Increases for UK fair

Last week (16 – 18 February 2014) saw the staging in Coventry, England, of the Totally DIY/Totally Tools event. The number of exhibitors exceeded last year’s total by 20 per cent, and the occupied exhibition space was also up by the same figure. As the organisers emphasise, the buyers attending the fair came not only from the major DIY chains, from the wholesale trade or purchasing cooperatives, but also from grocery retailing, distance selling and specialist trading companies. Included in the supplementary programme were contributions by John Herbert, general secretary of Edra, the European DIY Retail Association, and by Steven Collinge of Insight DIY. The next Totally DIY/Totally Tools will again be held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry from 15-17 February 2015.