The first ever Jewson Live On Tour is now complete, with thousands of the UK’s professional tradespeople celebrating a programme of industry news and product innovation.
National builders’ merchant Jewson has welcomed more than 4,000 people through the doors of four events, which took place at the NEC in Birmingham, Kent Exhibition Centre in Maidstone, the SEC in Glasgow and Westpoint Arena in Exeter across April, May and June.
Over 150 suppliers exhibited, showcasing new product launches with demos and exclusive deals. Meanwhile, the event’s three distinct areas – the Trading Zone, Future Zone, and Wellbeing Zone – saw high profile speakers and trades experts, including the Federation of Master Builders, On The Tools, Band of Builders and more, share the latest industry news and developments, detailing how they impact tradespeople on a day-to-day basis.
Celebrity hosts and guests at the events included darts legend Phil Taylor, footballing star Kenny Dalglish, pundit Dion Dublin, cricketing legend Phil Tufnell, commentator Emma Paton and more.
The NEC show was used to officially launch Jewson’s company rebrand, with the refreshed visual identity, website, branch signage and truck branding unveiled for the first time. Representatives from parent group STARK UK explained more about the company’s vision, including details about the firm’s new Branches of the Future.
Also relaunched at the show was Build Aviator, Jewson’s estimating service designed to free up tradespeople’s time so they can use their time where it matters most – on their own customers’ projects.
John Carter, CEO of STARK UK – part of STARK Group, which acquired a collection of businesses including Jewson from Saint-Gobain in March 2023 – said: “Jewson Live On Tour started out as a tiny acorn of an idea and thanks to the brilliant people in the Jewson team became something truly special.
“For the past seven years, Jewson Live has offered the industry something unique, and no other merchant in the industry offers what the show does. Taking the event on tour, bringing it closer to our communities and using it to continue celebrating the great relationships we have with customers, colleagues and suppliers has given it yet another edge, and we know it’ll have a lasting impact in the market.”
John continued: “We used Jewson Live On Tour as a platform for so many brilliant milestones – sharing our company rebrand, and announcing the winners of our first ever Making Better Homes Awards to name just two. It has been a signal to the industry that we are driving change forward, and that we’re here to make life better for the professional tradespeople and builders who rely on us to grow their businesses.
“Our aim is to be the most trusted builders’ merchant in the UK, and based on the incredible response to Jewson Live On Tour, we’ve proven we are.”
As alluded to above, the winners of Jewson’s inaugural Making Better Homes Awards – celebrating the UK’s tradespeople dedicated to building sustainable homes – were announced at Jewson Live on Tour, with businesses taking home prizes for each of the competition’s three categories – Best Use of Renewable Energy in a Project, Best Building Fabric in a Project, and Sustainable Project of the Year.
Offering a supplier perspective, David Morris, Key Account Director for landscaping specialist Marshalls, which exhibited at all four events, said: “Jewson Live On Tour has been a great opportunity to understand local markets, not just with the installers but with Jewson staff, who understand how best to operate in each market, according to different demands. No other event would provide the level of face-to-face engagement we’ve seen at Jewson Live On Tour.”
Nick Youds, National Account Manager for Wienerberger, added: “Jewson Live on Tour has been a great roadshow, and we’ve enjoyed working together with Jewson at all four events. There’s been fantastic engagement with the industry and customers at every show.”
