Harrogate Christmas & Gift show: Hall C, Stand C22
Last year Joe Davies were the comeback kings at Christmas & Gift, and for 2026 the team is returning once again with more festive flair than ever. Sarah Welsh spoke to Sales Director David Cree…
2025 marked the first time in five years that Joe Davies exhibited at Harrogate. How was the comeback show for you?
We were extremely pleased to return to the Harrogate Fair in 2025 and the show went very well for us. Customers both old and new were really pleased to see us and we were absolutely delighted with their response to our range.
What is it about Christmas & Gift as a show in particular that is good for business?
The timing of the show is key really. Customers have just come out of the busy trading season and what worked for them is fresh in their mind. The Harrogate show is the best place to meet Christmas-specific buyers and to help to put to bed a really key category before Spring Fair.
As an exhibitor it offers the perfect start to the year. It allows us to fine tune our Christmas ranges prior to the NEC show, and means we can get an early steer as to the key winners for 2026.
How many product ranges are you taking to Harrogate?
We will have hundreds of brand-new Christmas items across a number of collections at the fair. Highlights include new Christmas jewellery from our best-selling Equilibrium collection and hundreds of new Joe Davies branded items. As the UK’s largest distributor of the Leonardo Collection from Lesser & Pavey, in small quantities, we’ll also be showing their Christmas range.
“Christmas is a time where memories are made. People want to remember the better times and so more classic traditional colours will be making a comeback with metallic and light up decorations for some added fun”
What’s the split between Christmas and general gifting ranges?
Sales of Christmas-specific products at the fair are important, but fourth quarter sales are not just about festive product. We will also have a huge range of gift lines that sell particularly well in this key season.
Highlights include our best-selling snoozies!® collection – a crossover between socks and slippers. They sell fantastically well, in fact we have sold enough snoozies!® for one in every 20 women in the UK to own a pair!
Other collections to look out for include our range of boxed Equilibrium accessories. Bang on trend and beautifully presented, this exciting range of hats, scarves and gloves are a tremendous present for men and women as well being an ideal self purchase.
And sales of our Nuzzles slipper socks also continue to be really strong. We have Nuzzles for ladies, men and kids with designs suitable for all ages and tastes. With retail prices starting at just £4.99 for toddlers Nuzzles they are an ideal Christmas stocking filler. We can even supply a free spinner for customers who order our starter packs!
Which product areas look like being the biggest festive sellers for you for 2026?
Highland Coos are definitely having their moment and their popularity looks set to continue. We have a number of ‘new coos’ to help make the most of this growing trend.
Light-up decorations are also getting bigger every year and we have lots of new additions to the collection. Practical and useful gifts like frames and kitchenware will be high on customer shopping lists, and snowmen, Santas and reindeers are also perennially popular.
What trends are standing out for you in terms of product design?
Christmas is a time where memories are made. People want to remember the better times and so more classic traditional colours will be making a comeback with metallic and light up decorations for some added fun.
Our range of glass trees have been in our collection for a long time and still are amongst our best sellers. Ceramics always perform well particularly our Xmas Village Pottery Collection that goes from strength to strength, and is really collectable. And Leonardo Christmas table top ranges are always well received.
What can you tell us about your plans for Spring Fair?
At the NEC we will have more than 8,000 gift ideas, including 1,500 brand new items on our spacious hall 4 stand.
Spring Fair has a number of unique benefits for us. It is the best attended fair by far and it gives us a unique opportunity to present our range to the all the key decision makers in the trade. Customers are not short on opinions, and you get instant feedback on your range from the thousands of people who attend. It is also an international fair and we have many export customers who come to Birmingham.
For more information visit: www.joedavies.co.uk
