In brief

Autumn dates remain unchanged The organisers of the DIY & Homing trade fair in the Belgian town in Kortrijk have decided to stick to the autumn dates for the event: 29 September to 1 October 2013. For the second time the fair will be held according to the two-yearly schedule that was determined in 2011. The organisers expect some 200 exhibitors and 4 000 visitors to attend the fair. Relaxed fair atmosphere at Totally DIY Buyers from all the channels distributing DIY products and tools - including the major British DIY retailers, mass merchandisers, discounters and online dealers - visited the Totally DIY/Totally Tools fair from 10 - 12 February. This was held in Coventry, England, for the first time. Although a fall of snow on the night before the opening day limited the visitor response, organisers Brintex took positive stock of the event, admittedly without disclosing any attendance figures. Fair director Paul Grinsell spoke of a more relaxed and friendly atmosphere, which he believes to be partly down to the fact that buyers were invited for lunch at the event. More space soon for IAW The total of just under 300 exhibitors departed from the 17th international IAW trade fair for retail promotions and imports held in Cologne at the end of February with their order books full. The three-day event, which is seen as Europe's leading order fair for promotional items, trend-led products and volume business, was absolutely fully booked for the fifth time running, according to organisers Nordwestdeutsche Messegesellschaft. New exhibitors from France, Italy and Spain were present at the event. The international share rose from 28 to 33 per cent. A total of 8 149 visitors attended the event from 55 countries. The organisers are aiming to crack the 300-exhibitor mark at the autumn fair from 17 - 19 September 2013. State of pre-registration in Shanghai More than 1 000 exhibitors have already booked space at the China International Hardware Show (CIHS) in Shanghai. As previously reported here, this year's fair will not be held as usual in September but from 26 - 28 November 2013 instead. Public both national and international The Ferroforma/Bricoforma event held in Bilbao, Spain, from 12 - 15 March 2013 attracted some 13 000 trade visitors from 61 countries. That is about 3 000 fewer than two years ago. The organisers coordinated groups of visitors from 39 countries. The Spanish buying groups, cooperatives and retail chains were all fully represented, according…