Trade shows are an essential part of any retail business, so we asked the party trade to share their experiences of this year’s H&P Expo, Spielwarenmesse and Spring Fair. Here’s what a few of them had to say.
Adnan Rasool, ceo, Splashes & Spills
“We had a hugely successful round of trade shows this year, both at H&P Expo and in Spielwarenmesse. We wrote more orders than previous shows as retailers dusted off the cobwebs from Halloween 2017 and bought confidently.
It was nice to see a lot of store owners bringing along the staff who actually work the shop floor and handle the day-to-day running of the business. We enjoyed talking product and giving the sales and operations managers an extra string to their bow.”
Alice Knight, sales and marketing, Fun Shack
“Fun Shack enjoyed its third year showing at Spielwarenmesse this February. Once again it was a successful show for us as we met new customers and had a chance to catch up with existing contacts. We met with a range of potential customers this year, from across Europe and beyond, including many new businesses just starting out.
This was also a great opportunity for us to debut our multiple new ranges we have developed for 2018. Our stag do and novelty ranges got a lot of attention and interest from a range of new customers.”
George Morgan, marketing, Henbrandt
“The annual trade shows are still important for us. We exhibited at both Spring Fair and Spielwarenmesse this year and we are studying the possibility of exhibiting in some other ones in the future.
Trade shows are not what they used to be, in terms of people giving you orders there, but it is always good for us to keep showing our new items, meeting our customers and seeing the direction the market is heading in. It’s always good to meet with our existing customers as well, to see what else we can offer them.”
