Home & Gift 2022 brought brands and buyers together again across 10 buzzing halls and marquees in sunny Harrogate last week, in a showcase like no other. The top priority for retailers was the discovery of new products and the show provided the perfect setting; with over 30% of all exhibitors showing at the event for the very first time, the selection of fresh products available provided buyers with endless choices.

Home & Gift 2022 delivered a powerful audience this year, with 56% of our visitors attending the show for the first time. After specifically identifying VIPs as a target sector, a full 20% of the visitors to this year’s show were VIP buyers with an average spend of over £1m. Plus, overall we saw an increase of 8% in attendees compared to last year’s show.

Top visitors who made the trip to Harrogate included; Avoca, Blenheim Palace, Card Factory, Card Zone, Chiltern Oak Furniture, Creaseys, Fenwick, Glasgow Museums, Hoopers, Lakeland, Lark London, Mooch Ealing, Morrisons, Next, Rossiters of Bath, Scribbler, the Southbank Centre, Stone The Crows, Stringers, The Edinburgh Woolen Mill, the Science Museum, TJX Europe, and Vinegar Hill to name but a few.

This year also saw a strong turnout from the Garden Centre sector, with almost 150 stores represented, including; Barton Grange, Bents Garden and Home, Blue Diamond, Bosworths, Burleydam, Cowells, Dobbies, Fron Goch, Haskins, Klondyke Group, Longacres, Okells, Ransoms, Scotsdales, Webbs, and Wentworth.

With no international travel restrictions, the 2022 show also welcomed back retailers from overseas, with attendees visiting from 31 countries, including; Australia, Brunei, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

The high quality of visitors this year included 25% more independent retailers than the 2021 edition, and also saw a staggering 65% uplift in interior designers and 30% more visits from department store buyers.

With Home & Gift increasing in size by over 60% for 2022, a raft of top brands exhibited including; Belly Button Designs, Blue Poppy Art, Bomb Cosmetics, Bronte by Moon, Butterfly Fashion, By Molly&Izzie, Captivate Brands, CHALK, DeluxeHomeArt, Depesche, Designworks, Enesco, orever England, Gallery Direct, Giftware Trading Co, Heathcote & Ivory, Hot Tomato, House of Disaster, Inside Out Toys, Jellycat, Joe Davies, Kikkerland Europe, LIGA, London Ornaments, LV Clothing, Margarete Steiff, Ohh Deer, Orange Tree Toys, Passion Accessories, PoM, Powell Craft, Quail Designs, Räder, Richard Lang & Son, Talking Tables, The Art File, Tilley and Grace, Toasted Crumpet, Wrendale Designs, and Zelly UK

Visitors were delighted with the broad mix of product categories and huge numbers of new products being showcased, resulting in a historic increase in visitor NPS (Net Promotor Score) and satisfaction levels.

A fantastic few days in Harrogate at Home & Gift – we’ve found gorgeous new suppliers and are so excited to be stocking new products from our favourite brands!
Cornucopia Home and Gift

We’ve had a great time searching for new suppliers… and have found some real gems!
Blagraves – Bleak houses

We had a great day visiting the Home & Gift Buyers Festival... It was lovely to catch up with some of our suppliers and to meet fantastic new businesses
Ashley Cooke Retail Group

What a fabulous show, we had a very productive two days touring the halls and marquees, sourcing some amazing products
Henrietta Rose

Consequently, this year’s exhibitors were inundated with new orders and networking opportunities;
‘We have truly enjoyed our time here in Harrogate… all the wonderful people we have met… the atmosphere has been just perfect. We are really excited [and] getting our orders ready - it’s going to be a busy few months!!!’
OLOR

‘We had a fantastic time at the Harrogate Home & Gift show. It was great to see so many customers, old and new.’
Richard Lang & Son

‘We’ve had a great show… we’ve been swamped with Christmas orders’
Love Your Nation

‘We are busy beavering away [preparing] orders as we speak!’
The Pop Out Card Company

‘It’s been a magical few days showcasing our Bella Hope collection at the Home & Gift show… Thank you Harrogate’
Bella Hope London

In addition to being the key place to shop the latest products, Home & Gift also provided a relaxed and sociable atmosphere for networking; retailers and suppliers relished the opportunity to talk business over a glass of wine in the relaxed setting of the Sundowners Drinks on Sunday night, as well as at the daily Gin-on-the-Lawn events. Retailers were also encouraged to take a break from walking the halls and learn from experts at the Shop Talk Mini Masterclass sessions. Here, intimate 1-2-1 sessions covered everything from ‘How to successfully use photography within your business’ from expert Olivia Brabbs of Olivia Brabbs Photography, through to ‘Learn how to harness the power of Instagram reels’ with Anna Jones from Your AJency. With the full Shop Talk Digital sessions still available to watch online, the retail community can refer back to this inspirational content at any time though www.retail-reveal.com - the premier digital platform for professional buyers seeking curated inspiration, information and wholesale products from leading brands, designers and experts.

Home & Gift 2022 also hosted the Furniture Collection, which saw Kettle Interiors take over the entire Kings Suite with their broad selection of furniture and home accessories. In addition, the likes of IFD, Ancient Mariner, Shankar, AWS Trading, Final Touches and BH Made all took space in Hall Q, showcasing a wide variety of garden furniture, dining tables, chairs and homewares. Buyers enjoyed being able to shop interior accessories and furniture alongside the show’s wide selection of giftware and fashion. The introduction of this furniture capsule collection helped to diversify the buying audience, attracting new retailers that hadn’t attended the show before.

David Westbrooke, Show Manager of Home & Gift commented ‘We’re delighted to have delivered another successful edition of Home & Gift. The team worked incredibly hard over the last 12 months to ensure we offered the industry an unparalleled mix of brands and products, as well as key networking and social opportunities to help deepen the connections made between exhibitors and buyers. Despite the heatwave, it was wonderful to see so many key players return to the show and enjoy connecting with both new and well-established brands. We look forward to next year’s show and taking over Harrogate once more!’

The industry’s favourite buying event takes place again next summer from 16-19 July 2023, so make sure you add the dates to your calendar now!