21 SHOWS & EVENTS This season’s most unmissable events Shows, news & events 4 Days of inspirational content & features Autumn Fair delivered four days of educational and inspiration content, and immersive brand activations. Highlights included the Retail Corner Stage, styled as a British high street shopfront, where sessions on trends, merchandising and retail innovation provided practical takeaways; and the Buyers Retreat, which offered, workshops, and networking. The Gift Of The Year Showcase which attracted buyers eager to discover the winners of The Giftware Association’s prestigious 2025 Awards, shone a spotlight on the very best in design and retail-ready gifting and bestsellers for the coming year. Gemma Sault, Managing Director, of the Giftware Association commented, “This has been my first time at the show as an exhibitor, which has been very exciting, having attended in my previous life, in my roles within retail merchandising and trading. It has been an incredible opportunity to meet and get to know so many of our Gift Association members, to see their businesses showcase incredible products, but also to meet new members and to develop opportunities for the Association. I think the content, showcases and Pitch Live in particular have been absolutely fantastic, and the educational content has been brilliant to really inspire and help businesses grow and also encourage new buyers and new people who are here to learn new things that will help their businesses grow and ultimately help save our High Streets. Autumn Fair has been a win all round.” The Retail Makeover Mission was a particular highlight. The show brought the new initiative to life with one-to-one mentoring sessions by the retail Task Team and inspiring talks. The oneto-one sessions offered personalised advice tailored to retailers’ business challenges and the expert mentors delivered over 20 hours of personalised guidance covering buying strategy, marketing, PR & customer experience, operations, data, and visual merchandising. Jenny Brandon from Scape Interiors West in Bournemouth found the mentoring sessions invaluable. “I’ve spoken to three of the mentoring experts, and I think everyone’s given me a very interesting perspective on marketing, on branding, and community engagement. We often get stuck in our own ways of doing things, and it’s interesting to hear their perspective. I would highly recommend anybody else to do it.” Tasker Teamer, Deryane Tadd from award-winning store The Dressing Room in St Albans spent the day at Autumn Fair with Katie Gibbs, owner of the Retail Makeover Mission winning store OSO Boutique. She said, “I have loved being a part of the Retail Mission Task Team. I have found it really inspiring and enjoyed working with Katie and her team and understanding the challenges they are facing. It has been an insightful process and a joy to see everything we have been working on already having a positive impact.” Fellow Task Team member, Claire Bevan, Head of Retail at the Natural History Museum added, “I’ve had an amazing time at Autumn Fair, I’ve caught up with some existing suppliers and have found and met some new brands and products. I’ve been engaging with the Retail Makeover Mission content; it’s been really inspiring to look at retail from the High Street view. Coming from a heritage background, seeing new trends coming through across the show and on the stages is fantastic.” The Retail Corner also hosted live, inspiring talks and expert insights from the two Retail Makeover Mission winners and their task team helpers, exploring how independent retailers can transform their businesses and bring their brand stories to life. Visit: www.autumnfair.com Diary dates Gifts & Lifestyle Middle East/ Paperworld Middle East 11th – 13th November, 2025 Dubai World Trade Centre https://gifts-lifestyle-middleeast.ae.messefrankfurt.com https://paperworld-middle-east. ae.messefrankfurt.com Harrogate Christmas & Gift 11th – 14th January, 2026 Harrogate Convention Centre www.harrogatefair.com Giving & Living 18th – 20th January, 2026 Westpoint, Exeter https://givingliving.co.uk Toy Fair 20th – 22nd January, 2026 Olympia, London www.toyfair.co.uk Spring Fair 1st – 4th February, 2026 NEC, Birmingham www.springfair.com Creativeworld 6th – 9th February, 2026 Messe Frankfurt, Germany https://creativeworld. messefrankfurt.com Gifts World Expo & Paperworld India 26th – 28th February, 2026 Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai https://giftsworldexpo.com/mum https://paperworldindia. in.messefrankfurt.com/mumbai
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