Gallery has described this year’s SOLEX exhibition as its strongest yet, following three busy days of meetings with independent retailers, national accounts and garden centre groups, all looking ahead to the 2027 outdoor season.
Building on its debut appearance last year, Gallery reported a significant increase in visitor numbers to its stand, with particularly strong interest from independent retailers seeking the reassurance of UK stock availability alongside the flexibility and value offered through FOB container programmes.
A key talking point throughout the exhibition was Gallery’s ability to offer customers the opportunity to personalise proven outdoor collections through bespoke weave colours, fabric selections and tabletop finishes. With larger outdoor furniture programmes making minimum order quantities more achievable, retailers showed considerable interest in creating exclusive versions of established best-selling ranges while benefiting from the confidence of products with a proven sales history.
Alongside these bespoke options, Gallery also introduced new parasols and complementary outdoor accessories, reinforcing its ambition to offer far more than standalone furniture collections.
One of the most consistent pieces of feedback received throughout the show centred around the overall presentation of the stand itself. Rather than simply displaying furniture sets in isolation, Gallery created a fully styled outdoor lifestyle environment, incorporating accessories, lighting, textiles, parasols and decorative finishing touches to demonstrate complete merchandising solutions.
The result was a polished, design-led presentation that reflected how consumers increasingly shop for outdoor living spaces as complete environments rather than individual pieces of furniture.
This wider lifestyle proposition continues to differentiate Gallery within the market. Already recognised as one of the UK’s leading suppliers across furniture, home décor, lighting, textiles and accessories, the business has continued to establish itself as a major force within outdoor living, offering retailers the opportunity to source multiple product categories from a single supplier.
That growing reputation has also been recognised by the industry itself. Gallery proudly displayed its Best Garden / Outdoor Furniture Supplier 2026 award from the Big Furniture Group throughout the exhibition, providing further recognition of the investment the business has made in developing the category.
The company says the award represents the collective efforts across all teams within the business, and expressed its sincere gratitude to everyone who voted.
Chris Lewis, Head of Independent Sales, commented: “There was a noticeable increase in both visitor numbers and the quality of conversations compared with last year. Independent retailers and garden centres are looking for suppliers who can offer flexibility, reliability and something that helps them stand apart, and that’s exactly where our proposition resonated. The response to our bespoke capabilities, UK stock holding and complete outdoor lifestyle approach was extremely encouraging, and we’re excited by the opportunities already developing for 2027.”
Patrick Collins, Head of National Accounts, added: “The feedback from national retailers and buying groups was overwhelmingly positive. There is a growing recognition that Gallery isn’t just a leading indoor supplier—we’ve firmly established ourselves within outdoor living too. Customers appreciated seeing fully styled lifestyle displays rather than isolated furniture sets, and there was genuine enthusiasm around planning future collections, bespoke developments and early buy-in for our 2027 ranges. It’s given us tremendous momentum heading into the next season.”
Following another successful SOLEX, Gallery now looks ahead to working with customers on 2027 programmes, continuing to combine proven product design, bespoke development opportunities and a complete outdoor lifestyle offering that helps their customers create distinctive and commercially successful collections.
In addition, as attention now turns back indoors, Gallery’s new Autumn/Winter 2026 Home Accessories & Textiles Collection launches this month. Consisting of more than 200 new products across home accessories, soft furnishings and decorative accents, the collection has been designed to complement Gallery’s wider furniture offering while providing customers with fresh opportunities to refresh interiors for the season ahead.
The launch follows Gallery’s recent recognition as Best Accessory Supplier 2026, adding to its Best Garden / Outdoor Furniture Supplier 2026 accolade. Together, these awards highlight the breadth of Gallery’s product offering and the continued investment being made across multiple categories, reinforcing its position as a trusted lifestyle supplier.
Gallery’s complete collection is available to view at www.gallerydirect.co.uk, and with their Big Summer Sale running until 31st August, there is still time to secure savings across many of their award-winning ranges before the offers come to an end. Call 01795 439159.
