Thursday 18 July 2013

Harrogate Home and Gift Fair -meeting some BAFTS' suppliers

A FIRST EXPERIENCE OF THE LIFE OF A FAIR TRADE SUPPLIER....
http://pinterest.com/baftsuk/harrogate-home-gift-fair-bafts-suppliers/
Having some years of retail experience in Gateway World Shop has afforded me key insights into the world of a fair trade shop, but yesterday, for the first time ever, I set foot inside a Trade Fair. Like an eager school pupil on a trip out, with ID badge pinned on, and accompanied by Joanna Pollard (Chair of BAFTS), we set off into the heat to locate existing BAFTS' suppliers and maybe find a few potential new ones. It was busy, and many people were kitted out with lists, net books, mobile phones and were discussing orders on-the-go, or whilst sipping iced beverages in the ever-increasing heat!

We managed to see most of our exhibiting suppliers but had to leave before seeing a few due to time restraints. Most of our suppliers said that this was a pretty good fair interest-wise, as opposed to last year, but remained cautiously optimistic at best. What first amazed me was the sheer cost of these stands - depending on square footage, how many panels you needed for display, lighting etc - this ran into many thousands of pounds for the four days of exhibiting. I had imagined many hundreds of pounds a day, but no more. Admittedly, these fairs seem to be THE place to get custom - good custom, new custom - and an excellent opportunity to talk up and display your wares effectively, but I can see why many suppliers cannot afford to attend more than one or two a year. Spring and Autumn Fair at the NEC Birmingham seem to be the most popular right now.

We had time to speak to Zhambala Arts, Black Yak, York Scarves, Koseli Wholesale, Earth Squared, Cool Trade Winds, Manumit, New Overseas Traders (NOT), and Kazuri. The general consensus was that times were still tough, suppliers were honing in on their best lines, some were trying a few new ones, and several saw the necessity of supplying non-fair trade businesses too to keep themselves going. Yet the determination to adhere to their own fair trade principles was as strong as ever; the humbling stories of the people behind the products were the reason they kept going, and stayed focussed. I heard of villages being helped by our suppliers to survive in times of flooding, of new lines being tried out so that weavers who could not afford a hand loom could still supply a craft item; and of the underlying passion to yet lift people out of poverty, despite some tough business decisions having to be made.

I started to get a much clearer and deeper picture of what working with producers means: giving basic training and marketing advice to meet Western standards; helping them learn to select quality materials; teaching them the necessary skills - to appreciate the need for consistency of approach and product; to meet deadlines, to turn samples over on time, to be reliable, and all that often against a backdrop of living in meagre conditions. I realised that the supplier's life is an endless round of travelling for weeks abroad to see producers, check on quality control and order progression, iron out whatever difficulties are encountered, then return to deadlines on new catalogues, shipping out orders, getting collections ready and spending hours displaying them for one of the many Trade Fairs - if indeed money allows. I realised what a huge amount of work goes on just keeping the production lines going in developing countries, let alone achieving consistently good quality products on time for seasonal deadlines which Western markets will want to consume.

The Pinterest link shows some images taken of the suppliers and products. There are more on Facebook and Twitter too. I hope that yesterday's trip will now enable me to better understand the needs of more of our Members and address those more effectively.

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