Source Home & Gift opened yesterday (4 February 2024) welcoming leading retailers and hundreds of manufacturers and brands delivering innovation from around the world.
The February 2024 edition is Source Home & Gift’s third show since launching in 2022, welcoming emerging markets such as Senegal, Ghana and Nepal as they exhibit for the first time. Overall, over 400 manufacturers and suppliers from over 25 countries will be exhibiting, making it the largest show to date.
New for this show, the Source Home & Gift New Product Showcase launched with a display of high quality, on-trend and responsibly sourced products. The showcase includes UniGreen’s Bamboo goods, glass upcyclers Kendaka, long-established glass producers, Alfagr and hand-crafted ceramic tableware from South African based Gingham Ceramics.
Suzanne Ellingham, director of sourcing at Source Home & Gift, commented: “There is a genuine need to connect good manufacturers to people that want to do good business. There are lots of businesses that do amazing things…but there’s a real lack of clarity and trust in terms of who those good people are to work with.
“We’re excited to be debuting the new product showcase area, which really brings together a curated edit of the newness and quality that we have brought to the UK market. It highlights the creativity of the makers and artisans, and the quality of the manufacturers.”
Gingham Ceramics, South-African manufacturer producing hand-made ceramics, are exhibiting for the first time at Source Home & Gift. Christoff Fivaz, founder said: “There is a lot of variety here and I think there’s a lot of scope for us producing hand-made ceramics to do well here. We’ve met visitors from all over the UK already and I feel positive that this will be a great show for us. We’ve brought new collections and catered them specifically for the UK market, and from next year we’re already planning to bring a lot more modern, contemporary prints.”
Source Home & Gift’s Responsible Retail Stage opened its seminar programme with ‘Future Global Retail Trends’ led by Kate Shepherd and Matt Parry from The Future Collective. The global retail trend briefing provided a deep dive into the evolution of some of the most influential themes and transitions in retail strategy and design.
Parry said: “The retail sector is at a pivotal moment of transformation. As consumer habits continue to evolve in response to the changing dynamics of work and life, so too must the strategies of retailers. The future of retail lies not in the hands of fate but in the ability of businesses to understand and cater to the new rhythms of their customers’ lives. Retailers are already radically shifting budgets towards brand building, reversing a transaction-focused trend. This strategic pivot signals a move from driving temporary sales to forging lasting customer affinity. By investing in their legacies over promo metrics, retailers must embrace creativity and trust.”
Next, Retail 100’s Daily Intelligence Sessions launched its series of how-to sessions covering the best expertise and advice on ethical and transparent sourcing. Panelled by Anna Berry, Sara Allbright, Neil Amer and Elaine Hooper, co-founders and directors of Retail 100, the first day’s discussion explored ‘How to source in new regions, a beginner’s guide’, covering everything from far shore vs new shore, regional nuances and the essentials needed for sourcing from sustainable and ethical manufacturers.
Source Home & Gift takes place on the 4 – 7 February at NEC Birmingham. Visit www.source-homeandgift.com for more information.
