Autumn Fair, the UK’s leading retail marketplace for home, gift, fashion and lifestyle, opens its doors on Sunday 7th September at the NEC Birmingham, unveiling a reimagined visitor experience that blends inspiration, sourcing, insight, and interactive learning like never before.

Running until 10th September, this year’s show will welcome over 12,000 UK and international buyers and thousands of exhibitors across Home, Gift and Fashion, supported by an enriched programme of workshops, mentoring and trend-led content designed to supercharge retail growth and add value to the visitor experience.

This September marks the most dynamic edition yet, with a bigger event footprint and record-breaking exhibitor growth:

• 16% increase in exhibitors
• 38% increase in new exhibitors
• 60% increase in international exhibitors
• Over 30% of exhibitors are exclusive to Autumn Fair

The expansion has also attracted new categories of buyers, adding to the show’s scale, pride, and energy, and cementing Autumn Fair as a must-attend sourcing ground for independents and multiples alike.

Hosting the largest and most diverse gathering of UK retailers, Autumn Fair brings together buyers from every corner of the retail landscape. From the nation’s leading department stores and multiples to garden centres, heritage attractions, entertainment venues, and charity shops, through to the thousands of independent retailers that form the beating heart of the high street, the show is unrivalled in its breadth and depth of attendance. This unique mix creates an extraordinary platform for exhibitors, offering access to the UK’s most influential and varied buying community, all under one roof.

Retailers already registered include Sainsburys, Ryman, Wolf & Badger, Wilkies, Frasers, Hoopers, Argos, Disney, Diageo, Hamleys, Matalan, Waitrose, Voisins, Fenwicks, BrandAlley, TJ Hughes, Dunelm, WHSmith, WWF, World Duty Free, Trago Mills, TJC, Tiger Feet, N Brown, The Very Group, The Royal Mint, The Newt in Somerset, The National Gallery, Tesco, National Trust, Sue Ryder, F Hinds, Elphicks, Squires Garden Centres, Silverstone, Halfords, Science Museum, Royal Museums, Oxfam, Royal Botanical Gardens, Robert Dyas, Ragdale Hall, QVC, Poundstretcher, Ocado, Next, Longleat, Nest, Morrisons, LaplandUK, Interflora, Haskins Garden Centres, Harris Tweed, Duchy of Cornwall, Cotswold Trading, Cadw, Boyds Stores, Blenheim Palace, Aston Martin, and thousands more.

Soraya Gadelrab, Event Director, Autumn Fair says, “Autumn Fair has always been about more than transactions – it’s about helping retailers and brands grow, evolve, and thrive. This September’s show marks the beginning of a new era. Alongside our unrivalled exhibitor mix across Home, Gift and Fashion, we’ve transformed the visitor experience with pre-bookable workshops, mentoring, and interactive learning. From future trend insight to practical retail toolkits, this is an unmissable opportunity for retailers to get inspired, stock up, and build the skills to thrive long term. The growth in exhibitors and new buyers also reflects the pride, excitement, and energy around the show this year – it’s a truly re-energised Autumn Fair. And there’ll be a few extra surprises for visitors along the way.

Taking place at a pivotal moment in the retail calendar, 81% of buyers visit to source new products. The show fuels both immediate order placement and long-term partnership building. Retailers can discover fresh collections, seasonal bestsellers, and future-forward products all under one roof.”

A Supercharged Visitor Experience

Autumn Fair isn’t just about what you buy, it’s about a host of experiences to enhance your visit, from retail masterclasses to networking retreats. Shaking things up this year, the newly reimagined feature areas are packed with fresh content, practical insights, and real support, all designed to help independent retailers grow, adapt and thrive in a competitive market.

Staying ahead in today’s fast-moving retail world takes more than great products so the new curated content programme of short, practical sessions packed with real-world strategies aims to help retailers buy smarter, sell better, and future-proof their business.

For the first time, buyers can pre-book their place at Autumn Fair’s expanded content programme, ensuring guaranteed access to the most in-demand sessions and workshops and enable handy forward-planning (autumnfair.com/session-booking).

The new Retail Corner is a hub for industry icon trend talks, trend forecast presentations and practical sessions - discover new trends and learn from inspiring success stories at this charming shop front stage. Retail Corner will facilitate a myriad of sessions from masterclasses, trend forecast presentations by official trend partner BDA London, and inspiring industry icon interviews including Harriet Hastings from Biscuiteers and Bruce Langlands from Trotters.

Pitch Live will welcome exhibitors to the stage with their most innovative products, pitching to an esteemed panel of judges and a curious retail audience. Sectors include Kids, Fashion and Gift and the 9 finalists will have the opportunity to enhance their brand’s awareness, gain invaluable feedback and possibly get a new listing.

Kids finalists presenting on Monday include Play Press highlighting sustainable playsets; Worgan Games who debut as a family-run tabletop publisher offering high-quality, shelf-worthy card games, and Blue Bear & Co introduces a luxury keepsake bear with multi-sensory features, designed in memory of the founder’s son.

In Fashion on Tuesday, Nudie Jewellery brings skin-first, affordable-luxury designs that are hypoallergenic and waterproof, crafted from 18k gold vermeil and freshwater pearls; Tie Bags, a women-led brand, collaborates with artisans for stylish, durable bags that go beyond mass market; and Mama Movement presents raincoats and padded jackets in exclusive prints by Australian female artists, available in inclusive sizing to make outerwear both vibrant and functional.

Gift finalists on Wednesday include Jellow, reinventing greeting cards as interactive, sentiment-driven experiences; Seedball, which encourages wildflower planting to support native wildlife; and Fruu Cosmetics, pitching REBREW, a men’s grooming gift set made with upcycled grains from British breweries for beer-loving recipients.

The Buyers Retreat is a buyer-only, peaceful oasis to refresh, reflect, and take meetings in private. New Retailer Social Workshops blend collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity in an intimate ‘retailer therapy’ format. From Retail Confessionals: The Pricing Mistakes That Kept Us Up at Night to Small Business Growth Hacks for eBay and Cracking the Code on Next-Gen Shoppers, these interactive sessions provide practical takeaways and authentic peer-to-peer learning.

The show also introduces free one-to-one mentoring sessions with some of the UK’s most experienced retail experts as part of its Retail Makeover Mission initiative. Bookable in advance, these 20-minute consultations cover everything from visual merchandising and brand strategy to PR, digital integration, and high street transformation.

All buyers benefit from a buyer’s benefit package saving £30+ per day which includes free parking, complimentary tea, coffee and water, and free cloakrooms.

Discover more at https://www.autumnfair.com/whats-on