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.
Brendan Fahy, sales and marketing, ITI UK
“We had an excellent Spring Fair this year, probably one of the best for several years. This was partly due to the change of hall but also due to the large number of new products. We know that in tough and uncertain economic situations balloons tend to buck the trend and we believe that is very much the case in the current climate. It is the humble balloon that keeps many a party retailer ‘afloat’ (pun intended).
Trends in our market are much determined by social media on platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram. For many years the influence has come from across the pond and this year was no exception. Last year we saw a lot of interest in gender reveal balloons, thanks to social media. As a consequence we have seen a big increase in demand for two and three ‘footers’.
In 2018 we have a few home-grown events which will have their own impact, such as the Royal Wedding and the World Cup (that could be interesting!). Thanks to social media, trends can occur overnight, while it used to take a year or so to influence the consumer. Now it can happen within twenty four hours.”
Tracey Devine, head of licensing and marketing EMEA, Rubie’s Masquerade
“Spring Fair 2018 proved to be a hit with Rubie’s Masquerade customers, it was amazing to see so many of our customers, both existing and new, enjoy the stand and the show. The buzz in Hall 5 created such an exciting atmosphere at the Rubie’s stand. We are so lucky to work with such amazing licenses and to see them be brought to life on the catwalk, it always delights our customers and partners.”
Edward Williams, general manager, Simon Elvin
“Although we felt that the Spring Fair footfall was down, most of our current customers visited us. The show is a very time-effective way to get feedback from customers and for our sales team to bring up points for us to react to. Listening to our customers has always been top priority for us.
Our customers see us as a one-stop supplier, so having a presence at the shows allows us to display our very popular co-ordinated themes and feature matching design selections across our products.”
