Manchester, England — Announcing visitor numbers for April's inaugural ShowRoom held at Manchester's G-Mex Centre, exhibition organizer Simon Boyd was delighted with response to the new event. "We clearly hit the spot with the right offer for exhibitors and visitors alike," he said.

Although it's too early to say whether ShowRoom will survive, it has set a high standard and has ambitious plans to establish itself more firmly; already more than 75 percent of the stands have been contracted for next year's event. And with news that Intohome has now been fully absorbed into Birmingham's Autumn Fair, losing all its identity and branding in the process, the fledgling Manchester event is looking like a winner in the crowded U.K. show calendar.

With a total of 5,200 buyers (8 percent from overseas), the first ShowRoom had a different feel compared with other events. The organizers tried to make this an exclusive show by treating VIPs with kid gloves and doing everything they could to maximize visitors' time.

According to Boyd, a significant factor was the return of a trade show to Manchester city center after Intohome's years of wandering. "ShowRoom also focused on the relationship between buyers and sellers and the quality of presentation, while cutting out the peripheral," he said. "For example, we offered individual assistance with registration and provided valet parking for nominated buyers."

He said many visitors commented on the look for the show, the venue and the initiatives that had been introduced to make a day at ShowRoom more profitable and enjoyable. With a new hall alongside the existing G-Mex Centre now available, Boyd's strategy is to increase exhibitor numbers from this year's 140. "If we can get about 200 companies on board, ShowRoom will then encompass all the products that buyers want to see.

"We aim to achieve this within the next two years, and we hope to have another 35-40 exhibitors in 2003. We are happy with what we've achieved so far, but we still need to convince the major U.K. fabric suppliers to come back in order to round out the product offering."

Most fabric exporters at ShowRoom were pleased with the exhibition. However, Trevor Helliwell, managing director of Prestigious Textiles, believed the first show was "too short." "We could have done with an extra day to keep the orders flowing," he commented.

Although he would prefer an autumn exhibition in London, ideally two weeks after Decosit in September, Helliwell said the Manchester venue was "very promising," even though the number of overseas delegates was fewer than expected. Prestigious, by far the largest furnishing fabrics exporter in the U.K., now has operations in Ireland, France and Germany, as well as agents in some 90 countries. Helliwell said exports are holding up in most markets and average around 50 percent of total sales, with U.K. business significantly improved over the previous year.

Graham Bateman, commercial director at Claremont Fabrics, said exports, based on a unique range of transfer-printed Trevira fabrics, were running at £2.5 million a year against domestic retail sales of £8.5 million.

"We have a wide range of products from drapes to upholstery as well as readymades," he said. "That's why our export sales have held up, compared to competitors with a far narrower offerings."

Bateman said business in Europe was still moving, especially to Germany, France, the Benelux countries and now Central Europe, as well as traditional markets in the Far East, Australasia and the Middle East.

Claremont, which went through a buyout from the Headlam group a year ago, "is now in control of its own finances," Bateman added. "Exhibitions are an expensive game and you need a solid base from which to operate."

Fryett's Fabrics, one of the U.K.'s largest independent manufacturers and converters of curtain and upholstery fabrics, is slowly rebuilding overseas sales after winning a Queen's Award for exports in the early 1990s.

Export sales manager Philip Brooks, said: "We hope to double export turnover this year, from 5 percent to 10 percent of sales. This business is mainly exclusive prints using a variety of base cloths, which are doing well in Scandinavia, France, Belgium and Australia/New Zealand, for example."

Curtain and blind maker Gordon John reported that, while exporting remains tough, overseas sales at around £15 million to 30 countries still represented some 20-25 percent of turnover. "We are still committed to export," said managing director Derek Nott, "and we won't give up." The company is successful in the Middle East, Europe and Australasia, and designs products specifically for these markets, he said.

David Hardman, sales director of Style Furnishings, believed the key to exporting was doing it with sense and quality — not to compete on price. "Our business is based on service, competitive prices and a tight range of products," he commented.

"We sell small volumes to Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East, and also to Scandinavia. We still print everything in the U.K. with most prints exported to Europe, for example, to Italy, Germany and Belgium."

Sponsored by the British Interior Textiles Association (BITA), the next ShowRoom will again be held at Manchester's G-Mex Centre from April 27-29, 2003. F&FI