The warm weather couldn't deter eager crowds of buyers from visiting Top Drawer at Olympia London last week, with the season's biggest trend-led retail event closing its doors on a high, having delivered a 10% increase in attendee numbers vs. the same edition last year. Strong pre-registration was reflected in the breadth of visitors across the past 3 days, with a veritable who's who of retailers present, including from the likes of Anthropologie, Argos Asia, ASDA, Avoca, Blue Diamond Garden Centres, Burford Garden Company, Capital Gardens, Card Factory, Cardzone, Clintons, DFS, Dunelm, FatFace, Fenwick, Fortnum & Mason, Frasers Group, Fron Goch Garden Centre, Garsons, Graham and Green, Habitat,
Posted: 20 September 2023
Retailers are in for a treat this September, as Top Drawer prepares to open the doors to its biggest collection of new and exclusive brands to ever attend the A/W show. Over 35% of the exhibitors will be making their show debut this season, bringing both a dynamic new energy and a wealth of exciting products to Olympia London; from cutting-edge technology to one-of-a-kind crafts and artisanal goods, there's something for everyone to discover - here are just a few of the new names that visitors will be able to meet:
Posted: 7 September 2023
Drawing buyers from across the UK, Ireland and across the globe, the leading wholesale marketplace for home, gift and fashion, Autumn Fair opened Sunday with a spectacle of newness and source of inspiration from over 500 exhibitors. Buyers from Homebase, Graham & Green, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Card Shop, Mothercare, Paper Tiger, The Olive Branch, Wilkies, John Lewis & Partners, Mooch, The Cotswold Shop, Ashwood Nurseries, and many more flocked to the show enjoying a host of special features including the New Product Showcase, Connect Buyers Lounges, and captivating fashion brought to life on the Moda Catwalk.
Posted: 4 September 2023
Women's power is at work in the next episode of the Digital Academy: three top international designers and architects share their views on the challenges, opportunities and successes of women in architecture and design-related fields. Esha Gupta, Founder and Editor, Design Pataki, India, Molly McGowan, Management Partner, Ennead Architects, USA, and Shida Salehi, Founder and Principal, Customs Bureau, England talk about their different experiences and share their requirements for the future. The discussion will be hosted by Mike Chapman, co-founder and executive producer of the television series ByDesign TV.
Posted: 1 September 2023
Smart Toys and Games successfully scooped two award wins at the Independent Toy Awards including gold for SmartGames 'Cats & Boxes' in the Educational Games category and bronze for SmartMax 'My First Build & Drive' in the Construction category.
Smart Toys and Games is thrilled to be recognised for two awards by a highly respected group of retailers and especially delighted to have been awarded gold in the educational games category for SmartGames 'Cats & Boxes.' The popular compact game, which is suitable for ages 7 years +, challenges players to move the puzzle pieces one by one until all 5 of the furry friends are inside a box.
Posted: 28 August 2023
Independent award-winning jewellery retail business Bradley's Jewellers York has updated its Eco Rocks brand with the new Eco Rocks Colour Editions Collection of fine jewellery set with synthetic coloured stones and laboratory-grown diamonds.
Following the success of its first foray into laboratory-grown diamond jewellery, Bradley's Jewellers York has created a debut line of three-stone rings, each one set with a laboratory-created coloured stone solitaire flanked by two laboratory-grown diamonds.
Posted: 22 August 2023
The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) is delighted to announce that Toy Fair 2024 has sold out five months ahead of the show opening and will expand into the Upper West Hall to accommodate the growing demand for space. The UK's largest toy, game and hobby trade show, which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2024, will take place at Olympia London from the 23rd-25th January 2024. More than 200 exhibiting companies will be occupying the Grand and National halls on both levels- and now also part of the Upper West Hall. One of the stands to occupy the Upper West Hall will be TOMY who are returning to the show in 2024.
Posted: 21 August 2023
In response to retailer and supplier feedback, from 2024, the INDX Toy & Gift show, one of the UK's leading industry trade shows, is moving from a Spring calendar date to take-up a September slot. The next show will be held on 3 - 4 September 2024 and is open to all types of retailers. The move to September was agreed by the INDX strategy group, where suppliers and buyers said that they wanted to move the date to give them the opportunity to view new ranges later in the year due to the congested period of shows in the Springtime. INDX Toy & Gift will now be the only dedicated toy industry show in the Autumn season, and the September date will provide a great opportunity for retailers to take advantage of pre-Christmas buying. Visitors to the show will also get a first look at suppliers' early launch new ranges, giving them a head start on their Spring 2025 buying.
Posted: 7 August 2023
Exclusive data from Kin + Carta and Google Cloud has revealed that 85 percent of the UK's largest retailers see "search relevancy" as their biggest challenge regarding product discovery on their ecommerce sites. Twenty business leaders from some of the biggest high street brands were asked by the global transformation consultancy: "What are your biggest challenges with product discovery (search, browse, recommendations)?" – "Search relevancy" topped the results by a significant margin, followed by "low conversion rates" at 35 percent.
Posted: 2 August 2023
Based in Colwyn Bay, Lima Lima was launched by Carly and James Brands in 2015 and got off to a flying start, producing and selling daring and risqué gifts and cards that quickly gained popularity and began selling the world over. The impact of Brexit that same year took its toll on the company, notably in Europe, but the couple have diversified and bounced back. They achieved a significant rise in turnover, sell more than 550,000 items annually, and now employ up to 10 full and part-time staff. As they prepare to move to new, larger premises in the seaside town, they have big plans for the future and a fresh selection of product ideas.
Posted: 26 July 2023
