Europe’s leading responsible sourcing show, Source Home & Gift opened its doors for day two, bringing together leading retailers including Fenwick, Waitrose, John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Liverpool FC, Pro Cook, Cost Cutter and Barnardo’s, looking to source from hundreds of international makers and manufacturers from over 25 countries, including Egypt, Nepal, United Kingdom and United States.
Championing ethical and sustainable manufacturing as a catalyst for positive change in retail, Source Home & Gift Day two took audiences on a journey of sourcing and storytelling; connecting innovative makers and artisans with extraordinary uniqueness and craftsmanship, with brands and retailers looking to buy and source from businesses whose values align with their own.
Feedback from visitors highlighted their desire for new products, variety, and emerging markets. Alexandra Edmunds, Category Sourcing Manager at John Lewis said, ‘’Source Home & Gift has been great. There are a variety of locations at the show, and to see exhibitors from new and emerging markets is very exciting.’’
Sabra Swinson, Managing Director at The French Home Co added, ‘’I was looking for new international suppliers of French style textiles, and to have found a number of suppliers at Source Home & Gift that I know I can work well with in future has been brilliant.’’
Simon Wachlin, Assistant Buyer from The Works said, “As a first experience it is positive. It is great to see such a variety of manufactures. I will be coming back to Source Home and Gift in September.”
Exhibitors were equally positive about their experiences. Extol Accessories, who work with and nurture Haitian metal artists, said ‘’We came to Source Home & Gift about 6 months ago, and wanted to give the February show a try as we knew it would be even bigger. We had a really good day on Sunday, as we weren’t sure what to expect. We met lots of small boutiques and companies who expressed an interest, and we intend to follow up with them.’’
Sparking creativity and conversation, the Responsible Retail Stage continued its seminar programme, with leading experts including Insider Trends, Intelligence Sessions from Retail 100 Consulting, and Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCol).
Opening the programme, Head of Trends at Insider Trends, Jack Stratten led the invaluable discussion ‘Sourcing and Storytelling: The Selling Power of Retail Transparency’, as shoppers become increasingly conscious of brand transparency, retailers from emerging to heritage brands are discovering the power of supply chain storytelling.
Stratten said, “Previously transparency was an emerging trend, but it’s now cemented in consumer conscious; 75% of UK consumers say that transparency is a key factor in how much they trust a brand. ‘Trust’ is key in the context here as it’s transparency in a brand’s story that sits as the foundation of loyalty. Brands are having to shout louder than ever to gain and retain customers; what’s setting brand leaders apart in this space is their ability to elevate the value of their products and the value of their brand by telling the customer something meaningful about the journey of the product, from conception, to being in consumers hands.”
“Cheap isn’t a story. We know that lots of young customers are buying fast fashion, but we also know that they are the drivers behind sustainability, so we have this dichotomy; the same generation are making parallel choices which the relationship between this story and the sourcing environment pivotal. 60% of Gen Z spending more on luxury goods than Gen X and Boomers, 57% believe that the value of these items will increase over time and 65% view luxury items as currency.”
Highlighting pioneers including the likes of Patagonia, Ace & Tate, and Tony’s Chocolonely, Jack went onto to outline the pillars of storytelling in retail. “Some brand stories connect so strongly, so powerfully, they can sell anything. Whilst other brands take a completely different approach to retail that the norm, they aren’t taking a slow approach to brand building, they are creating immediate impact giving way for full autonomy in product concept”. Elsewhere, community led stories where brand and customer collaborate are increasingly important; whilst stories built on transparency and experience run as parallels to immerse customers; garnering hype through experience where product becomes a by-product, acting more as a souvenir.
Analysing the importance of authenticity, Jack explained “Stories that cut through ultimately are different, they’re bold, often eccentric or chaotic to inspire curiosity. It’s so hard to elevate a story that’s the same as everyone else.”
Retail 100’s Monday intelligence session took audiences through ‘Managing the own label product development process’, sharing the essentials needed for sourcing from ethical and sustainable manufacturers, from where to start, the importance of a critical path, the sealing process to ordering and shipping.
This afternoon’s sessions kicked off with SATCol’s (Salvation Army Trading Company) ‘How SATCol are closing the loop in home and giftware’. With much to learn from the fashion industry’s approach to waste reduction, this seminar put the spotlight on SATCol retail partner Fibresort, who are successfully on their journey to reducing the environmental impact of textiles and educated on how to effectively remove barriers in circularity that contribute to extending the useful life of home and giftware products.
Kirk Bradley, Head of Corporate Partnerships explained how their Fibresort technology could be used by brands to help repurpose garments: “As soon as two items, or textiles are put into one garment it becomes very very difficult to recycle. We’re looking at how manufacturers can change the way they build garments so they can recycle; it could be as simple as instead of using nylon buttons and zips they go over to polyester buttons and zips and therefore that product can be recycled at the end.”
Elsewhere, the Source Home & Gift New Product Showcase continued to be a hit with visitors. Suzanne Ellingham, Director of Sourcing, Source Home & Gifts says, “The new product showcase space has given us the ability to story tell on the show floor in a truly authentic way, highlighting some of the companies that are good businesses with beautiful products. Featuring hand-picked exhibitors chosen for the quality of their items and their stories, the variety of products on showcase is inspiring – from everyday items made from upcycled plastics fished from the River Nile, handwoven rugs using natural fibres made in the villages of India, and handicrafts made by local and refugee artisans to support basic living standards. We want to create a show with beautiful, well made, products, that don’t cost the earth, quite literally, and allow their makers – be it those who are in villages, or those in factories, to live well from their work. I’m thrilled that the work we do in building a responsible sourcing platform in the UK and Europe is being so well received by our UK buying community who love these products as much as I do. And then they hear the amazing stories behind those products, and it becomes a company or maker community they want to support. I think that’s the power of storytelling.”
Source Home & Gift is on until Wednesday 7th February at NEC Birmingham. Visit www.source-homeandgift.com for more information.
