Autumn Fair 2024 Sees Rise in Quality Buyers as Retailers Capitalise on Final Purchasing Opportunity of the Year

High-Calibre Buyers Flock to Autumn Fair 2024, Boosting UK Retail Industry
 

Autumn Fair, the UK’s leading seasonal trade event for Home, Gift, and Fashion, has once again solidified its position as a key order-writing trade event, drawing in a high-calibre of decision-makers and influential buyers. This season saw a 6% increase in buyers actively looking to source and buy new products, a 20% rise in the number of buyers with sole or joint purchasing responsibility, and 30% brand new buyers, underscoring the event's continuing importance for the retail industry.

 

Soraya Gadelrab, Event Director of Autumn Fair says, “50% of the buyers who attended are business owners who take the time away from their store to buy and source new products at Autumn Fair which underlies the importance of coming. They love and value the community the show offers, and they trust in it to provide the newness they need for their valued customers.”

 

Buyers could discover more than 800 exhibitors and touch and feel over 500,000 products and new launches ready for immediate purchase. With 95% of buyers from the UK, the show’s wide variety of exhibitors attracted an impressive range of retailers from multiples, department stores and garden centres to charities, heritage sites and independents including Next, British Garden Centre, Fenwick, British Heart Foundation, Haven, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Poundland, River Island, Champneys, WHSmith, ZSL, Squires, Costco, Dunelm, TJX Europe, TJ Hughes, Card Factory, Ryman, Morley Stores Ltd, Aldi UK, G Rutherford & Co, Elphicks, Lucy & Yak, RSPCA, Farmfoods, Walt Disney Company, Blue Diamond, Dobbies, Lark London, New Look, Homebase, Osprey, Liverpool FC, Lakeland, Waitrose, River Island, Forbidden Planet, National Trust, HOPE Menswear, Baldwins Department Stores, Boyd Stores Ireland, Sainsburys, F Hinds, World Duty Free, Sue Ryder, Elphicks Ltd, Robert Dyas, House of Cards, Cox & Cox, and Amazon.

 

85% of attendees had sole or joint responsibility for purchasing and 40% of attendees came with a planned spending budget between £25k - £100k. Returning buyers demonstrated continued purchasing power with 87% making purchases, a clear indication of the event's effectiveness in driving sales. 

 

The show offered the chance for retailers to capitalise on the year’s final purchasing opportunity, as it continues to put the spotlight on Britain’s independent retailers and help safeguard their future. Regional growth was also evident with increases in visitors from the South East, the Midlands, South West, North West and London, showcasing Autumn Fair’s widening influence across the country.

 

Jeff Banks, who is collaborating with Candlelight commented on the entrepreneurial spirit and dedication of independent retailers, “I have been on the Candlelight stand all day meeting customers who purchase the Jeff Banks candle collection and have witnessed a seismic shift in retail. I have met at least 7 retailers across the country who are single stores, but have been expanding into the shop next door, and the one next to that and next to that. With the demise of many department stores, they are filling this gap on a local level by introducing new product sectors into their stores, be it perfumes, gifts, fashion, cards and even cafes to the benefit of the whole business and their high streets. The people that own them are buying with their own money and sell with passion and conviction. They are sharing the brand stories and training their sales teams, it has been incredible to see such ambitious retail once again and possibly the department stores of the future – it is how they started.”

 

The success of Autumn Fair 2024 is further highlighted by the number of exhibitors who have already rebooked – over half re-booked onsite - for the September 2025 edition including Joe Davies, Sifcon, Malini, Hot Tomato, Ty UK, Keel Toys, Widdop & Co, Lesser and Pavey, Victorian 925 Silver ltd, D&X, Big Metal, Hippy Chick and hundreds more. Many exhibitors reported an increase in order values with quality visitors actively buying.

 

Paul Moneypenny who has created a range with Malini said, “This is the third collection I have created in collaboration with Malini and it has been a huge success, we have had very strong interest. Anyone that has come to look has been very interested and placed an order. We sold all of our first stock on day 1 of the show, so I had to arrange a reorder. I think it has done so well because I have created 2 colour stories, and there has been the space to talk through the buyers about their merchandising and how customers could display in their shop. It's been good to have time to speak to the buyers, give advice and have the space to allow the buyers to see everything.”

 

Nick Starsmore of Soctopus commented, “The show has been nonstop conversations from Sunday until Wednesday with great museums, gift and lifestyle shops. We have had great orders; prospects and we have rebooked for next year. If you are serious about business, you have to be at Spring and Autumn Fair.”

 

Mike Winch, Founder of Candlelight further commented, “To those brands who aren’t here, we have written as many orders in on one and a half days, as we wrote in 4 days at the last Autumn Fair. The attendance and quality of buyer has been excellent, we will back at Autumn Fair next year.”

 

Matt Genower, Managing Director of Five Dollar Shake said, “The show has exceeded our expectations. If this is a barometer of retail we are excited for what's to come.”

 

Nick Ronald, Owner of Casa Verde said, “We have had a great reaction from customers with lots of new buyers. Our new collection has gone down especially well.”

 

Mark Swallow, Chairman of Ty UK said, “We have been delighted with the response to our new bounce beanies which we have launched here.  We are amazed to have opened so many new customers after exhibiting for so many years at Autumn Fair.”

 

Helen Marshall, Director, Walton & Co said, “It is a really great opportunity to launch our Spring Summer collections and we have space here to showcase them so it gives us some really positive vibes about what we have created. We write orders at the show and take a lot of quotes as well. 90% of the key buyers we expected to see have been to the stand. Overall, it's been a really positive experience and everybody we have seen has been very happy to be here and are very happy to be at the show.”

 

The 2024 edition also introduced new partnerships, which were met with enthusiasm by visitors and exhibitors. Leading online wholesale marketplace Faire began this week with the launch of new order-writing capabilities to bridge online and offline selling and simplify the buying process for the event’s attending retailers and 800+ brands.  The collaboration aims to make it even easier for retailers to discover and purchase unique products.

 

Charlotte Broadbent, UK general manager at Faire commented, “We've had an incredibly busy few days meeting both new and existing Faire customers at Autumn Fair this week. The feedback from everybody we've spoken to about Faire's new partnership with Autumn Fair and the new tools and support we've been providing to help bridge online and offline support at this year's event has also been overwhelmingly positive. We're now looking forward to supporting all those new brands and retailers joining Faire for the first time and building on the success of this week by continuing to collaborate on future Spring and Autumn Fair events.”

 

Jackson Szabo, Portfolio Director of Autumn Fair commented, “The response has been incredibly positive. As you walk around, you can see the scale of businesses interacting with Faire which is encouraging for the market. Our partnership with Faire has allowed us to attract new retailers and approach them with tailored propositions (including the 50% off and free shipping offers which continue until next week), opening up new markets.”

 

He added, “Many attendees have been coming to Spring and Autumn Fair for years. Traditionally, our visitors may not have been the first to embrace online marketplaces, but now, many who were once hesitant, are fully on board. This shift shows how much the market is evolving and the success of brands both at the Autumn Fair and using Faire, proves how powerful this combination is.”

 

International visitor Dominik Oster, owner of Oster in Karlsruhe, Germany said, “The cooperation between Autumn Fair and Faire is brilliant for us German retailers and creates new opportunities. I placed my order with them today. Probably I wouldn't have done it without the cooperation.”

 

Tom Pettitt, Director of exhibitor Heaven Scent said, “We have been at Autumn Fair for 32 years and it is always a good show for us. We are always busy and all of our products have gone down really well. We have partnered with Faire, which has been very good, it's great to have another modern tool to use.”

 

Product Trails, new Lounges and Pavilions made product discovery easier than ever, featuring refreshed trails that highlighted British, sustainable, new and licensed products, along with brands selling on Faire, complemented by dedicated lounges and new business pavilions.

 

The New Business Pavilion offered buyers a unique opportunity to discover emerging brands across sectors such as Home, Living, Décor, Gift, Beauty & Wellbeing, and Moda Fashion. A must-visit for those seeking new and launching brands which induced Flourish Home Interiors, Meraki Notebooks, Skyn Bakery, and AddSquirrel, who all reported a good show with interest from key buyers and order writing.

 

Jen Winnet from AddSquirrel said, “We've had a very good show, done some orders and had some interesting conversations that could lead to bigger retail opportunities. It's our first time here in the New Business Pavilion, and our unique advantage is that we're the only company here doing what we do.”

 

Joanna Rayor, Owner of Flourish Home Interiors added, “We have had a really good show it's a lovely atmosphere. Everyone has been friendly, chatty and helpful. We have had lots of interest in "Summer Afternoon" which appeared in the Bestsellers in the Autumn Fair Little Black Book.”

 

The Gift Of The Year Showcase (GOTY) featured award-winning products which visitors could explore. The Showcase has been a tremendous success, allowing the Giftware Association to tell the story of the Awards while helping build valuable relationships between buyers and brands.

 

Sarah Ward, from the Giftware Association said, "The show has been an incredible success for us as a Trade Association and organisers of Gift Of The Year as we welcome lots of new brands to the awards with it being their first time exhibiting and seeing the value of the show and the competition, as well as the industry big players who are equally excited about the unique opportunity GOTY offers. We have big plans for its future with us developing ideas all the time to the benefit of our wonderful industry.”

 

A daily must-see was the Merchandising Masterclasses hosted by visual merchandising consultant, Debbie Flowerday. She presented exciting live window dressing installations and engaging Q&A sessions.

 

Judith Evans, a buyer from Williams of Audlem, South Cheshire commented, “It's a great show, we have found it really busy! The Masterclasses were one of the main reasons we visited... it was really informative, and I really enjoyed it.”

 

The Ambience Clinic and the Community Development Team have both offered a huge amount of free advice across the four days with storytelling being one of the key themes. A number of new businesses attended keen to find out how to best communicate their stories and how to make storytelling a bigger part of their store offer.

 

Kate Grindal, Retail Manager of Cadw in Wales said, “The Ambience Clinic and Buyers Lounge sessions such as Merchandising Masterclass have really added value to my visit.” Michael Griffiths, Owner of Making Ideas added, “Stephen in the Ambience Clinic’s advice is invaluable, it was great to have his opinion on where we need to be.”

 

Jo Williams, Director of Joco Interiors continued, “The show has been really good for me to visit. Seeing current suppliers for new products and seeing new suppliers to increase the products we can offer. Vising the Buyers Lounge was great, I met up with other gift shop owners. and this has been one of the best experiences of the show I've had.”

 

Event Director, Gadelrab said, “Autumn Fair has once again proven to be the leading order-writing trade event in the UK, attracting a significant number of influential buyers and decision-makers. With over 800 exhibitors and a wide range of new product launches, the show continues to be the destination for retailers to discover unique products, connect with peers, and prepare for the crucial holiday season.”