SOLEX is back for 2022! SOLEX is the only outdoor living event in the 2022 calendar organised by the industry for the industry.

This unique event brings together all the leading manufacturers of garden products – furniture & accessories, barbecues, fire pits, leisure products, gifts, outdoor buildings, storage, lighting, play equipment, spas, pergolas, hot tubs, parasols, and soft furnishings – and provides a showcase for all the exciting new developments in design, environmental manufacturing, sustainability, and production for both the retail and contract markets.

LOFA, the driving force behind SOLEX, want to help the outdoor living industry get back to some semblance of normality after what has been a very turbulent time. We have faced many obstacles over the past two years including hikes in container pricing and storage and delivery issues. This year we have reduced the price of the space at the event for two reasons. One to help our members offset other costs they have had to bear in these difficult times, and two to encourage new members to join and exhibit at a great show for a great price.

For more details on how you can benefit from this great price offer contact gina@lofa.com

Apart from the great pricing we also offer a range of incentives to our exhibitors

• Free marketing which includes a full web profile, entry into the SOLEX show guide,
• The opportunity to share your news in the GTN SOLEX Sun as well as on the SOLEX Exhibition website and across our social media networks. 
• A chance to win £1000 marketing support and free PR & Social Media promotion in the new product awards.
• Outside BBQ area for those that want to light up and give visitors a taste of what their products can do.
• Partnering with the BBQ magazine, the fire, food, and outdoor living publication throughout the three-day event. 

SOLEX 22 is the perfect place for exhibitors to connect with quality buyers, it offers the newest and most inspirational garden products attracting visitors from multiple and independent garden centres, high street and department stores, online retailers, DIY stores and other industry professionals.

SOLEX 22 is a great place to do business, this relaxed and friendly exhibition is where you can establish new relationships and develop existing ones. So, whether you are a visitor or exhibitor SOLEX 22 has everything you could possibly want or need.

The Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition is the perfect place to launch new products, discuss new ideas and increase brand awareness.

SOLEX 22 is the retailers essential garden event of the year. 

For more details on how you can benefit from this great price offer contact gina@lofa.com

After the return of SOLEX at the NEC for 2022 was announced we asked retailers what they would be looking forward to most in July next year.

We asked Darren Craven from the British Garden Centre Group why he visits Solex: “To view the widest display of garden leisure products in the UK."

"What sets it apart from other gardening exhibitions is its focus on garden leisure, both seating and eating makes it a unique show in the UK, and for me as an outdoor leisure buyer it gives me the opportunity to review all the key suppliers in one go. Side by side you get the perfect overview of each range and the strengths of each."

"Having the show back is great news as I missed it, and the benefit it brings to our business, over the last 2 seasons”

Martin Davies, Director of Raglan Garden Company said: “Solex represents a very important part of our business, and I will definitely be attending Solex 22. My son and I had to travel to many different locations this Summer to view next year’s furniture ranges, so a show that can encompass all our needs under one roof is good for us."

"Solex provides a good opportunity to discuss successes and failures with our suppliers and peers, a show that has become an essential part of our business calendar and one that we will continue to support”.

And Adam Wigglesworth at Aylett Nurseries added: “Having visited Solex many times, we think it offers an excellent opportunity to view many Outdoor living suppliers in one place."

"It also makes It efficient for us as we can concentrate on that particular category without being out of our business for an extended period as can be the case at some of the larger shows that cross so many product ranges.”

For more details about SOLEX 22 contact gina@lofa.com

Register to visit SOLEX 22 using this link: https://www.solexexhibition.com/register-for-solex-2022-the-summer-outdoor-living-exhibition/

GTN Xtra has been asking SOLEX 22 exhibitors why they are looking forward to SOLEX returning next July.

Matthew Richards from Beefeater told us: “The reduced space is too good to ignore, we want to attend because we get to exhibit alongside other leading brands and get to meet dedicated buyers for our industry.”

Joe Shrimpton from Extreme Lounging has attended SOLEX in the past and is looking forward to getting back to the NEC in 2022. “The quality of exhibitors is excellent; the size of the show is just right, and it has a nice family feel.  The show attracts quality visitors, and it has helped our business to grow, 100%”

Paul Yates from Que Fresco, a new member to LOFA is looking forward to exhibiting for the first time in 2022. “As a new member I am looking forward to speaking with new and existing b2b clients, at the time of year that suits my companies needs and I like the fact that the show is exclusive to LOFA members”

Jack Whiteley, whose brand Katie Blake has exhibited at SOLEX in the past said: “The show is dedicated to the Garden Industry, and it allows me to introduce my new products to new and existing Garden Furniture and BBQ buyers”

Richard Piddocke from Waspinator will be a first-time exhibitor at SOLEX 22 “Due to its reputation as the premier industry event for all and any outdoor living products we are really looking forward to exhibiting at SOLEX 22. The variety and quality of products and companies exhibiting is excellent. We are looking forward to meeting the garden centre buyers, and a wide mixture of other types of retailer involved in the sale of outdoor living products”. Waspinator joined LOFA in 2019 “I would also say that I have found LOFA to be extremely proactive as an industry association, more so than any I have had experience of either in or outside of the Outdoor Living arena”. 

For more details about exhibiting at SOLEX 22 contact gina@lofa.com

Sustainability is at the top of everyone's to do list and we will be trying to do our bit to offset our carbon footprint during SOLEX 22

Plant a Tree Campaign

The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home and secure a healthy environment for wildlife.

Trees help to combat global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide, removing and storing carbon while releasing oxygen back into the air. They also reduce wind speeds and cool the air as they lose moisture and reflect heat upwards from their leaves.

Trees are the ultimate carbon capture and storage machines. Like great carbon sinks, woods and forests absorb atmospheric carbon and lock it up for centuries. They do this through photosynthesis.

The entire woodland ecosystem plays a huge role in locking up carbon, including the living wood, roots, leaves, deadwood, surrounding soils and its associated vegetation.

They also

• Prevent flooding
• Reduce city temperature
• Reduce pollution
• Keep soil nutrient-rich

The bottom line is, we need more trees and we need to protect the ones we already have.

That is why in July 2022 we will be donate £5 for every visitor that attends the SOLEX Exhibition, to plant a tree at RSPB Haweswater.

RSPB Haweswater nestles in a dramatic mountainous landscape on the eastern edge of the Lake District National Park. It offers opportunities for seclusion and wildlife encounters amongst woodland birds, red squirrels and badgers. 

Putting it simply PLANT A TREE WITH LOFA & RSPB, so register your interest today and help us to help the planet.

Carbon Neutral SOLEX

Events often come with a big carbon footprint and here at LOFA we are conscious of the environmental impact of our SOLEX event.

The events industry is a major source of carbon emissions. Not only does an event itself contribute to emissions through catering, the powering of the space and more, but associated emissions such as travel to and from the event can add up to hundreds or even thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions in a short space of time. As event organisers, it is time for us all to take responsibility for these emissions and work to do something about them. So next year we will be starting on the journey with the help of Planet Mark to make SOLEX 22 a carbon neutral or at the very least carbon offset travel event.

For more details about SOLEX 22 contact gina@lofa.com

£5 for each attendee at SOLEX 22 will be donated to the RSPB, a registered charity in England and Wales, number 207076, and in Scotland, number SC037654.

The Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association is a pro-active organisation representing the very best brands within the UK gardening industry, all adhering to the LOFA Code of Practice. Established in 1967, our goal is to support and promote the commercial trading and industrial interests of our members.

BECOME A LOFA MEMBER

Apart from the chance to exhibit at SOLEX 22, LOFA offers a range of services and support to its members, its primary aim as a professional trade association is to work with its members to develop good working practices, a respect for the environment and to provide consumers with up-to-date information on lifestyle products for the garden.

LOFA's goal is to make every member feel supported, informed, and inspired.

For details on how you can benefit from being a LOFA member contact gina@lofa.com