About Autumn Fair
Autumn Fair is a wholesale trade show for the home, gift and fashion retail sectors, held each September at the NEC in Birmingham. It is the sister event of Spring Fair, which takes place at the same venue earlier in the year, and together the two shows bookend the buying calendar for many UK retailers.
Exhibitors are often companies that design or manufacture their own home, gift or fashion products, from established wholesale brands to smaller makers. Product sectors include home, living and décor, gift, greeting cards, stationery and wrapping, kids, toys and play, beauty and wellbeing, clothing and footwear, fashion accessories, jewellery and watches, and food and drink, along with retail solutions.
Visitors are retail buyers, many of whom own or work in independent shops, alongside buyers from garden centres, department stores and online retailers. It is a trade event, and much of the business on the floor is ordering for the coming season.
The timing is the main attraction. September is when retailers finalise their Christmas ranges and start thinking about the following spring, so suppliers meet buyers at a point when they are actively placing orders. Since 2026 Autumn Fair has been co-located with Glee, the garden retail show, bringing garden centre buyers, who stock large amounts of gift, home and food lines, into the same venue as mainstream gift and home retailers. That widens the potential pool of stockists for exhibitors in both shows.
Next edition
Autumn Fair 2027: what to expect
Autumn Fair 2027 runs from 5 to 8 September at the NEC, Birmingham.
Glee runs alongside for a second year, from 6 to 8 September, so for three of Autumn Fair's four days garden centre buyers are also in the venue.
The Sunday opening suits independent retailers who find it hard to leave their shops midweek, so first-day staffing should be planned as carefully as weekday cover. Exhibitors taking orders on the stand will want a clear ordering point and a seated area for buyers working through a range, and suppliers whose products suit garden centres may want to invite those buyers specifically for the overlapping days.