Good atmospere in London

This year’s DIY & Garden Show, which came to the end of its three-day run at Earls Court 2 in London on 18 January, was the largest for several years: floorspace was up by a third to10 000 m², and there were 250 exhibitors.
Given that the UK market is somewhat depressed at the moment, there can only be two factors driving the fair’s growth. One was the new Totally Tools exhibition, held in parallel with the DIY Show for the first time, and the other was the presence of a number of the biggest brands in the industry.
To sum up this year’s DIY & Garden Show in London: more floorspace and more exhibitors.
The tools section included just under 90 companies overall, with more than fifty of these exhibiting at Totally Tools, which was a considerable success. The manufacturers here presented tools for the building, automotive, plumbing and gardening categories.
Even though the presence of such exhibitors added diversity and visitor interest to the show, some would say that they confuse the message of the show, which already includes DIY, decoration and gardening products, as well as services of all kinds. Comments heard from certain exhibitors in non-tool areas suggested that the show had become somewhat noisier this year, since the tool exhibitors were demonstrating their products on their stands. It is true that conversation was on occasion difficult in certain parts of the hall. This is a problem that the organisers will have to address for future shows.
More than 50 tool manufacturers presented products both new and established at Totally Tools.
“The tool trade wanted its own UK event,” said Christopher Leonard-Morgan, director of organising company First Events, “and we’ve given it just that. The range of tool companies and products brought together across the two shows is a real step forward and provides a solid basis for 2006. Totally Tools is totally right for the tool market.”
There was this year again a separate stand for new pro-ducts, where manufacturers were given the opportunity to display their latest lines. And there were prizes to be awarded to the most interesting new products as well.
The participation of international exhibitors at the event was considerable, with more than 30 companies coming to London from 12 different countries. These included a group stand from the US organised by the Worldwide DIY Council, and a delegation of visitors from the German DIY Retailers’ Association.
More than 30 international exhibitors were represented…