Answer extracted from the Glazing Insider podcast — listen to the full episode below.
What makes Fit Show 2025 the biggest exhibition ever in home improvement?
Fit Show 2025 is the eighth edition and features 300 brands with hundreds of product launches, achieving both the biggest attendance and biggest pre-registration for visitors in the event's history. A standout detail: 50% of exhibitors are brand new to Fit Show and have never exhibited before, bringing fresh energy and products to the home improvement sector.
Record growth and unprecedented newcomer participation
The scale of Fit Show 2025 extends beyond raw numbers. Nearly half of all exhibitors are first-time participants, which signals a powerful shift in how the industry views this biennial event. This influx of new suppliers—from garage door manufacturers to fencing companies—reflects growing confidence in the show's reach and buying power.
The product range now spans windows, doors, roof lanterns, decking, and guttering, with newer additions in roofing. This breadth under one roof, as Nikki West explains in the episode, directly serves fabricators, installers, and builders who need to evaluate the full market in three days.
Why attendance hit an all-time high despite summer weather
The biggest pre-registration for visitors was a positive early signal, though unseasonably glorious weather at the end of April created real uncertainty. Nikki West acknowledged the risk that visitors might choose outdoor activities over attending the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). Yet the final attendance proved concerns unfounded.
The event's biennial schedule reinforces its criticality for business professionals. As a point detailed in this podcast, having all products and suppliers concentrated in one location for three days saves money for buyers and multiplies growth opportunities for installers and fabricators.
"If you're selling in the home improvement sector, you have to be here. And if you're buying, if you've got to source products or you want to buy anything, you've got to be at Fit Show."
Nikki West — Event Director, The Fit Show. West has grown Fit Show to its eighth edition, overseeing record-breaking attendance and international participation. Her focus spans multiple shows, but her primary passion remains the Fit Show, where she has cultivated the event into the home improvement sector's most comprehensive biennial gathering.
The breadth of participation—including 50 members of the Timber Joinery Network attending for the first time, and international representation from over 20 countries—underscores how Fit Show 2025 has transcended its previous editions to become a true industry benchmark.
Key takeaways
- Fit Show 2025 brought together 300 brands with hundreds of product launches across home improvement categories.
- 50% of all exhibitors were new to Fit Show, indicating strong fresh market interest and supplier confidence.
- Attendance and pre-registration both set all-time records despite competing summer weather conditions.
- The three-day concentrated format saves costs for buyers and amplifies growth potential for installers and builders across the UK supply chain.
See also
How did a small regional warehouse location in Alfredon become the strategic UK base for a national composite door distributor?
When Kelly's father decided to expand the business from Northern Ireland to the UK mainland in 1992, the location choice was entirely opportunistic rather than part of a long-term strategy.
What role does remote family business structure play in day-to-day management across geographically separated sites?
The business operates with 58 staff across three sites—two in the UK (one in Nottingham/Alfredon area, one new facility) and one in Lurgan, Northern Ireland—requiring careful coordination across regions.
How does supplier loyalty influence a composite door manufacturer's product choices and relationships?
Kelly states they use Winkhouse Locks exclusively on all products because of a very good relationship built through their hardware business agency.