When Merchandise World took place on Wednesday (8^th September) at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes no-one quite knew what to expect. After eighteen months of the Covid Pandemic, Merchandise World was the first national industry event since February 2020 and was held with a Covid Safety Policy for everyone’s benefit.

Over the past months 80 exhibitors took a leap of faith and booked stands to once again meet with distributors, without knowing who, or how many would attend. The entire industry has been suffering for many months and many distributors have had to reduce staffing levels to survive, this in turn meant that the potential visitors were reduced, there was also the knock on effect that it made it more difficult for distributors to leave their offices. Based on these circumstances it was anticipated that visitor numbers could be disappointing.

Much to everyone’s delight around 400 distributors attended the show and hearing the show hall buzzing was exciting for everyone. Many exhibitors also commented on the high quality of the people they were speaking to, and were delighted that their commitment to the show had paid off. It is clear that people were very keen to reignite existing relationships, meet new people and to get the industry thriving again.

The real measure of any event is the thoughts of exhibitors and visitors alike. Here are a few words from the people that were there:

 

Exhibitor: Dave Wilson of Preseli

 

I just wanted to say congratulations on what was a very successful Merchandise World event yesterday. Also, a huge thank you for the brilliant work that you and your team put into making it happen and making it a hit!

 

We committed to doing the Show, if and when it was going to happen, and we are very glad that we did. I admit that all of us on the Preseli stand were managing our own expectations and anticipated that attendance might be quite low, what with COVID still in the background, staff shortages, it being a one-day show and all the other factors that could, quite reasonably, have made it a moderately-attended event. However, we were really excited about the fact that it was so well attended.

 

There was a real buzz in the hall and the word I used to describe how I felt about it was euphoric. So, again, thank you so much.

 

Visitor: Vicki West of Tiger Ink

 

Just wanted to say thank you for the show, we appreciate the colossal effort that must have gone into organising it in the current climate / circumstances.

 

We came away buzzing with ideas and feeling energised – it was just what we needed after the last 18 months. So thanks again. Here’s to the next one – onwards and upwards eh!

 

Exhibitor: Tony Barber – Promo Seeds

 

“It was a gamble attending an exhibition as we come out of a pandemic, but Merchandise World has exceeded my expectations. Engagement from Distributors has been fantastic”

 

Visitor: Mick Humphries of TC Group

 

Many thanks to suppliers, Sourcing City and the BPMA for putting on such a great show yesterday despite all of the obvious current difficulties in the world. We took some new staff who were so impressed and found it so useful putting faces to names. Our relationships with our suppliers are so important to us and it was great to be seeing them again.

 

Exhibitor: Khalid Gaffar – Gafbros

 

“It is lovely to be back to normality and great to see customers and new peoples.  The event exceeded my expectations”

 

Visitor: David Williams of Redrok

 

It was great to be back at the industry’s leading trade show ‘Merchandise World’ and there was a real buzz of optimism around the arena from all the distributors and exhibitors.  It was good to catch up with familiar faces and also was a great opportunity for us to meet new suppliers and discover new products.  Well done to all those involved in making the Show a huge success and we will be back next year!

 

Visitor: Grant Ashworth of U-Name It

 

Terrific show – great to see everybody buzzing again!

 

Exhibitor: Rob Armour – Kingly

 

“A high calibre of visitors and the show always delivered quality over quantity.  It has been great to be back at a face-to-face event and we love the location”.

 

Visitor: Jamie Marshall of Premier Print & Promotions

 

Absolutely shattered, but what a lovely day talking to industry friends again at Merchandise World. I was very pleased to see so many suppliers, it is important to do business with people you know and nothing is better than meeting people face to face at Merchandise World.

 

 

Merchandise World is back in January 2022 in Coventry and we hope to see all of the trade there. If this show is anything to go by, it will be amazing for everyone!

 

 

PS: Photos from the Merchandise World in Milton Keynes will follow next week.

 

 

Published on: September 10th, 2021