The Glee show is to become a biannual event with the announcement that it will be opening a concession show at next year's Spring Fair show.

Both Spring Fair and Glee take place at the NEC, Birmingham, and the garden exhibition's appearance at the February show is designed to complement its main September event. Glee at Spring Fair will give retailers the opportunity to see new and best-selling ranges ahead of the spring season.

A second addition at this time of year is hoped to give retailers an additional destination to refresh their ranges for key retail spikes. Glee in February will also provide garden buyers with the latest concepts and trends for 2018, helping them to direct their buying. Categories that retailers can look forward to sourcing will include garden care, landscaping and garden decoration, and outdoor entertaining.

Long-term Glee visitor, Mike Burks of The Gardens Group said: “Glee’s new Spring Fair concession is a great idea. By providing a garden centre hub it will help Glee’s visitors at Spring Fair to focus on the products most relevant to them.

“Additionally, the presence of these garden related exhibitors will introduce products to those buyers that wouldn’t normally see them. The Gardens Group buying team will be sure to visit in 2018.”

The spring edition will also provide Glee exhibitors with a secondary revenue opportunity in the year, and an additional touchpoint to meet with new and existing customers. Glee at Spring Fair will take prime location in hall three, considered to be in the main thoroughfare, and will have the signature wide boulevard synonymous with the September layout.

The February edition of Glee also means that Spring Fair will now benefit from having a dedicated garden centre hub at its heart. Glee at Spring Fair is a natural home for these garden and outdoor suppliers, and will make it even easier for home and gift retailers to tap into these thriving and highly profitable product sectors.

Glee’s event director Matthew Mein explains: “Retailing is a constantly evolving business, and we appreciate that the buying cycle for gardening, outdoor living gifts, and design-led products stretches across the whole year. However, in the Glee 2016 post-show visitor survey over 15% of those polled said that they would also make purchasing decision in first quarter of the year.

“What is more, we hope that Glee’s Spring Fair presence will increase the show’s visibility to those buyers that don’t normal attend the September show. This will give our exhibitors an additional sales opportunity in the year.”

According to organisers, Glee at Spring Fair will be similar to the popular ‘shop in shop’ concept, and will benefit from the strong contemporary Glee branding that both exhibitors and visitor have to come to recognise.

Garden, outdoor living and design-led product suppliers are invited to contact the Glee sales team to find out more about how they can maximise this exciting new development.