1. toysnplaythings.co.uk
S
pring 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 modifications 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 flow 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 afield 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
inflatable 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-
specific 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 field 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 2016
7 – 11 February 2016
NEC Birmingham
www.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
PREVIEW
SPRING FAIR
The visitors to
Spring Fair are
serious buyers
with a good
knowledge of
their company
requirements
Anna May, The
Carat Shop
”
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 find the catalogues
available extremely helpful. I take them
home, study them from cover to cover
and they influence the other half of my
buying for that year.”
David Webster, Castle Toys, Windsor
Amscan

2. JANUARY 2016 223
Fresh shoots
We 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 profile. 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
confirmed 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 florist.
Our official 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
film 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.uk
VISIT OUR SPRING FAIR STAND: 5E10/f11f
TOYS, GIFTS,
AND GREAT IDEAS