Important industry update, Melbourne Gift Fair 2018 expansion
Announcement posted by Australian Gift & Homewares Association 02 Jun 2017
The Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) and Reed Exhibitions are pleased to announce plans for the sharing of the expanded exhibition facilities at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in 2018 and a renewed commitment to working together to enhance the visitor experience for their 2018 Gift Fairs in Melbourne.
As part of the MCEC expansion there will be 9,000 square metres of additional exhibition space, a new 331 room hotel, a multi-deck car parking facilities for more than 1,150 cars and a new additional entrance located opposite South Wharf DFO - this complements the existing 30,000 square metres of space and the 1060 undercover parking spaces. Reed and AGHA will share the additional space and will have more exhibitors and displays than ever before, all under one roof, making it easier for retailers to source the latest products.
Reed Gift Fairs Event Director, Louisa Theobald said: “This exciting development has been many years in the making and is a great leap forward for the industry. I’m very proud of the spirit of cooperation shown between two event organisers in order to push this through and truly put the visitor and exhibitor experience at the very heart of what we do.”
Wayne Castle, AGHA CEO agreed: “To cooperatively deliver our industry leading gift fairs is a huge step forward for retailers and visitors. We appreciate visitors to our Fairs deserve a cohesive, comprehensive and efficient buying experience. We can now deliver on this commitment.”
The two industry events, AGHA’s Melbourne Gift Fair and Reed Gift Fairs Melbourne, will now occupy the entire exhibition space at the MCEC and will continue to be complemented by even more displays and a wide range of products at the Melbourne Showgrounds, with free transport between the venues.
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For more information contact;
Reed Exhibitions – Laura Blagys Tel; 02 9422 2013 email; laura.blagys@reedexhibitions.com.au
AGHA - Lara Ryan Tel; 02 9763 3222 or 1300 441284 email; lara@agha.com.au
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in over 30 countries. In 2016 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 38 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.
About Australian Gift & Homewares Association
Australian Gift and Homewares Association (AGHA) is the peak industry body in the gift and homewares sector representing the interests of thousands of wholesalers, retailers and associates across Australia since 1977. Based in Sydney, the not-for-profit organisation is dedicated to serving its membership by providing large industry trade fairs (including the Sydney & Melbourne Gift Fairs), discounted industry services, business resources, commercial and political lobbying.