The Autumn Coin-op Show. This was a purely UK event, to the point where non-Brit exhibitors were actively discouraged. This is presumably in deference to the EAG trade show in January - both that and last week's Autumn Coin-op Show are organised by Karen Cooke’s Swan Events.
But it brought back the "preview" – note the careful use of the lower-case "p", for it in no way attempted to hijack the name of the highly successful little show that used to be held at the Novotel in London.
The Autumn show was held at Chelsea football club’s Stamford Bridge ground, utilising the extensive promenade area inside the stadium.
Running it in the middle of October puts it exactly where the old Preview used to be run in terms of dates and no-one would dispute that Cooke has a signal success on her hands. It was patronised by around 20 British companies and a high level of turn-out from British operators.
That’s the key: getting the operators there, and they certainly turned out, emphasising what we all remember most about the old Previews; that they were an essential autumn get-together and networking event. Exhibitors got a leg-up for sales a bit earlier than the mid-January dates of EAG and were able to test the market with some early prototypes.
For the exhibitors it was, bluntly, cheap and cheerful, which is exactly what it was pitched to do. The old Preview disappeared because it was a high-cost event which ran into that appalling 2009-onwards global recession. In all other aspects, it was hugely successful and very professionally done.
Now there is an alternative although Cooke carefully cites feedback from her exhibitors to dictate whether another is held; whether at the same venue and whether on the same date (it would be October 13/14 next year). But no-one really expects anything but a repeat.
