Merchandise World, the U.K.’s leading and biggest promotional merchandise trade exhibition, took place January 30-31 at NAEC in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, about two hours outside of London.

The event, jointly owned by the BPMA and Sourcing City, drew 1,348 distributor visitors – up 25% from last January’s show – and showcased 217 top-quality exhibitors from mainly the U.K. and Europe, with the show space selling out.

“Yet again, the January Merchandise World Show was a great success,” said Gareth Sampson, managing director for supplier Your Gateway Ltd., who exhibited at the show. “We met an increasing number of new customers as well as having a great forum to meet up with existing customers and develop plans for the coming year. The logistics and catering were first class … Well done to Sourcing City and the BPMA.”

During the show, visitors and exhibitors alike enjoyed the hospitality with a complimentary breakfast and lunch, an array of new product samples and free massages for tired visitors in need of a refresh. For busy exhibitors who couldn’t get away from their booths, the show’s organizers made sure there were “Roving Tea Trollies” delivering hot drink and snacks to the stands.

“Merchandise world is a fantastic show that gets our team’s creative juices flowing at the start of the year,” said Maya Jeyaratnam, director at the London-based distributor Brand Alchemists. “It’s always great to meet our amazing suppliers and be able to discuss our working relationships as well as see what the latest and coolest products and trends are. With crazy busy schedules having so many great suppliers under one roof is a huge advantage. We always feel so inspired after the show and always look forward to the next one.”

The show was truly international, with visitors arriving from as far the U.S. and Canada, as well as Ireland, Scotland and other European countries.

“I was really impressed with Merchandise World,” said CA-based Josh Ebrahemi, vice president and partner at Jack Nadel International (asi/279600), a Counselor Top 40 distributor headquartered in Los Angeles with an office in London. “The suppliers showcasing there have a much larger product selection for Europe than they did in the past. Most of the merchandise can be produced very quickly and there’s now an ‘ease of business’ approach with them. The entire group of distributors and suppliers seemed to know each other very well and it almost felt like a giant family reunion.”

Learning & Lauding
Merchandise World kicked off with an all-day education session on Tuesday, January 29, from speaker Bryony Thomas, an author and founder of Watertight Marketing. Thomas held the attention of a room of over 50 suppliers and distributors, offering insightful tips and strategies to help sharpen one’s sales focus, discern hot markets and home in on the most viable type of prospect to target. “With a very specific plan in place,” Thomas said, “you can absolutely out-think – rather than out-spend – the competition.”

Without question, the high-point of the event was the BPMA’s awards banquet, which attracted a raucous and engaged crowd of suppliers and distributors. “It was wonderful to see so many of my industry friends and meet many new ones,” said Jon Birrell, the new CEO of BPMA. “I was very proud and humbled to be on stage hosting the awards and look forward to more industry events and taking the BPMA to another level as we inspire, connect and educate.”

Top awards included:

• Supplier of the Year up to £2m: WINNER: Xindao
• Supplier of the Year £2m +: WINNER: Laltex
• Distributor of the Year up to £500k: WINNER: ASP Promotions
• Distributor of the Year £500k to £2m: WINNER: Willsmer Wagg
• Distributor of the Year £2m - £5m: WINNER: Allwag Promotions
• Distributor of the Year £5m +: WINNER: Fluid Branding

Since the BPMA and Sourcing City combined their resources to host Merchandise World, the event has become the U.K.’s leading promotional merchandise trade exhibition, and the place for the industry to come together in February and September each year. U.K. & Ireland promotional merchandise sales are more than £1Billion ($1.3 billion USD), and Merchandise World draws from the industry’s approximate 1,400 distributor buyers having attended previous individual events. Merchandise world is jointly owned by the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) and Sourcing City. The next two Merchandise World shows will be:

• September 11, 2019 at Marshall Arena, MK Stadium, Milton Keynes
• February 12-13, 2020 at Ricoh Arena, Coventry

For more information, contact: info@merchandiseworld.co.uk

Photos

For more Merchandise World 2019 photos, click here.