No repeat of London EXcel show in 2013 (1 Viewer)

ourcampersbeentrashed

Free Member
Apr 19, 2008
7,574
4,348
East London
Funster No
2,222
MH
C Class
Exp
well over 5 years
It is a shame but I am not surprised.

We visited the show and were to be quite honest a little disappointed.

There are however plenty of other places on the borders of London where a show could have taken place and where camping could have been nearby.

Peterborough yet again will be the nearest one for us next year.
 

slobadoberbob

Free Member
Jun 1, 2009
6,151
1,960
Kent, garden of England
Funster No
6,953
MH
Winnebago 23' something
Exp
25 years & counting
I think this was reported on the site a few weeks back

I think this was reported by a member a few weeks back.

It is not a surprise given the location inside the LEZ and that it had limited parking and no real alternative parking for motor homes with a reasonable distance.

I gather it was not good for many of the traders, which is a shame... but I think it is going back to Birmingham again for next year.

I tended to do the shows that were outside.. that way i could use my RV and enjoy the experience of my weekend home on wheels rather than have to get buses and trains to the venue. But next year we are doing lots of different things so will not be even spending the money at the out door events. The weather killed it for us this year.

If the RV does not sell we will mothball it and sell it in the future. We have a couple of fantastic long haul trips booked and even a cruise. Instead of buying all my Indian bits and bobs at Malvern we are going to the Indian Nations is Arizona, Utah and Colorado and New Mexico .. get them a lot cheaper I suspect.

But going back to the show... i.e Excel, I do question if these promotors do there home work at times. Living in the South East and less than 25 miles as the crow file I would not want to venture to Excel with a motor home or even on foot.

Bob

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
I wonder how much life there is in shows at all. Whilst some traders did well at Lincoln I spoke to one who had not covered his costs and the weather this year has helped nobody.

When running our family history business we found that we had to pick and choose rather than attend every show. We stopped exhibiting at the smaller ones several years ago and even stopped attending the larger ones before we sold the business.

Venue owners and promoters have to realise that traders need to make a profit as well as themselves. Fewer exhibitors results in fewer visitors and a vicious circle can ensue.
 

Peter JohnsCross MH

Funster
Deceased RIP
Jan 5, 2008
9,617
6,194
East Sussex
Funster No
1,134
MH
Autotrail
Exp
1995
Excel was not brilliant for us, we did Ok but did not make me rich:cry:

We dropped all the outdoor shows this year and with the weather as it happened, was a wise choice.

We will be at the N.E.C as usual this year operating the Fiamma Stand on behalf of Fiamma Italy with many of our staff being on hand to give advice.

Spring show will be at the N.E.C as usual

Peter
 

Popeye

Deceased RIP
Sep 5, 2011
7,926
86,461
edge of New Forest
Funster No
18,072
MH
Frankia Platin Plus
Exp
On and off since 1983
Excel was not brilliant for us, we did Ok but did not make me rich:cry:

We dropped all the outdoor shows this year and with the weather as it happened, was a wise choice.

We will be at the N.E.C as usual this year operating the Fiamma Stand on behalf of Fiamma Italy with many of our staff being on hand to give advice.

Spring show will be at the N.E.C as usual

Peter

Best of luck Peter, might look in on your stand.......

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,488
66,006
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
Having attended the Stratford show which was extremely disappointing due to the 'miniscule' number of stands/traders/dealers we certainly won't go again and I would be very surprised it if is on next year at all - I can't see the traders wanting to go again and without them, there isn't a 'show'.

Lincoln was okay with lots of motorhomes and especially van conversions to see and quite a lot of stalls too, but for us the best shows are Peterborough (we missed it this year as we were abroad) and Shepton Mallet which we hadn't done before.

As for indoor shows, we used to go to the NEC ones but probably won't bother now we've got our new van, and we are always disappointed at the amount of stalls selling specific motorhome related items.
 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
We went to the NEC show in 2006 when we first had our van and were very pleased to buy a stand-alone solar panel and a couple of other things. Two years later we went again and were very disappointed that the number of accessory/service stands (which we were most interested in) was much lower than our first visit.

Over the years we have found the outdoor shows to offer much more of what we are looking for so we haven't been back to the NEC. I was told recently that the NEC next month would have much more in the way of accessory & service traders but can one actually trust that? At Lincoln there were a number of traders listed in the guide who did not attend. I don't know their reason(s) but will that be the same with the NEC?
 

slobadoberbob

Free Member
Jun 1, 2009
6,151
1,960
Kent, garden of England
Funster No
6,953
MH
Winnebago 23' something
Exp
25 years & counting
very much the chicken and the egg

We went to the NEC show in 2006 when we first had our van and were very pleased to buy a stand-alone solar panel and a couple of other things. Two years later we went again and were very disappointed that the number of accessory/service stands (which we were most interested in) was much lower than our first visit.

Over the years we have found the outdoor shows to offer much more of what we are looking for so we haven't been back to the NEC. I was told recently that the NEC next month would have much more in the way of accessory & service traders but can one actually trust that? At Lincoln there were a number of traders listed in the guide who did not attend. I don't know their reason(s) but will that be the same with the NEC?

For many years Sue and I use to do toy fairs.. paid for me to go through Uni and get my law degree.. but we had been doing toy fairs almost as long as we have owned a motor home... We use to do the shows way back when it was once a year at Stratford and once a year at Shepton.. boy there were few trades in those days.

But back tot he chicken and egg or toy fairs.. we went to them every week.. at one time there were as many as 16 different one's on a Sunday and most evenings there were smaller swap meet toy fairs and always a good selection on a Saturday.. But in the end to many shows and not enough people.. people did not spend so the shows slowly folded.

Now you get a couple on Sundays and a couple on Saturdays and few in the evenings.

Promotors would close one that was not working and start another up somewhere else.. often with in a few miles from the first one... they came and went.. Motor home shows are no different. The larger more established will continue until the traders do not book, then it is a spiral downwards. The organisers are always optimistic but seem to forget that they need the traders and the public. I feel sometimes they forget that.

Bob

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
1_man_and_his_dob(lo)
Feb 4, 2010
2,329
1,590
Mid. Glamorgan, S. Wales
Funster No
10,168
MH
Motorhutch / Toy Camper
Exp
Since 2010
I wonder how much life there is in shows at all. Whilst some traders did well at Lincoln I spoke to one who had not covered his costs and the weather this year has helped nobody.

Going slightly off-topic, I wonder about other shows as well. I spoke to one of the stall-owners a few weeks after the Chester food festival and he said it had been a waste of time for a number of them. Seemed pretty busy to me, but sounds like there were plenty of people taking the free samples and not many buying.
 

GJH

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 20, 2007
29,450
38,828
Acklam, Teesside, originally Glossop
Funster No
127
MH
None, now sold
Exp
2006 to 2022
Going slightly off-topic, I wonder about other shows as well. I spoke to one of the stall-owners a few weeks after the Chester food festival and he said it had been a waste of time for a number of them. Seemed pretty busy to me, but sounds like there were plenty of people taking the free samples and not many buying.

I wouldn't be surprised. There were less traders at Chester this year than last so maybe they didn't find it worthwhile last year.

I had a look, this afternoon, at the stand prices for the NEC show in October - £65 per square metre or more. When one takes into account accommodation, transport and all the other costs that go into preparing for, standing at and "recovering from" a show it's a heck of an outlay that needs to be covered.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top