SOLEX 2026 is the centrepiece of the outdoor living trade calendar, and for garden centre buyers, retail buyers, and product sourcing teams, missing it means missing a full season's worth of new product launches in one go. Organized by LOFA (Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association), SOLEX - The Summer Outdoor Living Exhibition 2026 runs from July 7-9, 2026 at Hall 5, National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham. You can also find full event details on SOLEX 2026 on TradeShowIntel.
This is a LOFA members-only exhibition, which matters. It keeps the exhibitor floor focused and the buyer audience genuinely qualified. No tyre-kickers, no tangential industries. Just three days of outdoor living business.
Who Attends SOLEX 2026: Garden Centre Buyers, Retail Chains, and Contract Specialists
The visitor profile at SOLEX is tightly defined, and that's a feature, not a limitation. The show draws the people who actually place orders:
If you're a buyer in any of these categories, admission is free. If you're an exhibitor, these are the people walking your stand.
What's on the SOLEX Show Floor: From Garden Furniture to Outdoor Kitchens
The product range at SOLEX covers the full outdoor living spectrum. Expect to see working demonstrations, seasonal launches, and side-by-side comparisons across every major category:
Garden furniture is the backbone of the show, with tables, chairs, loungers, and hammocks from manufacturers across the market. Alongside that, barbecues, grills, pizza ovens, smokers, and fully fitted outdoor kitchens have become an increasingly prominent part of the floor as the outdoor cooking category continues to grow.
Outdoor heating including firepits and patio heaters sits alongside hot tubs and spas for the outdoor wellness segment. Shading solutions such as parasols and awnings, garden leisure buildings and rooms, and outdoor lighting and entertainment systems round out a floor that genuinely covers the full outdoor living category from first product to finished space.
New product launches are a core part of the SOLEX format, with exhibitors entering the New Product Awards to showcase their best seasonal innovations.
Exhibitor Tips for SOLEX 2026: Selling to Seasonal Buyers on a Deadline
Garden centre buyers and retail chains attend SOLEX with a specific mission: locking in their product ranges for the season ahead. Your stand needs to communicate range depth and retail readiness immediately. Buyers are comparing multiple suppliers across three days, and a stand that leads with lifestyle presentation rather than a cluttered product dump will hold attention longer.
If you're showing outdoor kitchen or barbecue products, consider running live cooking demos. The category is competitive and buyers respond to sensory experience. A working grill or pizza oven draws a crowd and gives your team a natural conversation opener that a static display simply can't replicate.
One common mistake exhibitors make at shows like SOLEX: collecting a stack of business cards and then losing the context behind each conversation by the time they're back at the office. Use the Habsy App to scan each card on the spot and record a quick voice note about what the buyer was interested in, their order timeline, and which product categories they flagged. Your follow-up list is built before the show closes on July 9.
Visitor Tips for SOLEX 2026: Getting the Most from Three Days at the NEC
The show runs three days, but most buyers find the first two are where the real sourcing decisions happen. Prioritise your must-see categories on day one before supplier stands get busy and key contacts are tied up in back-to-back meetings. If you're buying across multiple categories, such as furniture and shading, map your route before you arrive rather than navigating by instinct.
For contract market buyers specifying for hospitality or commercial projects, SOLEX is one of the few places where you can physically test materials, frame weights, and finish quality across dozens of suppliers in a single visit. Don't rely on brochures alone. Sit in the chairs, open the parasols, and ask about lead times and minimum order quantities on the floor where you have the manufacturer's full attention.
If you're meeting multiple suppliers across the three days, keeping your notes organised is harder than it sounds. The Habsy App lets you scan each supplier's card instantly and attach a note about pricing discussed, samples requested, or follow-up actions. By the time you leave Birmingham, every conversation is logged and searchable rather than buried in a pocket full of cards.
Why SOLEX 2026 Belongs on Your Trade Calendar
For anyone working in the outdoor leisure trade, SOLEX is the most efficient three days you can spend sourcing, comparing, and connecting. The LOFA membership structure keeps the quality of both exhibitors and visitors high, and the NEC Birmingham location makes it accessible from across the UK.
Free admission for qualified trade visitors, free marketing and porterage for exhibitors, and a focused product floor covering every outdoor living category from garden furniture to hot tubs. The show does a lot of the heavy lifting. Your job is to show up prepared.
Before July 7, set up the Habsy Platform for your team so every contact captured across the three days feeds into a shared dashboard. You'll leave with a clean, organised pipeline rather than a follow-up backlog. Visit habsy.ai before the show to get your team ready.
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