At a time when most exhibition organisers are finding diminishing numbers visiting their various shows, it is most encouraging that the Harrogate Christmas & Gift show have reported an increase in attendance of 11.1%.
I appreciate that it is fashionable for exhibitors to always cast doubt on figures put out by exhibition organisers, but folks this is legit.
For some years now Harrogate has been the number one show for Christmas and Seasonal buyers. Not only for attendance but also as an order-taking show.
A year ago there were a number of rather gloomy faces, as it was clear that due to poor deliveries in 2022, there was a huge stock carry over into the beginning of 2023, making the task of placing orders somewhat cautious. Move on into 2024 and all that late stock seems to have been moved through the system and buyers that I spoke to from our stand at the show were in the main well satisfied with their Christmas business and looking to replenish stocks and on the look-out for new products and exhibitors.
Of course, there are always worries on the supply chain from the Far East and shipping companies are always quick to latch on to any problems affecting deliveries and the price of buying container space.
The latest Houthi rebels attacking Red Sea commercial shipping heading for the Suez Canal is a further pain in the you know where, forcing some shipping to take an extra eight days going around the Horn of Africa and thus adding to shipping costs.
Armed conflict so often affects trading from overseas, so I sincerely hope that the rebels can be persuaded to back down allowing shipping to pass through as normal.
One or two people in the know, tell me as a result of these shipping delays, some container ships once they have docked in Europe, instead of taking onboard empty containers are refusing to take them and heading straight back to China, therefore causing a shortage in the Far East, that will once again possibly lead to increases in freight.
A number of exhibitors I spoke to felt that they would not pass any freight increases on to customers – I wonder how long they will be able to keep to this promise?
There were some outstanding products shown at Harrogate. I particularly loved the Noma ‘Winter Wonderland’ sleigh led by four pairs of reindeers. Very much a product to display at the entrance to a garden centre. I’m told by Noma that quite a number of their customers felt they could sell them to the public.
There wasn’t any stand space to be had at the Harrogate show, it was totally full and I was particularly impressed with the Queen’s Suite, that saw Snowlodge occupying the centre area, with a number of smaller companies forming a circle around the outside. Whilst not the easiest exhibition area to find, certainly quite a few people were able to do so, giving the show an additional hall of interest with those exhibitors well pleased with business.
Next year sees Harrogate celebrate its 75th year with plans in hand to mark the occasion with a Sunday drinks event.
Next year’s dates are 12th to the 15th January.
