We're off to the Harrogate Nursery Fair in a couple of weeks.
It's our second year.
Last year we stayed in Harrogate the previous night and then made an early start at the fair but by 2pm we were bog eyed and set off home (it's a fair drive).
This year we're travelling down on the morning in time to have lunch and then visit the fair in the afternoon then we'll stay over and visit again in the morning.
I plan to see our existing suppliers the first day so I can see what their new ranges are and place my orders then I can take stock on the evening and work out how much I have left to splash out on day 2.
Day 2 will be all about looking for new suppliers, I will gather as much info as poss but might need to wait until later to place orders depending on how much budget I have left.
My tips would be ...
- Last year all of the changing bag suppliers were raving that designer bags were HUGE and I bought a small range to pop on the site but it would appear that customers either want to touch and see a bag they are spending that much on or that they go to big name stores. I had to discount them just before Christmas to move them and we ended up making our money back but not making a profit. My point here being sales reps are there to sell so take what they say with a pinch of salt. I have a few that I've got to know and trust and when they say that something is a big seller I know it's true but be careful when you first meet a new rep.
- Pace yourself. Last year I ended up baffled after talking to too many people in one go and couldn't remember who had said what. Stop every now and then for a coffee (or your favourite soft drink) and gather yourself together.
- Some companies will have discounts or offers which kick in if you order at the show.
- Some companies will be taking orders but you won't get your stock delivery for a while so check when you can expect to see your order.
- We're internet only and some nursery companies won't touch us with a barge pole. I always start by explaining that we're internet only to save wasting time chatting only to find the company doesn't want to know. It helps to say that you don't sell on Ebay.
- Take a look at the exhibitors list and try to plan who you'd like to visit. Some times this is difficult as you can't tell by a company name what they sell but if you Google the name they often have a web site. If you can plan a route it will save you missing someone you'd like to see or having to wander backwards and forwards in to different exhibition areas. Harrogate Fair has a site of it's own http://www.nurseryfair.co.uk/ and if you click on Halls you can click on each one to see who's exhibiting there. There's also another site http://www.exhibitions.co.uk/ which has actually been upgraded since I last looked but you used to be able to drill down to specific shows and then to the exhibitors list on there.
- Gather as many leaflets as you can for any one that you are interested in then go through them when you get back and weed them out. A lot of the companies you've given your details to will phone you a few weeks later to see if you are wanting to place an order.
Best of luck
