LSi In Hong Kong

We get to Manchester airport bang on time, check in complete and we’re off…. Well to departures anyway. Managed to get a nice seat and the orange juice started flowing

First leg of the journey and we are delayed by 30 minuets, but we make up a bit of time on route landing in Heathrow at 2pm and now it’s an easy 6 hour stint in the airport before our flight to Hong Kong! Shopping list from the wife and credit card at the ready!

Time flies when you’re sat doing nothing and we’re ready to board, slightly delayed again but we find our seats and the next leg of our journey is on, a small 13-hour flight. Thinking about having something to eat and getting my head down to try and sleep before our first big day in Hong Kong!

The thoughts about a sleep are out the window 7 hours in, too excited for what lies ahead on this trip!

Arrive on time in Hong Kong and sail through customs with a pickup on the other side and we’re off to the hotel. Feels like the best hotel in Hong Kong but reality is it’s the only hotel we’ve ever stayed in here over the past 15 years.

Quick in and out of the hotel pending, quick shower and we’re all off to races at Happy Valley.

Early start for a few of us making most of the hotel health and spa centre including a sauna, jacuzzi and pool alongside a gym.

Onto breakfast, where there was a variety of different foods including home favourite such as bacon, sausage and freshly cooked eggs in your preferred form – with authentic Asian cuisine also being available.

A quick meeting to discuss the week ahead and a few products Lloyd had found at the electronics show the few previous days.

Today is the day to get our bearings and understand Hong Kong a bit more. We walked down Nathan and Mody Road and ended up in the Peninsula Hotel for a quick pit stop- one of the most famous hotels in the world housing a lot of famous people across the years including royalty and the likes of Frank Sinatra.

Then we had a little walk to catch the star ferry across to Wan Chai and we used the MTR which is the Hong Kong subway system connecting everywhere.

We moved into Mong Kok market to have a look at the different items - I can't confirm or deny if we got our money’s worth.

The final stop of the day was to the ICC building which is the 13th tallest building in the world. It is home to the Ozone bar which is the highest bar in the world - located on the 120th floor. The views were breathtaking alongside nice food and drink.

This was extra special as the whole group had never seen it before. I am very lucky to have been to Hong Kong three times along with Dan & Lynda. But none of us had seen it so we were extra excited.

We arrived at the cable cars to the mountain to be greeted with very rainy, windy conditions. There were a few people I shall name no names who were slightly nervous about the cable cars. The views on the way up were incredible and even better as we had a glass see through bottom floor which some found extra scary.

It took 30 mins to reach the top as it is very high up. There was a lovely village at the top with some gift shops, Chinese statues, and a few cows. Lynda had quite the fright when she saw the cows.

We then made our way up several flights of stairs to the Buddha. It was incredible but sadly he was covered in fog so we could only see his outline. There was a lovely monastery inside the Buddha.

After having a look around and taking it all in we made our way back down. A select few members of the group decided to chicken out of the cable cars on the way back down and opted for the bus.

The ride down was absolutely fine. To start with we could only see cloud and rain but eventually we had an amazing view of the ocean and the sun tried to break through too.

We all really enjoyed today and although the weather wasn’t the best it didn’t matter. We got to experience something unique together that not a lot of people will get the opportunity to see.

The main reason for our trip, is the Hong Kong Gifts Fair held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, it is the world’s leading gift fair for Promotional Merchandise

We kicked off our day with a solid breakfast and hopped on the train to the Centre, buzzing with excitement. When we got there, it was like stepping into a whole new world. The place was packed with three floors of the coolest stuff in the promotional products scene.

With 1800 exhibitors and traders from 15 different countries, there was never a dull moment. We all can't wait to share all the awesome ideas we picked up with our customers.

After the show, we headed to the swanky Rosewood hotel with its gorgeous view of Hong Kong. There, we caught up with our suppliers over drinks and snacks before hitting up Aqua for the most amazing meal.

Drinks were flowing, and we ended the night tearing up the dance floor at China Nightclub in LSi style... work hard, play hard.

What a day! We're pumped for round two at the show tomorrow. Bring it on!

“There’s a reason I normally stay in control as my hangovers are horrendous. Woke up under the desk fully clothed at 10am with no idea where I was!”

Think that pretty much sums that up…

After a delayed breakfast, plenty of caffeine and a cold shower, it was up and off to the show for day 2.

I concentrated on hall 3 and 5 today after completing hall 1 yesterday - these halls are enormous and house over 3000 exhibitors , it really takes some walking !

Some great products on show today, there’s lots of interaction with the exhibitors each trying to entice onto their stand with free samples , catalogues and best prices - but sometimes it’s the quiet items that get your attention, then you assess whether the product is already available from our Uk suppliers, could be of interest as a new concept - or better still , would appeal to all markets but allows us to personalise the product in house !

I am pleased to report that today that I saw some great new product ideas but in particular; cables, tech and drinkware seems to be the in thing this year. The best thing about this show is they are usually one to two years ahead of Europe, so it’s a great gauge on what is going to be popular.