75 years old! No, not me but the Harrogate Christmas & Gift show. Known originally as the Harrogate toy fair, it moved from Manchester to Harrogate in 1950 and was for many years principally for wholesale, mail order and department store buyers making use of all the hotels for stand space.
If you were a retailer you were told politely that you would not be allowed to visit. Also, and in my opinion something sadly lacking these days, babies and children were strictly forbidden entry. Sensibly parents then would not have contemplated bringing babies to an exhibition.
Even in those early days there were a number of Christmas exhibitors, primarily importing product from the Far East and Europe.
With the 2025 show fully booked we shall be celebrating 75 years with a drinks party in the Royal Hall immediately after the Sunday first day. Canapes will also be served along with live music to set your toes tapping.
My first show was 1966. Harrogate was a six day show and a real eye-opener for an innocent young man like myself.
With ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ so popular today, maybe it is time to bring back the 1966 Harrogate Royal Hall dance, where one of the exhibitors just happened to be a big ballroom fan and brought along the then World Champions for a dance demonstration.Quite what all the young reps., of the time thought of it I’m not quite sure!
One company and I believe the only company that has shown at all 75 shows is the Playwrite Group. Originally known as W.H. Cornelius Ltd., they are now 5th generation with Guy and James Cornelius at the helm. Their story appears on page 28/29.
Spare a thought for Snowtime’s chairman Mike Withers, when having received a call from Sara Murray his M.D. informing Mike that their entire I.T. system had been hacked by a Russian gang of criminals who were demanding a ransom to release it. The fact that this was mid-September at the height of their delivering stock to customers made this even more harrowing. How they coped says much for team loyalty in how they tackled this.
I was very sad to learn that after 40 years in the Christmas decoration business that Iain and Pearl Mercer of Jingles had taken the decision on the 29th November to place their company into administration. It was always a pleasure doing business with them and I shall miss my annual trip to Belfast.
It has been a tough trading year for everyone, not least due to the increased shipping time around the Horn of Africa instead of the Suez Canal and the risk of the Hothis rebels attacking the ships. This has increased the cost of containers four-fold, adding even more pressure to retail prices.
Despite all of this, Harrogate continues to offer an amazing treasure trove of new products and new companies inviting you to see for yourselves what lies in store. A new hall has also been added – Hall ‘G’, situated below Premier’s Hall ‘H’. There will be both stairs and an escalator allowing easy access to both halls. Included in the exhibitors in Hall ‘G’ will be Kaemingk who have left Hall ‘M’ to take a larger stand in this new hall.
We shall be occupying our normal stand in the entrance to Hall ‘A’ and will be pleased to see our regular and new readers.
Premier Decorations are looking for a number of buyers in key purchasing positions. Whilst experience buying and creating Christmas product is an advantage, the company are keen to consider any applicant with some buying experience. The company are also looking for an Operations Manager. These positions will be based at their Ruislip offices. Interested parties please send CV to john.athwal@premierdec.com
Malcolm Naish
