The Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) and Reed Exhibitions have announced plans for the sharing of the expanded exhibition facilities at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in 2018.

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.

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 – complementing the existing 30,000 square metres of space and the 1060 undercover parking spaces.

“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,” said Louisa Theobald, Reed Gift Fairs event director.

The additional space will enable more exhibitors and displays than ever before.

“To cooperatively deliver our industry leading gift fairs is a huge step forward for retailers and visitors,” said Wayne Castle, AGHA CEO.

“We appreciate visitors to our Fairs deserve a cohesive, comprehensive and efficient buying experience. We can now deliver on this commitment.”

The upcoming AGHA Melbourne Gift Fair is expected to be the largest display of industry start-up businesses ever seen in Australia under one roof with over 40 exhibitors in The Launch Pad – a dedicated space for Australian and New Zealand start-up businesses looking to make the transition to wholesaling. Since beginning in mid-2016, the program will have helped over 80 brand new businesses in the gift, stationery, toy, fashion and home sectors, take to trade selling through the Sydney and Melbourne AGHA Gift Fairs.