Crufts runs every March at the NEC Birmingham and is billed as the world’s greatest dog show. In 2026 it welcomed over 150,000 visitors across four days, with 18,698 dogs entered from across the UK and a record number from overseas. More than 83% of visitors own a dog, and 82% spend over four hours at the show each day.
That makes Crufts one of the busiest retail floors in the UK. Visitors arrive to shop for food, toys, beds, grooming kit, insurance and everything in between. The TV coverage reaches millions more at home, so brands on the floor get seen well beyond the halls.
Your stand here is a shop for four days, not a display. Both shell scheme and space only plots are available, from small presences to large feature builds. Planning a space only stand? Working with exhibition stand contractors who understand retail, storage and NEC logistics stops being optional.
Crufts visitors know what they want for their dogs, they’ve set aside the whole day, and they arrive ready to spend. What they won’t do is fight their way into a stand that’s hard to read from the aisle. With 150,000 people in the halls, the stand that sells is the one people understand in three seconds.
The stands that work here are open at the front, with products visible and within reach. There’s a clear place to pay, stock close to hand, and room to queue without blocking the aisle. It works on Sunday afternoon as well as it did on Thursday morning.
We design and build exhibition stands for Crufts, from bespoke stand design to shell scheme and space only packages. We’ve built at Crufts before, and we know what this crowd responds to. Vibrant, confident stands that stand out from across the hall, with your products built into the design rather than stacked on a table, so visitors can see, touch and buy without hunting for them.
We can also design in the moment people want to share, like a photo spot, a feature wall or something worth stopping for with the dog. At a show with millions watching on TV and scrolling on social, that moment carries your brand well beyond the NEC. Behind it all, we plan the stand like a shop. Our joinery team can build retail walls and shelving, till points get a wired connection so card payments keep working, flooring is tough enough for four days of paws, and a water station gives visiting dogs a reason to stop. Storage is built in for four days of stock. Then we review what worked, so next March’s stand does even better.
We don’t build stands. We build the story your brand tells on the show floor. Every material, layout and lighting choice serves the narrative.
Heat mapping and visitor tracking available on request, plus a post-show review on every project. We prove what worked, not just what looked good.
LITE, READY and CUSTOM. Three clear ways to exhibit, three clear price points. You always know exactly what you’re getting, before you commit.
Your win is our win. We review the results together, and we’re genuinely invested in your next show being even better than the last.
Designed, made and installed by one in-house team in Lincolnshire. You’ll see 3D visuals before anything is built, and one project manager runs your stand from brief to debrief.
Everything you need to look the part, sorted.
Branded, professional, and ready to go.
The smart entry point.
from
£2,995
The clever way to exhibit.
A reusable backbone with Rocket-X craft on top, and it gets cheaper every show.
from
£8,995
Your story, built from scratch by the people who tell it best.
No limits, no compromises.
The full Rocket-X.
custom
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The NEC is the UK’s busiest exhibition venue, and a few of its rules change how your stand should be designed. There’s no storage on site, power and internet are ordered in advance, and anything overhead goes through the venue. We handle the logistics. Here’s what’s worth knowing for your stand and your team.
Visitors bring their dogs, so flooring, displays and anything at nose height need to cope. We can design tough, dog-friendly stands that still look good on day four.
The NEC has no on-site storage, and four days of selling means a lot of stock. We can design storage into the stand so you’re not sold out by Saturday.
Exhibitors can get in before visitors each morning, so that’s the time to refill the shelves. We can build storage into the stand so your team can restock quickly, before 150,000 visitors arrive.
Power, internet, water and furniture are ordered through the venue and its contractors, and late orders usually cost more. We spec everything with your stand and order it well before the deadlines.
A sign above your stand is the easiest way to be spotted across a busy hall. It’s rigged by the venue and needs ordering early, so we can design it in from the start.
The free Wi-Fi isn’t built for tills. We spec and order a dedicated connection so card readers keep working when the queue is longest.
Four days, 150,000 visitors and some of the busiest aisles in the country. Here’s how to make the most of it, from first plan to next year’s booking.
A stand built to sell stock looks different to one built for subscriptions or leads. Pick the main goal first, because it shapes the counter, the storage and the flow.
In aisles this busy, a closed stand gets walked past. Keep the frontage open and put your best products where they can be seen, and picked up, from the aisle.
There’s no on-site storage at the NEC. Under-counter and back-of-stand storage keeps four days of stock close by without cluttering the shop floor.
Long queues cost sales. Plan the till point, a wired connection for card readers, and a queue that doesn’t block your own display.
Rota your staff, restock before the doors open, and choose finishes that still look right after 150,000 visitors. Sunday’s sales count as much as Thursday’s.
Many shows sell next year’s space before this one ends. Rebook, tell us your plot, and we can start on next year’s stand straight away. When we debrief the show, we’ll know what worked this time, so we can make your next stand work harder and give you better return on investment.
We build exhibitions to work harder over time. By reusing and refining crafted elements across multiple shows, we reduce waste, retain what works, and make every next build more efficient than the last. Show one makes an impact. Show two builds on it. That’s how exhibiting should work.
We build with reuse in mind from the start. That means fewer one-use builds, less waste, and exhibition stands designed to work harder over time. We use FSC- and PEFC-certified timber wherever possible and make smarter material choices at every stage. Because sustainability should be built in, not added on.
Got more questions? Check out our FAQs page or just get in touch. We’re always ready to help.
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