The festive period was extended for the North Yorkshire town of Harrogate which enjoyed an influx of 5,000 visitors to the town in January; as people flocked to participate in the UK’s favourite trade show for the Christmas industry – Harrogate Christmas & Gift.

The show, which celebrated its 70^th anniversary is hugely popular with department stores, independent retailers, gift shops, garden centres, tourist attractions and event organisers all looking to maximise opportunities with the very latest offerings in decorations, lights, gift ranges and products for the home and garden the entire year round.

The 2020 show was another huge success for both the companies exhibiting products and the visitors attending in search of new lines to tempt their customers or make their venues stand out from the crowd.

Marianne Lindsay, retail manager for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, commented: “It was an absolutely fantastic show and great to see so much Christmas product all under one roof. This was my first visit and I will be back in 2021. It was a wonderful experience – I was like a child in a sweet store and would recommend it to all who trade Christmas.”

Kassidy Strasser, product manager for Culpitt Ltd, added: “This was the first time I attended, and the show was great. It was interesting to see the style of Christmas lights and the new colour ways on offer for 2020. I would definitely recommend attending to anyone looking for festive ranges and gifts – we will be there again next year.”

This positivity was echoed by many exhibitors with Jonny Greves of Lesser & Pavey adding: “We had a great show. We saw lots of customers who had traded very well over the Christmas period and wanted to order their brand new ranges for Christmas 2020. We also met lots of new customers and prospects who placed orders. As always, the show organisation was exceptional and we will 100% be exhibiting again next year.”

Ian Samuels, sales director of Global Journey, said: “We had our best trade show ever with the launch of three great new products including a fantastic new personalised Christmas jigsaw range that was really well received by customers, most of which confirmed orders at the show. There was a great buzz and atmosphere and the garden centres that attended appeared happy and positive about the year ahead. We will definitely be re-booking for 2021.

Alan Pimm of Sifcon International also reported a successful show saying: “Our product ranges were very well received and we had an increase in footfall compared to previous years and orders were up 26% with quotes still to come back. We are very happy and will certainly be returning next year.”

Simon Anslow, show organiser comments: “Overall it appears that both exhibitors and buyers enjoyed another great show. However, this year was tinged with sadness as our show chairman, Paul Cassidy of Casdon Toys, sadly passed away just before the show. Paul was a show director and very much part of the scene from the very beginning 70 years ago. He will be sadly missed by everyone in the industry.”

Booking forms for Harrogate Christmas & Gift 2021 – which will once again be at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 10^th to 13^th January – will be available in March. More information available on the website at www.harrogatefair.com