retailer looking to appeal to stock presents or appeal to young children then we have something for you. Not only do we have great quality product we also have some of the best licensed brands for 2016.”

Monitoring trends throughout the year has also confi rmed that licensing is still big news in the home and gift markets, with licensed products selling well across all major categories. A dedicated Licensing section of the Spring Fair website helps bring this important aspect of gifting to the fore, with countless hot properties to choose from, including Doctor Who and Minions among many more.

With Harry Potter jewellery a hot product moving into 2016, we hear from Director of Carat Toys, Anna May, who will be on hand in Hall 5

to share the magic of the brand. On anticipation of the fair, Anna said: “We have stock in jewellers, gift ships, book shops, garden centres, hairdressers and even a fl orist. Our offi cial Harry Potter jewellery can be sold anywhere.”

So who should stop by the Carat Shop stand? Anna adds: “The Harry Potter brand has never been stronger – and with a new fi lm scheduled for November 2016 – now is the perfect time to take

advantage of this niche market. "Visitors to Spring Fair are serious

buyers with a good knowledge of their company requirements.

We will be launching our Harry Potter wand necklaces as well as new charm designs. Including our new designs, we now have more than 100 products in our Harry Potter collection.”

Spring Fair is a great central point in the UK for us to meet retailers face to face. It gives a diverse mix of buyers, and opens doors for us into other sectors with the gift side of our business Iain Morgan, CEO, Bladez Toyz”

Visit - www.ggtrade.co.ukVISIT OUR SPRING FAIR STAND: 5E10/f11f

TOYS, GIFTS,AND GREAT IDEAS