SBS Small Business Sunday, the online business community founded by entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, has announced that it will again team up with Autumn Fair for 2020, following successful partnerships with the show in 2018 and 2019.
SBS began in 2010 and has seen hundreds of small businesses tweet Paphitis every week to gain access to the supportive small business network. Every Monday, six of these businesses are invited to become part of the #SBS community, benefiting from boosted publicity and attendance at a yearly #SBS conference with access to motivational speakers and workshops.
As part of the partnership with Autumn Fair, 12 members of the #SBS community will be offered free stands at the show in September Between now and Friday 1st May, #SBS’s 3,000 members will all be offered a chance to put themselves forward for the competition, with the winners being judged on their uniqueness of product, innovative contributions to retail and viability of business plan.
Previous winners have spoken about how important winning the competition and exhibiting at Autumn Fair has been for their business. 2019 winner Michelle Davies, founder of Ascent Bath & Body, said of her #SBS Autumn Fair experience: “It has been such an amazing and thought-provoking experience. I have gained so much valuable knowledge and information from fellow exhibitors that I can’t wait to implement when the show has finished. Autumn Fair has elevated my business to the next level.”
Fellow winner that year, Howard Carter, founder of The Smokey Charter, speaking about their show experience said: “It’s great to meet fellow traders and new customers – we have 5 new stockists who’ve placed orders in our first two days at the show.”
This year’s winners will be selected in June by a panel of retail experts from Autumn Fair organisers, Hyve Group. At the show, the lucky #SBS exhibitors will take centre stage at the Fair and gain access to tens of thousands of visitors and buyers ready to order products ahead of the busiest retail period of the year – the Golden Quarter.
Theo Paphitis, founder of #SBS and well known retail entrepreneur, said: “#SBS is delighted to partner with Autumn Fair once again and offer another 12 #SBS winners a free stand at the event in September. The previous winners have all reaped huge rewards from the experience whether through new contacts, suppliers, orders, new directions or collaborations and I’m sure this year will be no different. I encourage my #SBS winners to grab this opportunity with both hands and go for it!”
Jessica Dawnay, Event Director, Autumn Fair, said: “Offering something different and innovative is what Autumn Fair is all about and the #SBS community is, without fail, always a rich source of interesting and unique design-led products. So, we’re really excited to be partnering with Theo and his amazing team again to deliver what is a unique opportunity for 12 bold indies to put their product before some of the UK’s most influential buyers. I would really encourage each and every member of the #SBS community to apply and get involved. It’s an amazing opportunity to secure interest and orders from customers who could transform your business. Previous #SBS winners who have been given the chance to exhibit at Autumn Fair 2018 and 2019 have been many buyers’ highlight of the show.”
Visitors and exhibitors can now register and book for Autumn Fair 2020, which will take place at the NEC between September this year:
