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Heavy snow across parts of the country hit visitor numbers at Birmingham’s Spring Fair yesterday, with rail services suspended and roads impassable, although they picked up somewhat today.
“We were expecting four or five people from the south yesterday, and they all cancelled their appointments,” DRH managing director David Holmes told HousewaresLive.net today.
“Sunday was OK but yesterday was without doubt a lot quieter, though it could have been worse. Today has been OK – we’ve had a very, very busy morning – but the number of people is significantly down today in Hall 2. In Hall 4 it’s busier.”
He said the layout of the show had not helped with numbers of visitors to his stand. “Finding that one fifth of Hall 2 was empty was a bit of a surprise – the number of exhibitors in Hall 2 is substantially off, it’s disappointing. We’ve got people split between halls so the show is very fragmented. Our potential audience is split over three halls,” he said.
However, he added: “We all came up here with a considerable feeling of apprehension, but it’s been far more buoyant than we anticipated.”
Typhoon managing director Chris Stevens told HousewaresLive.net: “There are three busy stands and we’re one of them! We’re generally pleased. Yesterday was a lot quieter, and there weren’t too many customers from the south yesterday or today. But we’ve heard from people that they’ll try to make it on Wednesday or Thursday.”
A spokesperson for Spring Fair said: “Talking to exhibitors, the feedback we’re getting is that the quality of people there are the really serious buyers. Maybe the people who just browse are the people who haven’t come up.”
She was unable to release any visitor figures until after the event. They should be available within a couple of weeks.
