At Toymaster HQ, preparations are underway for the May Show in Harrogate, with the team reporting unprecedented supplier support this year.
The 2024 show runs from Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd May, and planning began immediately after last year’s event. “We decided to bring forward the invitation to suppliers for 2024, to give themselves and ourselves more time to plan,” explained Brian McLaughlin, Toymaster’s Business Development manager. “We normally do this in January, however last year it was November. As always, our suppliers responded quickly – and the show was sold out by early December.”
He added: “We really do appreciate the support from our suppliers. Many of them put the date in their diary for the following year as soon as the show ends, and they all tell us how much they enjoy the atmosphere, both work and play, which is very different from other trade shows.”
The May Show is the key trade show for Toymaster members each year, as this is when plans for Christmas are finalised. The deals available at the show are a great incentive to place Q3 and Q4 orders. There will be 16 ‘first time’ suppliers exhibiting this year at the show, great news for retailers who are looking for something new or different to stock.
Toymaster is once again inviting all bricks & mortar independents to the show, members or not. “We welcome all independents; the suppliers get to see more retailers, and we have the opportunity to showcase what Toymaster can offer to support them,” said Brian. “We are more than happy to speak to any retailer who wants to know more about membership, and we would encourage them to speak to any of our members about Toymaster while they are there.”
To attend, retailers can register here, where they can also find a full list of exhibitors.
Tuesday evening is Party Night and Wednesday will be the traditional Awards Night. Both evenings will conclude with a band and disco into the early hours.
Brian concluded: “We are expecting another busy show this year with lots of attendees. We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate.”
To help retailers with their preparations for the event, the next stop on the specialist toy circuit, Toy World will be publishing a Toymaster May Show preview in a pull out supplement to be published alongside our May edition at the startof that month. We expect this to be our biggest and best ever Toymaster preview feature yet – so if you haven’t already reserved your slot, get in touch with Mark or John now to be part of this very special edition.
