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Painting and Decorating Show celebrates 14 years of growth

by Olivia Powell

One of the first trade shows held at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, The National Painting and Decorating Show, has celebrated its 14th consecutive year of growth at the venue.

The National Painting and Decorating Show has exhibited at Ricoh Arena’s Ericsson Indoor Arena since its opening year in 2006. The show has not moved since its conception, and has grown its exhibitor and visitor attendance by around ten per cent each year.

The 2019 edition saw more than 3,500 industry attendees and more than 100 exhibitors ranging from America to Europe.

Event organiser at The National Painting and Decorating Show, Terry Dullaway, said: “Ricoh Arena is our dream venue as it’s allowed us to grow at a steady and sensible pace. As a growing show what you don’t want is a big rise in exhibitors but a small increase in visitors – you want them to grow in tandem to create a busy and varied show – and that’s why we have stayed put for as long as we have done.

“The show itself has gone from having 30 exhibitors and a few hundred visitors in our very first show in 1995 to an established well-attended show that is attended by contractors, stockists and interior designers.

“The decorating industry as a whole is in an upbeat mood and it is at the heart of a lot of construction projects happening across the country – and that was very much reflected in our event at Ricoh Arena last month.

“More start-up businesses are also emerging and as such we introduced a workshop into this year’s event all around how to run a better business – covering topics such as staff training, tax and law -which went down really well.

“We are signed up for another two years at Ricoh Arena, and judging by the event feedback we’ve had, we are all set for more growth in the future.”

Head of event management at Ricoh Arena, Caroline Lissaman, added: “This show is a feather in the venue’s cap as it demonstrates Ricoh Arena as an events incubator that helps events to develop and grow over a long period, in addition to the larger conferences, exhibitions and live entertainment that it hosts.

“Our ability to customise 6,000 square metres of indoor event space, combined with our central UK location and on-site amenities makes us stand out from the crowd for trade events such as The National Painting and Decorating Show.

“Hosting a show for 14 years is no mean feat. We’re proud to have helped The National Painting and Decorating Show to occupy all of Ricoh Arena’s 6,000-square-metre Ericsson Indoor Arena – and there is further potential for us to grow the show even further in Coventry.”

The show has also has signed up for two more years at the venue.

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