Christmas in January

Christmas in January

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The UK’s only Christmas decoration trade magazine

R

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COLLECTION

2018

CHRISTMASWORLD

For New Discoveries &Traditional Enthusiasts Come and see the new collection from Riffelmacher.

Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair. Hall A Stand 08

sE

t

8

/2017 11:11:50

Harrogate Christmas &

14th to 17th January 2018 Harrogate Internation 9am - 6pm Sunday - Tuesday, 9am - 4pm Wedn

mas & Gift

International Centre 4pm Wednesday

d 1

HARROGATE Christmas & Gift

14th to 17th January 2018

The UK’s favourite trade show!

Over 40 brand new exhibitors!

Don’t miss HALL Q packed with 46 exhibitors, plenty of seating and hot food FREE ENTRY Register Online Today:

www.harrogatefair.com

22/12/2017 11:11:50

Eight halls of Christmas A37

CGB Giftware

Hall C

Q6

Allsorted

A1

Christmas in January

C3

Anglo American Distributors Ltd.

Q51

Amica and Felt Work

Flame Homeware Ltd.

C6

Archipelago

Q55

Bailey & Brooke

Florelle Import Co.

C17

Balloon World

Q36

Berber Leather

C24

Boland BV

Q41

Bollywood Christmas

C21

Boxer Gifts

Q50

Calico Cottage

Q43

Charles Taylor

Q5

Christmas Time

Hall A

A40 A29

Hall Q

A28

The Gifted Stationery Company

A30

Giftware Trading

C20

Casdon Toys

A34

Global Journey Ltd.

C4

Fair to Trade Ltd.

A28

Hometown World Ltd.

C5

Felt So Good

A38

IEP Wholesale

Q9

C K Supplies Ltd.

C1

Festive Productions Ltd.

A16

Jeno Floral Imports

Q37

Created By The Ridleys

C37

Heaven Sends

A6

Richard Lang & Son Ltd.

Q60

Culinary Concepts

C19

Joe Davies Ltd.

A25

Lemax Europe BV

Q15

Decorative Hand Made Glass

C18

Lotus Imports Ltd.

A26

Lows

Q61

The Elf on The Shelf

C22

Puleo Asia Ltd.

A2

The Milford Collection

Q25

Giftscribes Gifts Ltd.

A9, A22

C2

Royal County Products Ltd.

NOMA

Q12

Gwynedd Confectioners

C10

Q57

Heyland & Whittle

A7

Padgett Brothers AtoZ

Schulte Kunstgewerbe Int GmbH & Co. KG

Riffelmacher & Weinberger Gmbh

Sparkle and Light Ltd. - Christmas 3D Glasses

The Hot Water Bottle Shop

A8

C3a

Q34a Q3

A4

The Satchville Gift Company

C41

The Straits Trading Company Ltd.

Jean Barrington with Second Edition

Q57a

Jupp Illustrations

A18

Sincere UK Ltd.

Q8

A36

Suki Gifts International Ltd.

The Kilted Christmas Tree Company

A35

Walton & Co Ltd.

Hall B B7

Crystal World

B5

Davies Products (Liverpool) Ltd.

Hall D

Q38

Kiss the Moon Ltd.

D1

Benross Marketing Ltd.

Q2

Little Nutmeg Creations

D7

IG Design Group UK Ltd.

Q17

Oasis Floral Products

D2

Keel Toys Ltd.

Q28

Peg Perego

D6

Lesser & Pavey Ltd.

Q45

Playwrite Group Plc

D12

Snowtime

Q59

Pollyfields

D4

Tallon International Ltd.

Q57cc

Popshots Studios

D5

Xystos - Flame & Fragrance-Bath & Body

Q46

Prop Me Up Events

Q57b

Really Wild Cards

Q53

Rosanna Rossi

Q16

S & H Supplies Ltd.

Q57c

Charles Sainsbury Plaice

Q19

Shatchi

Q39

SHOBU

Q54

Shop Display Solutions Ltd.

B2, B9

Floralsilk Ltd.

B1

Hogewoning B.V

B11, B21

Koopman International BV

B15

National Tree Company

Hall H

B16

Plaristo UK Ltd.

H1

Premier Decorations Ltd.

B4

Puckator Ltd.

H2

Premier Halloween

B6

PMS International Group Plc

H3

Premier Summer Living

B14

RSW International Ltd.

B3

Sifcon International Plc

Hall M

B22

The Great British Card Company

M12

Ascalon Design Ltd.

Q58

Smart Garden Products Ltd.

Gisela Graham Ltd.

Q52

Stands Out Ltd.

Q57d

Swiss Kiss

B10

The Original Metal Sign Co.

M14, M16

B13

WIDDOP and Co.

M2

Hamac Trading Co

Q10

Terra Rossa

M1

Kaemingk BV

Q56

The Art File

M22

Konstsmide (UK) Ltd.

Q22

Transomnia Ltd.

M26

Luxa Ltd.

Q34

Trend Mania Ltd.

M6

Sagedecor

Hall Q

Wildtouch

M24

The Libra Company

Q26

Wombat Retail

M3

The Original Winters Tale Ltd.

Q4

XD Seasonal

M28

Weiste

Queen Suite Foyer QS2

Fountasia International Ltd.

QS5

Hamac Trading Co

QS1

Vivid Arts Ltd.

28th Year of Publication

REGULARS

FEATURES

Leader Page

7

News

8

A Lifetime of Achievement

9

Honoured by the Queen John Athwal receives an OBE In the New Years Honours List

40

Piers Croke of Gisela Graham Explores what makes Christmas sparkle 44

14

Julie Ritzer Ross gives us an update From across the Pond

Coffee Break

22

Malcolm Naish looks back to 1996, 2006 and 2016

Garden Centre Association update 24

Plenty of new product on show 52

golf day report

54

Show Exhibitor List

56

Publisher:

Features Editor: Production Director:

60

Bath & Body products are Big news for Candle giant Xystos

62

Building on festive show success Gift supplier Joe Davies has a big Range of Christmas goodies to show you

64

Sarah Welsh

paul@lemapublishing.co.uk Layout:

All the latest from Quality lighting specialist Konstsmide

Malcolm Naish

Paul Naish

Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten

34

malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Keel Toys back at Harrogate Their new Winter range is waiting for you

58

A selection of new products new to Harrogate for 2018 36

Challenges and Triumphs Premier Decoration’s M.D. John Athwal Reveals all

30

Harrogate Christmas & Gift Show Intro.

32

A little bit of Christmas Nostalgia from Floralsilk A history lesson plus all the latest news

Chief Executive Iain Whylie Gives us an update

19th Christmas in January

Giftware Trading celebrate their 10th year at Harrogate 2018

18

Step Back in Time

Product, Service & Quality Festive Production’s Mission Statement for 2018

50

We get personal with Gisela Graham

Riffelmacher Continue to grow their business We ask CEO Frank Marchl A number of leading questions

48

America goes crazy for Christmas

All that glitters

Specialists not Generalists Noma’s title for this year’s look at What ‘s New for 2018

66

Kaemingk creating Wonderful Moments A peak at Kaemingk’s new ranges for 2018

Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk

Circulation:

Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Published by: Lema Publishing Ltd 1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts.

HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930 Fax: 01442 289950 Email: info@lemapublishing.co.uk

RETAIL INTERVIEWS 28

Creating Christmas Theatre in Lancashire Oswaldwistle Mills is a real destination visit

70

Going the extra Festive mile Alton’s Garden Centre are Essex’s Biggest garden centre

The views of the contributors expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the publisher. Comments, letters and criticism are welcome.

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Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair

Spring Fair

Harrogate International Centre 14th – 17th January 2018

NEC Birmingham 4th – 8th February 2018

IN THE WHOLE OF

HALL H!

Hall

2

Stand

H03/H04

PREMIER DECORATIONS LIMITED www.premierdec.com • Tel: 020-8624 5555 • e-mail: sales@premierdec.com

Leader

The Leader O

ur congratulations to Mr. John Athwal on his OBE announced in the 2018 New Year’s Honours List.

It is richly deserved and proves that in Great Britain there is an opportunity to succeed whatever your upbringing and status as long as you work hard and get on with your life.

Turn to page nine for the full story.

As every reader knows, this edition previews the Harrogate Christmas & Gift show that opens on the 14th January. Many of you – particularly the exhbitors will remember what a rush it was for the 2017 show as it literally opened a few days after New Year, so at least you will all have enjoyed the New Year this time round.

We have some key new exhibitors showing including Keel Toys, Richard Lang, Heyland & Whittle, Puckator and Xmas Direct. Also we welcome a number of first time greeting card suppliers that include the Art File, Really Wild Cards, Rosanna Rossi and Tomcat Cards.

So the variety of exhibitor at Harrogate continues to grow, all to the benefit of the visitor.

For the last eight years the Greatest Christmas Awards night has been staged at the Majestic Hotel on the Sunday evening.

NOT ANY MORE! In his wisdom, Trevor Pheiffer the organizer has decided to dispense with a dinner/party night at Harrogate in favour of a much softer event during Spring Fair without a sit-down dinner.

I for one believe that this is a backward step for what was both a great event and celebration night. All of the garden centres are in Harrogate during the show and I cannot

believe that by staging this at Spring Fair will have anywhere near the same cache. I believe it will take place during the show at Spring Fair and in my view not sensible to take visitors away from the stands for an awards ceremony – only a personal view as I wish Trevor every success with his event.

BUT FEAR NOT The Harrogate organisers are running an event on the Sunday night at the Old Swan Hotel. Tickets are £45 each plus VAT for a four-course dinner that also includes two top comedians to help us laugh the night and also dance the night away.

Contact the Organisers on 07904 838963 or Simon Anslow 07798 737077.

One worry that has faced all Christmas decoration suppliers in China is that with their Government’s long overdue environmental pollution and health safety checks on all manufacturing plants this has lead to many of the smaller factories that were unable to up their game having had their factories closed down.. This has led in some cases to serious lack of supplies.

Box printers in China have also been affected.

Changing the subject back to U.K. business, one major supplier gave me an interesting point of view which was this. In his opinion more and more garden centres are changing to ‘Own Brand’ on certain products as they believe that by selling products this way, it will be far more difficult for the public to compare prices.

I wonder if any other suppliers have found this?

We look forward to meeting readers at our stand just inside the entrance to Hall A for what should be an excellent show.

christmas in january 7

John Athwal Feature

A lifetime of achievement

honoured by the Queen

J

ohn Athwal, managing director of leading Christmas supplier Premier Decorations, has been honoured as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s 2018 News Year’s Honours list for his services to business and charity.

Having already been announced as Asian of the Year in 2010, John has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to the British economy for his thriving business, Premier Decorations Ltd, established almost 30 years ago which now provides employment in the UK for 84 permanent staff rising to 250 during the delivery season. Premier Decorations has twice appeared in the Sunday Times Profit track for the fastest growing profitable companies, and once in the International track 200 for the fastest growing exporters.

John is also renowned for his philanthropy committing time and money to a number of charitable organisations including the Make a Wish Foundation which grants wishes to children and young people with life-threatening conditions, where he spent 14 years on the fundraising committee. John also devotes time to The Fence Club, a members’ only club for people in the toy industry which raises money for sick and disadvantaged children in the UK, in the role of treasurer and previously chairman.

In 2014 John took part in the CEO Sleepout to raise awareness and money for Action for Children – a charity concerned with 100,000 or so children who sleep rough in the UK every year – and continues to work with children’s charities including the Loomba Foundation and Silver Star, a diabetes charity.

Latterly, he has been sitting on the Chairman’s committee for the Children with Cancer charity.

John comments: “Receiving an OBE in the Queen’s 2018 New Years Honours list is a fantastic tribute and I am overwhelmed to have been recognised and nominated by colleagues and peers. Life has not always been as easy as it is today; having arrived at the age of eight in

the UK in 1961 with my parents from very humble beginnings in Punjab, I have embraced the opportunities this country has offered me, and it only feels right to give a little something back to society.”

John’s entrepreneurial skills unearthed at college at just 17 years old, where much against his parents wishes, he formed a business with a friend as a music promoter hiring bands for the local town hall and student’s union. His parent’s disapproval of this venture, which involved late nights and selling alcoholic beverages going completely against his Asian culture, led John to run away from home – a decision that he now regrets because of the worry and anxiety it caused his family; but which also altered the course of his life.

As a self-confessed workaholic, John landed a job as a trainee manager in a filling station and, in the days when these generally only sold fuel, recognised the potential to stock add-on merchandise such as jackets, briefcases, garden accessories, bread, milk – in fact anything that caught the customer’s eye. This business model proved so successful that it expanded to filling stations across the country and having been promoted to marketing manager John approached the board of directors to establish a business wholesaling non-petrol products to other filling stations. At the business’s peak it was selling to 2,500 filling stations in the UK. At the age of 29, John was appointed to the Board of Directors and established an importing arm for the company, and a couple of years later, a friend approached John with an order to supply Christmas decorations to Asda – as his friend did not have the funds to fulfil the order himself.

Travelling to factories in Taiwan and discovering the considerable excitement involved in this type of product, John decided that this was where his future lay. He formed Premier Decorations Ltd

– the UK’s first Christmas brand and one which remains a market leader for this type of product today.

This year, Premier Decorations will celebrate its 30th birthday, while John celebrates his own 65th birthday. Although he no longer works full-time in the office John is still an ever-present figure in the company, supporting his staff and guiding the company strategy. He concludes: “Professionally I think that I have achieved most of my ambitions – and receiving an OBE really has to cap it all. I will continue to be active in both my business and charitable work, but also look forward to spending more time in the future with my wife Jito, children and grandchildren.” christmas in january 9

SPECIALISTS. NOT GENERALISTS. Since 1939, NOMA have been focused on just one thing.

Bringing our customers the most innovative, eye-catching Christmas lighting. We think lighting is so important, we don’t do anything else.

Visit NOMA’s stand at Harrogate - A9, A22 @NomaLightingUK

Feature News

Riffelmacher’s Personalised Swarovski Christmas Bauble

Whilst visiting the company at their Bavarian HQ we loved this bauble which has sold really well in the UK in 2017. Check it out on their stand at Harrogate. It’s pictured in our dining room taking pride of place in our Christmas window setting - every home should have one!

Riffelmacher strengthen their sales team

The Denholm Agency (Formerly agents for O. Widmann & Co.) have joined the Riffelmacher team and will be at Harrogate. The 2018 trend brochure is now available and you can receive your copy by emailing John King on john.king@riffelmacher.de They can be found at their usual stand no. in Hall A number 08.

Christmas Decorations built on solid family foundations Quality - Design - Service Weiste - a strong UK reputation over 30 years See the Exclusive Weiste 2018 Collections HARROGATE CHRISTMAS & GIFTS EXHIBITION 14th - 17th January 2018 Hall M - Stand 28 Enquiries UK: Morris May Ltd e: info@morrismay.com t: 0131 208 0247 m: 07774 493 594

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10 christmas in january

NOMA Consumer spend

2017 NOMA have increased consumer advertising in support of their customers, with adverts in the Guardian, OK magazine and the Telegraph’s Christmas supplements. As well as print advertising NOMA have updated their consumer website with regular posts sharing photos of customers’ Christmas displays and details of NOMA stockists.

THey have even ran a digital marketing advertising campaign driving consumers to the Noma website to find out more about their stockists. Social Media has been a big focus again this year, with a “let NOMA Light up your Christmas” Competition, giving away Christmas lights for an entire home which gained over 400,000 impressions. As well as Social Media advertising to drive further interest in to the website.

NOMA will continue to do the same for 2018i n the solar range and Christmas with increased PR activity reaching out to further national press.

SPECIALISTS. NOT GENERALISTS.

With nearly 80 years in the business NOMA’s expertise in Christmas lightng is second to none.

Innovative – Quality – Reliable Visit NOMA’s stand at Harrogate - A9, A22 @NomaLightingUK

Feature News

Premier Guy Premier Decorations are pleased to announce that Danny has re-joined Premier to run their tree division as Andrew Lord prepares for a well earnt retirement.

Also pictured is David O’Hanlon – Premier’s sales manager in Ireland being present by John Athwal with a watch to mark his 10 years of service with the company.

Employees that have served more than 10 years receive a beautiful watch and a certificate. There are now over 40 proud employees with a great little ticker!

Festive Appointments In line with their growth plans Festive are pleased to announce 3 new appointments to their main board.

Jonathan Hughes is Marketing Director, Justin Watkins is Chief Financial Officer and James Marshall who joined from Transcon in 2017 will become Sales Director.

“Our tree was up within in ten seconds of being placed in the stand, which for me is something of a record! All those past years of struggling uggling and fighting are now thankfully fully past.“ Jonathan Dellar

Krinner build their U.K. business A company spokesman told us that In 2017 they saw their customers being cautious taking stock in, as they were not sure how big demand would be. Still we are gaining share in the Christmas Tree Stand market, as our product is second to none .Customers gaining trust in our unique KRINNER Christmas Tree Stand (Made in Germany) in recent years. Also as a trend we see customers tending to spend money on products that make their lives easier. Overall we are doing well in the UK market and looking forward to a bright future based on innovations and quality but also keep an eye on uncertainties related to Brexit and future currency exchange rates. email: florian.schuerzinger@krinner.com Tel:0049 9424 9401-34

Marvellous Puckrup Hall For those members of the Christmas decoration industry it should not be all work and no play and this is why Christmas in January’s M.D. Malcolm Naish has been organizing a golf for many years now.

The 2018 event will once again be held at Puckrup Hall, just 5 minutes off the M5 near Tewkesbury. A day of fellowship, fun and golf played off full handicap from the yellow tees.

Most handsome trophies are presented at a lavish barbeque where the drink flows at our expense and the Barbie enables those with a long drive to be able to leave at a reasonable time. For those of us staying at the Hilton hotel that adjoins the course we retire to the bar for further networking opportunities.

The date is the 19th June.

Give me a call on 01442 289930 or email me Malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk

Visit us at: Christmasworld Frankfurt Hall 11.0 · Stand C 28 office@krinner.com

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Don’t just take our word for it, come and see us at Harrogate Christmas & Gift 14th – 17th January 2018 Hall B, Stand B1/B5

Spring Fair 4th – 8th February 2018 Hall 2, Stand F04

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christmas in jan / feb.indd 1

03/11/2017 09:39

Feature Stateside

America goes

Crazy for Christmas

By Julie Ritzer Ross

A

merican consumers pulled out all the decorating stops this past Christmas, spending heavily on holiday décor and experimenting with new trends in everything from Christmas trees to outdoor embellishments. If statistics and anecdotal evidence are any indication, more of the same should be on tap in 2018.

“In the U.S., at least, decorating has become a competition of sorts,” observes April De Caro, social media and PR specialist for retail chain Kirkland’s.

Whether or not Americans are actually out to win the Christmas decorating game, the price of decking the halls continues to be no object. According to the annual consumer spending survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation (NRF) and released as the holiday shopping season took off in the late fall, consumers planned to spend an average of $967.13 on Christmas this year, fulfilling shopping lists that took into account decorations, food, flowers, gifts for others, gifts for themselves, and holiday greeting cards. Last year, Americans shelled out slightly less, earmarking an estimated $935.58 apiece for these same items.

The NRF also announced in late fall its expectation that holiday retail sales in November and December of 2017– excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants 14 christmas in january

– would reach $678.75 billion. This would represent an increase of 3.6 percent from last year’s total of $655.8 billion.

“Our forecast reflects the very realistic, steady momentum of the economy and overall strength of the industry,” Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, said in a statement when the forecast was issued. “Although this year hasn’t been perfect, especially with the recent devastating hurricanes, we believe that a longer shopping season and strong consumer confidence will deliver retailers a strong holiday season.”

But that’s not all. A separate NRF survey indicates that U.S. consumer spending on Christmas decorations continues to trend upward. Not counting trees, survey results indicate, consumers were projected to spruce up their homes with an average of $80 worth of holiday décor—including ornaments, wreaths, lights, and other miscellaneous items—this year.

Last year, that figure stood at $54.75; in 2012, at a far more modest $40.

Artificial Trees Show Growth

It’s no secret that Americans remain enamored of real Christmas trees. In 2015, figures from the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA)

reveal, U.S. consumers took home 25.9 million such trees, and in 2016, 27.4 real Christmas trees were purchased. However, artificial trees are gaining ground. Retailers sold a total of 18.6 million artificial Christmas trees for holiday 2016, up from 12.5 million of these Puleo

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Feature Stateside

trees the previous year, and tree purchasing was seemingly on the same course in 2017. The American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA), which represents artificial tree manufacturers, forecast that 95 million American homes would have at least one Christmas tree in place by December 25, 2017, but only 19 percent of trees in American homes were anticipated to be of the real variety.

Several catalysts appear to be at work here. Notably, Americans’ demand for real Christmas trees decreased in 2007 and 2008, most likely as a result of the recessionary conditions that plagued the U.S. at the time, says NCTA Spokesperson Doug Hundley, whose group represents Christmas tree growers. Such waning demand forced growers to plant fewer replacement trees, which take a decade to grow, and the subsequently smaller supply of available live trees carry higher-than-normal price tags in line with supply that doesn’t meet demand.

Moreover, notes ACTA Executive Director Jami Werner, even many U.S. consumers who love live trees are now buying artificial ones that last for many seasons and earmarking the savings for more elaborate holiday décor all around.

Improvements in the appearance of artificial trees, coupled with an ever-broadening assortment of artificial tree options, are pushing the envelope as well. In recent holiday seasons, such artificial tree manufacturers as Barcana and Balsam Hill have emphasized artificial trees with a natural look. Mass market retailers like Target, as well as specialty Christmas stores like Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Mich., have been experiencing strong sales of artificial trees in this category— primarily higher-end options produced from polyethylene (PE). PE is conducive to the production of trees with molded needles, which look more like their live counterparts than do artificial tree options made of other types of material.

“Many American consumers want the convenience and long ‘life’ of artificial trees, but not the artificial appearance—and they’ll pay the price,” states a spokesperson for Barcana, whose product line includes, but is not limited to, artificial trees with price tags in the $1,000 range.

Retailers are also hearing louder cries for Christmas trees with a less traditional look. In 2017, they report, some U.S. consumers who favor colored and metallic trees shied away from tried-and-true shades like silver, instead embracing options in pink and a combination of black and white. Others eschewed iconic fake tree varieties—e.g., fir and spruce—in favor of lesser-used options, like palm.

Upside-down Christmas trees, too, experienced a wave of popularity in the U.S. market. “Hanging fir trees upside down goes back to the Middle Ages, when Europeans did it 16 christmas in january

to represent the Trinity,” according to decorating blog thespruce.com. But now, “they rank as one of the hottest fads of the (2017) season.”

Today’s upside-down trees take three forms: suspended from a bracket on the ceiling like a chandelier, positioned upside-down on a stand, or mounted tip down on a wall.

American consumers “seem to like them for several reasons,” observes a New Jerseybased Christmas buyer for the Bed Bath & Beyond chain. “They’re conversation pieces, they’re unique, they save space, and they make ornaments easier to see.” Based on casual conversations with managers in various stores, Kohl’s, Home Depot, Target, and other merchants in the mass market and specialty retail arenas did a brisk business with upsidedown trees in a wide range of heights.

Keeping Up With Creativity

But no matter the type, height, or color of their Christmas trees, 2017 saw U.S. consumers remaining on a mission to be innovative in terms of their interior décor. When it came to the tree itself, retailers were promoting—and report favorable reception of—alternatives to traditional balls, such as flowers, twigs, and pine cones. Feathers were a common sight on creatively adorned trees as well.

In a somewhat different vein, some consumers mixed florals with cascading top-to-bottom ribbons or adorned their trees with a combination of ribbons and lights. At Kirkland’s, one of the most popular Christmas tree looks was the snowman tree, created by accented with snowflakes and featuring twigs for arms, three black Christmas balls for buttons, a scarf, and a snowman head complete with stovepipe hat. Other alternative Christmas tree decorating themes gathering momentum in the U.S. encompass coastal, vintage, and mixed metallics (ornaments, garland, and ribbon).

“It’s all mixed—brass, silver, gold, traditional and contemporary,” Alexis Behan, of Crate & Barrel in Beverly Hills, California, told Voice of America.

Doing More Outdoors

Continuing another trend of the past few years, outdoor Christmas décor, too, is evolving as Americans devote as much effort to adorning the exterior of their homes as they do the interior.

Some of this effort can be seen in innovative use of lighting. Miniature versions of commercial lighting displays have become an

increasingly common sight in suburban and rural areas. For example, instead of suspending just a few strings of lights across a front porch or around columns, consumers are using fairy lights, flashers, and the like across the entire façade of their homes. In many cases, colored lights are being combined with white lights.

Similarly, ambitious consumers have begun to turn their outdoor décor into a Christmas light show, complete with three-dimensional laser projection of images and music. While such traditional Christmas icons as Santa Claus, reindeer, sleighs, and snowmen and traditional Christmas music were the focal point of some of these displays, movie themes were a popular choice in this arena, a trend retailers believe will continue for the foreseeable future.

Similarly, rather than placing one illuminated figure on the front lawn, many American consumers are creating (or commissioning the creation of) themed Christmas vignettes comprised of multiple figures, icons, and the like. One customer of Creative Displays, a Stilwell, Kansas-based provider of commercial and residential lighting, put together a replica of Santa’s wonderland, complete with dozens of illuminated Santas, reindeer, and candy canes.

Finally, there remains a growing trend among American consumers toward incorporating elements that attract attention when the sky is not dark. This means hanging lights with reflective surfaces in trees, above doorways, and on porches. It also entails extending the creative use of Christmas ornaments to the exterior, for example, by filling oversized glass receptacles with colorful and/or metallic Christmas balls, tying on a matching ribbon, and placing them on both sides of the front door.

For Christmas in the U.S., it seems, anything goes.

National Tree

Feature Coffee Break

Coffee Break with Gisela Graham I caught up with Gisela Graham just before Christmas and Gisela kindly agreed to answer my questions 1) I believe that sales for 2017 have been well up on the previous year?

A: Yes - Christmas sales are nicely above 2016, which themselves were higher than 2015.

2) Your company are so well known for beautiful Christmas baubles/treetrim.

Have you ever been tempted to look at other Christmas categories?

A: I have been tempted by trees and lights, but not very seriously, because those are very competitive markets with some big continental players.

We’re content to do a few novelty lights and off-beat trees, mainly for display .

3) Do you do business with Amazon on line and if so, are you happy with their way of doing business?

A: No we don’t do business directly with Amazon. They are a fact of life, though.

4) We keep hearing about the effect of Brexit on UK companies. Do you think that Brexit has impacted on business apart from the Pound’s drop against the Dollar?

A: Yes, without question. The penny is finally dropping with retailers and consumers that there may not be a crock of gold at the end of the rainbow after all !! We note that John Lewis sales are down, mortgage applications are down and so on. Even London traffic is light for the time of Year ( late November) The exchange rate has forced us like everyone else to edge our prices up - but gently - and by as little as we can manage: we’ve had to squeeze margins.

18 christmas in january

5) When you first arrived in London from Germany, did you find London lifestyle that much different to your home country?

A: England was a wonderful release for me. It was a much freer society and more sophisticated. But I did think the way the English celebrated Christmas was a bit lame: it all seemed to be centred round the turkey.

6) If you had not created your own company in Christmas product, what career path might you have chosen?

A: Almost certainly I’d have become a lawyer. That’s what my father wanted me to do, following in his and my grandfather’s footsteps, It’s the profession that most of my family in Germany practise today. I’ve got an aunt who’s a lawyer. One niece is a judge, and a nephew is a copyright lawyer.

7) What is your favourite type of music and therefore your favourite group/ singer and all-time favourite record.

A: My favourite piece of music is Mozart’s ‘Marriage of Figaro’ which is quite sublime.

Generally Mozart is my favourite composer. I also like folky sort of pop, like Fleetwood Mac - I went to a concert of theirs a couple of years ago. And I rate Bob Dylan.

8) Finally, do you have any spare time to indulge in any hobbies outside of Gisela Graham Ltd? A: Well the business is my main hobby. But I have a great house in Catalonia which I go to as often as I can. Otherwise I go to a lot of opera, the theatre, art galleries. And I’m very interested in architecture - cathedrals and palaces.

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Microbrights Advert.pdf

1

21/12/2017

4:50 pm

MICRO BRIGHTS

™

•

•

•

•

•

Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair

Spring Fair

Harrogate International Centre 14th – 17th January 2018

NEC Birmingham 4th – 8th February 2018

IN THE WHOLE OF

HALL H!

Hall

2

Stand

H03/H04

•

STRINGS, CLUSTERS AND WATERFALLS

•

STATIC AND MULTI-ACTION

•

LOW VOLTAGE AND BATTERY OPERATED

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INDOORS AND OUTDOORS

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TIMER FUNCTION

PREMIER DECORATIONS LIMITED www.premierdec.com • Tel: 020-8624 5555 • e-mail: sales@premierdec.com

Feature Step Back In Time

Step Back in Time Malcolm Naish looks back to 1996, 2006 and 2016 JANUARY 2006 LED lighting is the big story for 2006. Every lighting company I meet has incorporated LED’s into their lighting ranges.

Paragon are forced to close down. Mike Withers M.D. of Snowtime steps in to buy their order book. Also joining Snowtime is John McVey from Paragon.

Another big success back in 2005 were the BLACK Christmas Trees. John Lewis enjoy plenty of consumer publicity with the Daily Mail running a half page story on this.

The Harrogate show at last closes the basement halls of ‘E’ and ‘F’, using instead Hall ‘Q’. Wyevale have a big clear out with their Chairman and two fellow directors leaving the company, but it’s business as usual for their two buyers Rachel Jones and Jakki Cunningham.

Another Christmas decoration industry legend – Bert Wood – celebrates 50 years of attending Harrogate. Bert represented Krebs for a lot of years and latterly representing Puleo Trees.

JJanuary 1996 I am sad to report that College Christmas Crackers had called in the Receivers. Ironic that Hambros Bank had been responsible for putting together a Management buy-out some years earlier that enabled the company to move into a brand new 50,000sq.ft. factory that would enable the company to manufacture in-house, doing away with all their outworkers. Also bad timing – 19th December ’95. Why would they not wait until all the cash had come in from the 1995 invoices?

Porth had also closed down in 1995, but bounced straight back again with my old golfing buddy Ian Jones as M.D. Christmascrafts also closed down, re-emerging as Quintessential Christmas. Ti-Well were another casualty, but Tom Baker created a new company – The Consett Christmas Company American supplier Kurt Adler sets up a U.K. company and they show at Harrogate. Their foray into the English market did not last very long.

The owners of Spring Fair persevere with their Christmas & Party show in April 1996, although it seemed like a great idea at the time, the show lasted for just a few years.

Bestoy M.Y. are also launching a Christmas range under the name of ‘Classic Christmas’ , this later became part of the Halsall group.

I run a story on Leslie Barnet – one of the true innovaters of Christmas product in the early years.

He almost single-handedly dragged the industry from very basic products up to the colour coordinated industry we recognize today.

22 christmas in january

JANUARY 2015 I am delighted to attend my 50th consecutive Harrogate show, I receive many offers of drinks at the show to celebrate this and also receive a beautiful cut-glass decanter from the Directors of the show that graces our lounge at home. Just think my first show saw our country later that year win the World Cup, something our current crop of players don’t have a Snowball’s chance in hell of repeating!

As a much travelled man, John Athwal of Premier during his October trip to China managed 26 flights within a 35 day business trip. I ask is this a record and should it appear in the Guinness Book of Records?

John King joins Riffelmacher/ TGS after a 25 year stint with Krebs.

Premier win the ‘Greatest Christmas’ award for Best Supplier, closely followed by Kaemingk. Their great rivalry for this awards night continues!

Feature GCA NEWS

The Garden Centre Association continues to go from strength to strength, as Chief Executive Iain Wylie reveals with a round-up of all the latest news

2

017 proved another stellar year for the Garden Centre Association.

We’ve welcomed new members and the signs are positive that this is a trend set to continue as we move into 2018.

And there’s been plenty of change within the GCA team as well, with us welcoming Kate Halliwell into the fold in March to help with administration and moving to new offices in November.

2017 has certainly been a busy 12 months, with many improvements being made to existing activities to enhance the benefits to members. We launched a brand-new website which is packed with useful information and is more accessible to users than before.

Also on the online front, four years have now passed since the launch of GCA GROW – our e-learning system dedicated to garden centres.

Since then the system has developed from small beginnings to one that is now used by more than 10,000 people from almost 100 garden centres nationwide.

There are now 95 modules; these cover key garden centre related topics including product knowledge plus Health and Safety and Food Safety and finally a comprehensive customer service programme.

Last year we completed a project to upgrade the e-learning system, and it now offers greater flexibility and reporting options and is fully mobile and tablet compatible. Until now the system has been exclusive to GCA members but in 2018 it will be made available to HTA members too.

In 2017 we welcomed new inspectors to

24 christmas in january

our team with Michael Cole and Gordon Emslie joining Roger Crookes and Alyson Haywood. Annual Inspections have been the bedrock of GCA membership for 50 years and they continue to be held in high regard by our members and are considered to be one of the most valuable benefits for business development, bringing fresh ideas and improved standards to all our members.

Our revitalised team brings a wealth of retail and garden centre experience ensuring the inspections are not only as relevant but probably more relevant than they have ever been. The inspection programme continues to evolve and there will be further enhancements to our on-line system in 2018.

Our Barometer of Trade has regular monthly contributions from the majority of our members.

It is a way of benchmarking performance against other centres and assessing current trading trends, giving an indication of opportunities for the future. Trade has fluctuated throughout the year, with the weather being responsible for most of the changes but the Barometer of Trade has ended up on a positive note for the year as a whole. It is pleasing to see GCA members continuing to grow.

Area meetings are an important way of ensuring face to face contact with other members in the same region and the sharing of information. We had record numbers attending our summer meetings so even in the modern digital age these meetings still provide a great forum for members.

Looking ahead to 2018 we will start the year with our annual conference. This year it is being

held in Stratford-upon-Avon from the 21st to 24th January. It is open to all GCA members and full details are available on our website.

We have a schedule of fantastic speakers lined up including the economist Roger Martin Fagg, whose insight will be invaluable given the uncertainty that lies ahead, Charles Crawford, a former ambassador and expert in negotiation, and Patrick Grant, Saville Row Tailor, entrepreneur and judge on the cult BBC series The Great British Sewing Bee, who will be sharing his keen eye for detail and advice for getting the product and service right within your business.

We will also be delighted to welcome Matt Dawson, the former World Cup winning England Rugby player, sharing his experiences on winning ways and working as part of a team plus, no doubt, a few anecdotes as well.

Members should book via the website or contact the office for more details.

At our AGM in January, our chairman for the past two years, Julian Winfield, will be stepping down. In his place, we will welcome Mike Lind from Monkton Elm Garden Centre into the role. Mike will be Chairman for the next two years. Julian leaves with our grateful thanks and we wish Mike every success whilst at the helm.

If you would like to become a member of the Garden Centre Association, please visit our website: www.gca.org.uk for more details or contact the office for further information.

Email: info@gca.org.uk or we can be reached at: 4 Marcher Court, Sealand Road, Chester, CH1 6BS.

Come and see us at:

2018

Harrogate Christmas & Gift

Stand C1

14 - 17th January 2018

festive.co.uk For more information, follow us on:

Feature Oswaldwistle Mills

Creating Christmas Theatre in Lancashire When it comes to telling a festive story, at Oswaldwistle Mills shopping village and garden centre the team let the stock do the talking – as giftware buyer Rachel Hargreaves explains…

I

n recent years ‘destination shopping’ has put garden centres and retail outlets firmly on the map. Consumers want an allencompassing experience and a brilliant day out where they can not only buy everything on their shopping list but also access great food and entertainment at the same time.

And this is exactly the magical retail blend that multi-award winning Oswaldwistle Mills, based in Lancashire, offers to its many visitors. Steeped in history, ‘Ossy Mills’, as it’s affectionately known, is located in a former cotton weaving mill – Moscow Mill – which played a pivotal role in the county from the industrial revolution right up to the early 1990s when it finally closed its doors.

The former mill has now been home to a unique shopping village and garden centre for 25 years, with more than 100 retailers, five restaurants, a textile and heritage museum, ice cream parlour, landscaped grounds and even a wildfowl reserve all on one site. The shopping village boasts an ever-expanding area of 120,000 square feet and welcomed more than 1.5m visitors through its doors in 2016.

Oswaldwistle Mills is now under the stewardship of managing director Boyd Hargreaves - the sixth generation of the

Hargreaves family to be involved with the business - and his wife and giftware buyer Rachel Hargreaves oversees the huge operation it takes to put the shopping village’s festive offering and production together. As you can imagine the planning starts month in advance…

*What’s your personal business background and how did you come to work as a gift/seasonal buyer within retail?

I’ve always worked in sales roles, but after ten years spent in an office environment I needed a change. After the birth of my first son Ewan, now 15, I went into partnership with my brother Danny and set up a small concession business within Oswaldwistle Mills. It was called ‘Inspect A Gadget’ and we sold executive gifts for men and bar and party games etc.

Over the course of the next decade we grew the business and took over giftware, toys and cookshop within the shopping village. Our business was eventually sold to the wider business and I’m now employed as a buyer for Oswaldwistle Mills, covering giftware, lighting, greeting cards, cookware – and of course seasonal product. Danny continues to work part time in the giftware department too!

I’m actually married to the managing director Boyd and we have two sons, Ewan and 12-yearold Brad. We met when he interviewed me for a job years ago, and yes we do eat, sleep and breathe work – but try not to always take it home with us!

*How do you approach Christmas at Oswaldwistle Mills and how does it play out across your outlets?

We have a dedicated seasonal department in the Home & Lifestyle building, which is part of our garden centre. As soon as summer ranges such as outdoor furniture etc. begin to come to an 28 christmas in january

end we have our maintenance team on standby to begin refitting the shop floor ready for the festive season. As soon as the kids return to

“For Christmas 2018 I’m thinking about the introduction of rose gold accents, and even more unicorn and butterfly products. Watch this space” school after the summer holidays our Christmas deliveries begin to land with a view to us opening two to three weeks after this.

Seasonal product is increasing in importance for us at Ossy Mills year on year and 2017 saw us take on 40% more stock than the previous year, meaning we expanded our floor space accordingly. The scale of it is something that just keeps on growing.

As with any other large garden centre operation we have to transition with the seasons – even if some customers complain that Christmas comes around far too early!

*How far ahead do you begin planning for the following Christmas, and do you work from anything specific such as colour themes, previous best-sellers or favoured suppliers?

It’s nice to wait until January once we have a clear analysis of how everything has sold through, but once we’ve identified best sellers we use this information to tweak our stock package for the next year.

In terms of colour trends, traditional red

and green are definitely on the comedown.

Customers are now thinking more ‘outside the box’ when it comes to colour. Romantic shades, softer pinks, pale silver and subtle greys have sold well for a couple of years, as have gold, silver and white and last year the new on-trend shade was petrol blue.

For Christmas 2018 I’m thinking about the introduction of rose gold accents, and even more unicorn and butterfly products. Watch this space.

*In terms of suppliers which Christmas showrooms do you visit and what trade events are always on your calendar?

We always visit Kaemingk in January. Their huge showroom is located in the Netherlands and this where we get inspiration to put together the bones of our Christmas themes. We source well over 50% of our stock from Kaemingk. We then go on to visit the Christmas and Gift show at Harrogate.

We have roughly 10 other festive suppliers, and we will revisit all of these whilst keeping our eyes open for any new companies who could perhaps add something different to the mix. We like to source product that sets us apart from other local garden centres in the area, and companies we work with include: Premier Decorations, Straits – who are based in Accrington and so local, Enesco, RSW for crackers and Transcon who do a range of illuminated glass vases. We also use another

local firm, Jacksons from Sheffield, for assorted greeting cards.

*How do you approach visual merchandising when it comes to Christmas?

Last year for the first time we employed a full time visual merchandiser. She creates theatre in our festive displays which we know inspires our customer base as we get so many complimentary comments regarding the

“Christmas at home is totally different from the retail experience as a buyer and for me the magic never goes away” Christmas department. But whether it’s spray painting branches to showcase product or dressing our display trees to the max, rather than simply tell a story we feel she lets the stock do the talking.

*In terms of product categories lighting, decorations, homewares, stationery, gifts - what sells well for you?

Lighting has been our biggest growth area year on year, basic lighting and of course some of the

more fun and novelty pieces. From simple boxes of fairy lights and pre-lit garlands to illuminated canvases, our average customer spend is higher in this bracket.

Our decorations also to continue to grow each year and for 2018 we are looking to target table top pieces as this is an area we have missed out on previously.

*Any best-sellers for Christmas 2017 you can tell us about and have there been any surprises?

Last year we tried a traditional post box style water spinner with glitter floating around an internal Santa scene and we sold out within the first weeks. Bearing in mind that was in late September it was quite a surprise! Sourcing alternative options from other suppliers then proved tricky, but at least we’ll have greater confidence with bulk buying pallets of them for this year.

*Christmas is obviously on your mind for many months of the year, but do you still love it on a personal level?

My job as a buyer is number crunching and finding new products our customers will love, but Christmas at home is totally different from the retail experience. I’m pleased to say that for me the magic never goes away. *For more information visit: www.o-mills. co.uk, call: 01254 871025 or email: info@omills.co.uk

christmas in january 29

Feature Golf Day

19th Christmas in January golf day Puckrup Hall

W

arm weather ideal for golf greeted us all at the beginning of the nine hole Texas T Scramble and happily stayed s with us throughout the t day.

There were some impressive scores, a lot of laughs and the thought that we should encourage more industry golfers to put in teams.

The morning nine hole Texas Scramble was won by the Babystyle team with a score of 24.4.

Not far behind in second place was the Premier Decorations team of Nick Crispin, E Eddy Brady, Scott Pollock and Rolf Hunt on o 24.9 and third Smiffy’s team of Simon Smithers, Ross Johnson, Sam Bucknell and S M Mark Schofield on 25.8.

Following a sumptuous lunch of ham, egg and a chips we were very much in the mood for th afternoon round. the The team four-ball is always a closely fought competition and we had a number of very good team scores. The winning team of Smiffys were unable to stay for the dinner and it was therefore decided to award the trophies to the team coming second with just six points less than Smiffys with 133 points. They were the Premier Decorations team of Nick Crispin, Eddy Brady, Scott Pollock and Rolf Hunt.

The individual Stableford produced some cracking scores. Leading the way was Eddy Brady with 45 points. As Eddy said “It was j just one of those days when everything went ri right, plus a few pieces of luck and some very ve steady putting.”

Second and also from Premier was Nick C Crispin on 42 points and decided on the better back nine where Nick scored 23 b p points.

Coming third also with 42 points w Babystyle’s Kiel Shawley, scoring 22 was points on the back nine.

Nearest the pin was Ross ‘Big Boy’ Hewitt, Longest drive Nick Crispin and Babystyle’s Kim Rollinson nearest the pin in two on the 8th.

Best gross went to Skip Hop’s Jon Tilley 30 christmas in january

with a 76 - what a great effort!

So all in all an excellent day’s golf from the teams of Babystyle and Premier Decorations who virtually cleaned up in the prize stakes. Always close to the prizes I hope that Smiffys will stay for the presentation next year and therefore take home the winners prizes should they win.

Each year we say that it would be great to encourage more teams to put in four-balls so for next year there will be a new cup to be presented to the winning four-ball team .

To rival the F.A. Cup and Champions League trophies in size, this will be a trophy well worth winning and we anticipate that far more companies will set their sights on winning this fabulous trophy.

My thanks to Skip-Hop’s Jon Tilley for marking the cards and also putting up with me for the day. We have for a few years now enjoyed a barbeque rather than a formal dinner and this has been really well received, enabling those with a drive home an earlier time to set off home.

Next year’s golf day will be held on the 19th June at Puckrup Hall.

Finally, my thanks for those supporting the day, there are fewer and fewer industry days where good comradeship and business networking can be enjoyed in such relaxed surroundings, so next year promises to be another great event.

Bubba Naish

Halloween 2018 Advert A4.ai

1

22/12/2017

1:36 pm

Over 500 new products Exciting new packaging Complete retail solutions

One spooky night…

Two fabulous stories…

Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair

NEC Birmingham 4th – 8th February 2018

Harrogate International Centre 14th – 17th January 2018

IN THE WHOLE OF HALL

Spring Fair

H!

PREMIER DECORATIONS LIMITED www.premierdec.com • Tel: 020-8624 5555 e-mail: sales@premierdec.com

Hall 5 Stand K110/L111

Feature Harrogate Christmas & Gift

Whatever your buying requirements - this show has it wrapped up

F

or many years, Harrogate Christmas & Gift has boasted the position as the UK’s number one trade event for the Christmas market, as the show offers a one-stop-shop for absolutely everything festive and is at the prime time of year for retailers and buyers planning for the following Christmas.

However, don’t be mistaken in thinking that exhibitors will only be presenting Christmas products, as over the last four or five years, ranges on offer include everything from garden and homeware, year-round gifts, stationery and cards, floral products, toys and novelties and even food items.

Simon Anslow, show organiser, explains: “Harrogate Christmas & Gift has not only grown significantly in exhibitor and visitor numbers in recent years, but the diversity of products on offer has grown too. Visitors include buyers from department stores, independent retailers, tourist attractions, heritage centre shops, church and cathedral shops and also garden centres from across the UK. Obviously, these types of outlets are looking for gifts and add on ranges for the entire year and consequently, exhibitors are presenting products at the show to reflect this demand.”

This year, visitors will be spoilt for choice with seven halls of the Harrogate Convention Centre packed with exciting new products from well over 100 exhibitors. Many of these companies have been attending the show for many years and are renowned and trusted brands; but interestingly there are over 30 brand new exhibitors attending the show this year too.

Simon explains: “Visitors will be able to see all of their favourite companies such as Premier Decorations which will be filling Hall H in its entirety with Christmas products; plus its new Outdoor Living and 32 christmas in january

Halloween collections; Festive Productions and Heaven Sends in Hall C with quirky gifts and accessories and seasonal ranges, plus Puleo offering creative and innovative artificial Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands; Floralsilk in Hall B with garlands, wreaths and trees and Widdop and Co which promises 12 dazzling Christmas themes for 2018; Snowtime in Hall D with trees, lights, home décor and decorations; Konstmide and Kaemingk in Hall M – plus Gisella Graham which will be unveiling 16 new co-ordinated themes, market leading Easter ranges; unscary Halloween and hundreds of new everyday gifts.

“However, Hall Q will be a real destination this year, as it contains many of the new

companies exhibiting, giving a new dynamic to the show. This includes Italian nursery company Peg Perego with ride-on toys; Shatchi with Christmas ranges; Kiss the Moon with award-winning aromatherapy products; Little Nutmeg Creations with quality woodworking such as elf and fairy doors and advent calendars; and Transomnia with beautiful on-trend Christmas decorations and inspired gifts.

Also returning to Hall Q this year is Culinary Concepts which was a huge hit with visitors last year with a fabulous range of quality products. This is just a handful of over 30 companies in this hall, plus it houses the main catering point for the show where visitors can grab a hot meal, so well worth a visit.”

Also new for 2018 is The Big Night Out – an evening of comedy to be enjoyed by exhibitors and visitors alike. This ticketed event will take place at the Old Swan, Harrogate on the evening of Sunday 14th January and hilarious entertainment will be provided by top comedians Dave Spikey (co-star of That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights) and Patrick Monahan who won Show Me the Funny in 2011. Tickets are just £45 + VAT a head and includes a pre-dinner drink and a four-course dinner.

Full details about the show and an exhibitor list are available on the website at www.harrogatefair.com – and don’t forget to register!

DATES: 14th – 17th January 2018 VENUE: Harrogate Convention Centre, North Yorkshire TEL: 01902 882280 E-MAIL: simon@harrogatefair.com WEB: www.harrogatefair.com VISITOR REGISTRATION: http://www. touchfinder.co.uk/registration/WebRegister/ Index/74

Konstsmide ’Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten’

KONSTSMIDE (UK) Ltd Hardwick View Road, Holmewood Industrial Estate Holmewood, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S42 5SA, United Kingdom

ads_uk_2018.indd 1

Tel. +44 (0)1246-852140 Fax +44 (0)1246-854297 E-mail: sales@konstsmide.co.uk www.konstsmide.se

2017-12-14 09:24

Eight halls of Christmas A37

CGB Giftware

Hall C

Q6

Allsorted

A1

Christmas in January

C3

Anglo American Distributors Ltd.

Q51

Amica and Felt Work

Flame Homeware Ltd.

C6

Archipelago

Q55

Bailey & Brooke

Florelle Import Co.

C17

Balloon World

Q36

Berber Leather

C24

Boland BV

Q41

Bollywood Christmas

C21

Boxer Gifts

Q50

Calico Cottage

Q43

Charles Taylor

Q5

Christmas Time

Hall A

A40 A29

Hall Q

A28

The Gifted Stationery Company

A30

Giftware Trading

C20

Casdon Toys

A34

Global Journey Ltd.

C4

Fair to Trade Ltd.

A28

Hometown World Ltd.

C5

Felt So Good

A38

IEP Wholesale

Q9

C K Supplies Ltd.

C1

Festive Productions Ltd.

A16

Jeno Floral Imports

Q37

Created By The Ridleys

C37

Heaven Sends

A6

Richard Lang & Son Ltd.

Q60

Culinary Concepts

C19

Joe Davies Ltd.

A25

Lemax Europe BV

Q15

Decorative Hand Made Glass

C18

Lotus Imports Ltd.

A26

Lows

Q61

The Elf on The Shelf

C22

Puleo Asia Ltd.

A2

The Milford Collection

Q25

Giftscribes Gifts Ltd.

A9, A22

C2

Royal County Products Ltd.

NOMA

Q12

Gwynedd Confectioners

C10

Q57

Heyland & Whittle

A7

Padgett Brothers AtoZ

Schulte Kunstgewerbe Int GmbH & Co. KG

Riffelmacher & Weinberger Gmbh

Sparkle and Light Ltd. - Christmas 3D Glasses

The Hot Water Bottle Shop

A8

C3a

Q34a Q3

A4

The Satchville Gift Company

C41

The Straits Trading Company Ltd.

Jean Barrington with Second Edition

Q57a

Jupp Illustrations

A18

Sincere UK Ltd.

Q8

A36

Suki Gifts International Ltd.

The Kilted Christmas Tree Company

A35

Walton & Co Ltd.

Hall B B7

Crystal World

B5

Davies Products (Liverpool) Ltd.

Hall D

Q38

Kiss the Moon Ltd.

D1

Benross Marketing Ltd.

Q2

Little Nutmeg Creations

D7

IG Design Group UK Ltd.

Q17

Oasis Floral Products

D2

Keel Toys Ltd.

Q28

Peg Perego

D6

Lesser & Pavey Ltd.

Q45

Playwrite Group Plc

D12

Snowtime

Q59

Pollyfields

D4

Tallon International Ltd.

Q57cc

Popshots Studios

D5

Xystos - Flame & Fragrance-Bath & Body

Q46

Prop Me Up Events

Q57b

Really Wild Cards

Q53

Rosanna Rossi

Q16

S & H Supplies Ltd.

Q57c

Charles Sainsbury Plaice

Q19

Shatchi

Q39

SHOBU

Q54

Shop Display Solutions Ltd.

B2, B9

Floralsilk Ltd.

B1

Hogewoning B.V

B11, B21

Koopman International BV

B15

National Tree Company

Hall H

B16

Plaristo UK Ltd.

H1

Premier Decorations Ltd.

B4

Puckator Ltd.

H2

Premier Halloween

B6

PMS International Group Plc

H3

Premier Summer Living

B14

RSW International Ltd.

B3

Sifcon International Plc

Hall M

B22

The Great British Card Company

M12

Ascalon Design Ltd.

Q58

Smart Garden Products Ltd.

Gisela Graham Ltd.

Q52

Stands Out Ltd.

Q57d

Swiss Kiss

B10

The Original Metal Sign Co.

M14, M16

B13

WIDDOP and Co.

M2

Hamac Trading Co

Q10

Terra Rossa

M1

Kaemingk BV

Q56

The Art File

M22

Konstsmide (UK) Ltd.

Q22

Transomnia Ltd.

M26

Luxa Ltd.

Q34

Trend Mania Ltd.

M6

Sagedecor

Hall Q

Wildtouch

M24

The Libra Company

Q26

Wombat Retail

M3

The Original Winters Tale Ltd.

Q4

XD Seasonal

M28

Weiste

Queen Suite Foyer QS2

Fountasia International Ltd.

QS5

Hamac Trading Co

QS1

Vivid Arts Ltd.

Konstsmide Quality and Innovation for 75 Years

KONSTSMIDE (UK) Ltd Hardwick View Road, Holmewood Industrial Estate Holmewood, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S42 5SA, United Kingdom

ads_uk_2018.indd 2

Tel. +44 (0)1246-852140 Fax +44 (0)1246-854297 E-mail: sales@konstsmide.co.uk www.konstsmide.se

2017-12-14 09:24

Feature Harrogate

Hall Q – Stand Q04

XD Seasonal Tel: 0333 240 6120 info@xdseasonal.co.uk

While they may be new to Harrogate, the company are old hands at supplying top quality garlands, wreaths and baubles to corporate, hospitality, retail and public sector customers. Fiona, Peter and Heidi will be on hand to present their range of customisable and retail ready products, and to learn more about your business and its specific needs.

2017 has been a phenomenal year for their Christmas business, having been chosen to supply quality lights and decorations to Edinburgh’s Christmas, Burberry and Harrods to name just a few. With the launch of XD Seasonal, they aim to bring this expertise to a wider range of commercial customers of all kinds.

What can you expect from their stand?

XD Seasonal can help you create the right garland for your customers whether from our off the shelf range or bespoke to you.

Design your own luxury garlands from scratch.

View their full range of festive decorations, including wreaths and glass style baubles.

The Harrogate stand will be full of exciting products and new decorative combinations.

As a family business of over 20 years’ standing, they’ve stayed true to their values of design, quality and accountability, as Fiona Cameron, the main designer and director explains: “I’ve spent two decades designing high quality garlands and baubles that are versatile and universally appealing, so we’re pretty sure they’ll go down well with the Harrogate audience. It’s an exciting time for our business, and we look forward to presenting our products to new customers of all types.”

Hall C – Stand C22

Puleo Asia Ltd U.K. Sales – Adrian Yapp – Tel:07766 1403886 email: a.yapp@sky.com

Puleo is excited to present many new and beautiful tree styles in 2018. You will find an expanded range of full size and slim trees, traditional and natural looking, potted trees, as well as matching wreaths, garlands and swags.

Furthermore, LED trees are also on display. With more than 50 years experience in the industry, Puleo has built a very strong reputation for providing a complete package to its customers; excellent service, on-time delivery, market-beating product design and quality - and all at very competitive pricing. Puleo is not just a vendor to its customer, but a partner that you can trust.

Hall B Stand B6

PMS International 01268 505050 www.pmsinternational.com PMS International, the UK’s leading importer and wholesale distributor for Toys, Games and Novelties, will be attending the Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair and the NEC Spring Fair 2018, showcasing their exciting new additions to the best-selling Elves Behavin’ Badly range, giving trade customers plenty of time to plan their lines and place their orders before the busy pre-Christmas Countdown.

Last year, PMS International’s exclusive Elves Behavin’ Badly range proved a huge hit with customers and consumers. . With unique branding and eye-catching packaging, this cost-effective Elf line was a best-seller with our trade customers. Sales in 2017 exceeded all expectations and we had to reorder many popular lines over and over again to keep up with demand. Our 2018 range comprises all our popular and core lines including our Elfie and Elvie dolls. But there are many new innovative and bespoke accessories and products in our new range to help Elfie and Elvie go about their mischief making and to enable even more exciting scenes to be created.

We would recommend that our customers place orders early so that they are not disappointed.

36 christmas in january

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Feature Gisela Graham Ltd

“ALL THAT GLITTERS‌â€?

Piers Croke of Gisela Graham Ltd explores what makes Christmas sparkle I admit it: I love glitter and always have, right back to my Christmas-panto-going days. What really enthralled me as a small boy was all that sparkle. The Fairy Godmother’s frock, the Prince’s shoe buckles, Aladdin’s cave and so on: it was sheer magic, as wonderful as it was inexplicable. I have a feeling that my early fascination with all things glittery was WKH VXEOLPLQDO LQÀXHQFH WKDW got me into this business, where glitter is one of the essential tricks of our trade.

Our human love of glitter can be traced as far back as our Palaeolithic ancestors.

30,000 years ago they made their cave paintings shimmer in the torchlight by mixing pigments with the earliest glitter medium that’s used to this day: mica. After them, ancient Egyptian, Chinese, native American and Greek cultures employed the sparkling possibilities of this abundant wonder material.

Mica dust was sprinkled on the track before chariot races in Rome’s Circus Maximus, to generate excitement (that wasn’t shown in Ben Hur: they missed a trick!). Our word for the glittery stuff, mica, indeed comes from the Romans’ word for to sparkle, ‘micare’.

But mica is costly and needs a lot of processing PLQLQJ DQG WKHQ PLOOLQJ WR D ÂżQH SRZGHU ,Q WKH 1930’s an ingenious American called Rauschman devised a way of making “glitterâ€? at modest cost, so that it could be available for anyone and anything (for which he joins my pantheon of Christmas heroes, along with Shuji Nakamura, the man who invented LED lights and Prince Albert who popularised the Christmas tree). Rauschman’s brainwave was to chop waste polyester into tiny geometric shapes so that they would catch light and shimmer like mica. His company today has grown into one of the two giants of the glitter business. Nowadays, there’s no limit to the effects you can achieve with GLIIHUHQW JOLWWHU VSHFLÂżFDWLRQV – blending polyester glitter A touch of glitter... with mica - as we found out when our company started to manufacture glass balls at our factory in Poland.

You can get glitter in any colour you can think of. You can make it iridescent. Or VXJDU\ 2U IURVW\ 2U ¿QH RU coarse. Metallic, in gold or silver or copper. So the artistic opportunities are limitless, especially for us in the mighty Christmas business, but also for car paint manufacturers, Actually, micas are a group of apparel makers, lipstick rocks which share a silicate manufacturers and so ...makes all the difference! component. Our ancestors RQ *OLWWHU ¿QLVKHV FDQ didn’t know it (well, to be even be printed – though honest, neither did I til I started researching glitter) sadly not by Christmas in January’s printers. but the crystalline structure of micas is the secret.

Micas are built of roughly hexagonal crystals that Long live glitter: personally I can’t get enough of it!

UHĂ€HFW DQG UHIUDFW OLJKW PRUH VR ZKHQ WKH\ÂśUH FXW Until the 1930’s micas were used for theatrical scenery PS: to my delight I discovered last week that glitter (sometimes known as ‘diamond dust’) - such as putting can be simulated on our website - using a wonderful the essential sparkle into the scenery for pantomimes. new app whose name I’m not allowed to divulge.

40 christmas in january

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Feature Riffelmacher

Riffelmacher Continue to grow their UK Business

L

ast year I visited Frank Marchl – Riffelmacher’s C.E.O. at their Bavarian headquarters in Roth. I saw for myself the big strides they have made in becoming a major European player in the Christmas decoration industry with not only big increases in turnover in Germany, but quite a few overseas markets including the U.K. They manufacture all their own tinsel in a multitude of designs, thicknesses and lengths, being able to supply the U.K. far more quickly than tinsel sourced in the Far East.

It isn’t only tinsel of course as Riffelmacher glass baubles are also huge sellers, so much so that a separate warehouse had to be organized to cope with this range. Riffelmacher can either supply their own branding direct to retail or arrange to supply own-brand for the larger multiples if required.

The company have a long history, having first begun back in the early 20th century and on Frank Marchl joining the company in 2001, he set about growing the business, building Riffelmacher into the third largest Christmas decoration supplier in Germany.

Four years ago John King joined them to help spearhead Riffelmacher’s export and home business I caught up with Frank and had a number of questions to ask him concerning the company’s thoughts on the forthcoming season.

M.N. You’ve just returned from China and I’m sure added some great new products to your range. Can you tell us a little bit about some of your new items?

Whilst writing this I am surrounded by all the new items in our showroom. It’s always satisfying to see the whole range in it’s entirety and when the products from different

44 christmas in january

sources come together as one. Because of the worldwide trend of Natural products and Environmental issues we have brought together an extensive range of wooden and metal items which bring real depth and meaning to this range. Aswell as the traditional themes, in partnership with our trend agencies, we are proud to bring our customers new designs in up to date current trends. We won’t say too much here... we invite you to come and see for yourselves!

M.N. Did you find that manufacturing prices have increased since last year, or were the Chinese able to hold 2017 prices?

Unfortunately, the situation in China is getting worse. Last year the price of the cardboard cartons has exploded. That’s what started last year, was only the beginning of a big government impact into the environmental and health system.

Many people in China, mainly in the big cities, don’t know what it’s like to see a blue sky and a strong shining sun due to the smog they have every day.

So starting from last year, the environmental issue has been strongly increasing and many small factories – they say several thousand companies – have had to close, because they cannot fulfill the needs for protecting the air, water or workers, mainly due to a lack of money to re-invest.

The costs in China are rising between 5-12 %, depending on items and areas. The Good news is, that we settled already the main parts of our currency needs for 2018 and so we are able to keep most of the prices stable for our customers.

We are proud to announce that, even with a worse Chinese Renmimbi Yuan exchange rate, we can offer stable prices in GBP.

M.N. I know that Riffelmacher have steadily been increasing their export business. Do you find that which ever country you are selling to, that their taste is the same when it comes to design, colourways etc. or is it always the price that is the common denominator?

Because of technology nowadays our customers are following more and more world wide trends. For our business we always have Red, Gold, Silver and green as your mainstream themes and then we branch out into more design-led trends or colour led trends which we and our Trend partners identify over one year in advance. Of course certain colours and designs work well in certain countries and we recognise that we have to cater for this need. This is why we are successful in our Export programme. It’s not all about price it’s more about the correct fitting products.

M.N. You introduced the stunning Swarovski diamonds with a Union Jack design for a Christmas bauble for 2017. I loved it! Were fellow Brits ready for this truly innovative bauble?

Yes they were ready! There’s a world-wide trend in Personalised ‘Everything’ and Christmas is no exception! As well as the Union Jack design, one of which we made for Malcolm and his wife at Christmas In January magazine, we also specialise in Logo Baubles with corporate Logo, baubles for special occasions or for advertising, marketing or business promotions. Whatever the occasion we can print it.

M.N. When I visit Germany or for that matter any other European country, the first question is “We think the Brexit vote is mad and can’t understand why you would want to leave Europe.” Has Brexit had any effect on your dealings with the U.K.?

xxxx

The Brexit vote was quite unexpected for many.

Admittedly the first couple of months after the result brought many questions. At the end of the day we feel for us as a supplier, little will change and any changes that are made will take time to filter through. Christmas will not be cancelled, it’s in the diary and the show will go on. No matter how tight our belts become throughout the year, Christmas is a special time and the end customers always manage to find the money to buy the decorations, buy the presents and the food and drink and we are very fortunate to be working in the Christmas Industry.

M.N. With growing sales in the U.K. would you see a time in the future where you may need a distribution centre within the U.K.?

At the moment we are investing in a brand new warehouse extension at our base here in Germany. Here we can consolidate our orders from our two manufacturing bases for the baubles and the tinsel products as well as for our Import programme. With all order picking and consolidation done ‘In House’ we keep the costs down and have better control of the movement of stock and orders.

M.N. Tinsel is a very traditional Christmas product and I have a feeling that it isn’t only the older consumer who buys tinsel. Do you therefore believe that tinsel sales will continue to grow as more and more young people have places of their own?

Yes I agree with this. As with everything Fashions come, they go and then come back again. Tinsel is having a resurgence and inquiries are certainly on the upward trend. It’s almost a ‘Must Have’ item on most buyers shopping list. What has changed is the sophistication of the product. Buyers are asking for Pantone matching to coordinate their themes, special designs or special lengths. This must be influenced by younger end buyers who are looking for something a little more trendy to decorate their homes with. At Riffelmacher we manufacture all our own Tinsel we are flexible to our customers needs and requests, we can work closely with buyers to bring

together colours or designs to compliment other parts of their ranges. And because it’s made in Germany and not sat in a shipping container for months on end from China, the tinsel arrives in beautiful condition as if it had just rolled off the machine.

M.N. Do you use any trend companies to assist you in deciding on colourways or natural products to be included in your ranges? With the green lobby increasingly telling us all not to buy plastic-based products, I assume natural materials will only increase in usage over the next few years?

Yes we use two companies who we use in connection with our ‘In House’ team. You are right in what you say, our customers and end customers are looking more and more at ‘Environmental’ issues and we take this on board. Our ranges of wooden,traditionally made decorations stole the show last year and we will be majoring on these natural items again this time. Wooden decorations have been a tradition of European Christmas culture for generations and this trend is increasing very quickly in our Export markets around the world.

M.N. How have you found the shipping providers this year? I understand that the container usage can sometimes be difficult when the shipping companies withdraw ships from service?

Answer Frank And finally M.N. Do you see an increasing future where manufacturing will return to Europe? Of course, you already produce all of your own tinsel and glass baubles, so could we see plastic moulding returning? After all, Donald Trump is definitely attempting to boost

‘Made in America’ to the world, hoping to reduce the reliance on China to provide the manufacturing.

We are very happy to serve our customers as the last Tinsel manufacturer in Germany. Our quality is well know and even consumers can see the differences between our product quality comparing to foreign ones.

That’s the reason, why our sales are increasing every year. Every 4 years we produce enough tinsel to go once around the world !

Four years ago, we recognised the coming situation in China, and bought a glass bauble factory in Germany. This company has already a long standing tradition of 72 years. Here we manufacture beside the traditional mouthblown ornaments, machine made baubles, ornaments and exclusive glass decorations. We are the last German company producing machine made baubles for very competitive prices.

Best new item in 2017 was the Logobaubles, which can be branded for customers and this was indeed new with different slogans, smilies and messages which could be sold as a gift item. This was a great success and will also include hearts in 2018 and, of course, many new designs.

The plastic moulding at this moment is still difficult, because you need a lot of capital to finance that. In the near future it will surely become workable when this system becomes digitalised. At this point we can then compensate the workers costs against lean production systems. That’s the way for the European companies to be much stronger against Asian suppliers.

Beside that, China’s 5 year’s plan shows clearly, that they don’t want to be the country for cheap wages and a high tech country.

Message from China: Government is clear ! christmas in january 45

Morris May/Weiste Hall M – Stand M28 07774 493 594 info@morrismay.com

Weiste has long been known for its premium brand of high quality shatterproof ornaments and tinsel.

After some 30 years of trading in the UK it is not surprising, that they have established a first class rapport with many major retailers and display companies.

Internationally the Company exports to over 30 countries worldwide.

The 2018 Collection has the hallmarks of excellent quality and design, founded by the family in 1924 when the very first tinsel was produced, along with other fashionable decorations for the home.

Since then Weiste have expanded purposefully into the home with the Villa Weiste range offering glass decorations and textiles on a vast scale, so today’s collection echoes that original sentiment of tradition with a strong emphasis on colour and fashion.

See the delicious ‘marshmallow’ colours in our baubles and tinsel….

Weiste have the very best of Christmas trading sorted - whether you are a massive retailer, a small independent trader or requiring bespoke products for the display business!

Weiste is inspired directly by the Finnish environment.

Lapland - clear blue skies, crystal stars, snowflakes, ice, and white covered trees and of course, by the Slavic style of it’s Russian and Baltic neighbours - rich red and golden ornaments reminiscent of The Tsars.

Christopher believes that there is no Christmas Decoration manufacturer with this interaction of nature and the beauty of this bygone age.

Christopher May’s final words on the subject - Weiste is simply the best - a true legend Book an appointment with Christopher or Sam May info@morrismay. com or phone the mobile 07774 493 594

XDSeasonal

Hall H

Premier Halloween 0208 624 5555 www.premierdec.com

Halloween is now a huge celebration in the UK, and the Premier Halloween Collection at Spring Fair will ensure that retailers are ahead of the game in 2018, with products to appeal to consumers across the board.

Featuring a fresh, updated brand image with eye-catching retail packaging to provide impactful merchandising solutions, the Premier Halloween Collection includes fun, family-friendly products, as well as those to add a little shock and horror.

With more than 500 quality new products, the 2018 catalogue introduces eight themed collections, taking the hard work out of putting together an eye-catching in-store display. Retailers can replicate an entire theme or pick and choose to create a collection that they know will appeal to their own audience. Alternatively, for those new to the Halloween market, or for those simply looking for inspiration, Premier has a suggested starter range to cover a variety of ages and tastes.

Not to be missed for next year is Premier’s fabulous new range of decorative lighting. Already, an expert in this area for Christmas and Outdoor Living, Premier’s Halloween lighting offers a huge range of battery-operated and low-voltage lights in colours and styles to appeal to all. Also, Premier’s Halloween make-up range is already a bestseller, but is now stepping up to the next level with new packaging including photographs of finished looks to inspire consumers. The range has everything the retailer could possibly wish to offer from fake blood and fangs to full make-up kits.

See the Premier team at Harrogate – or visit the showrooms in Wrexham, North Wales, or Ruislip in Middlesex.

christmas in january 47

Feature Festive

Product, Service and Quality Festive Production’s Mission Statement for 2018

F

estive Productions has had another incredibly busy year and no sooner is 2017 over than 2018 begins, with their showroom in South Wales open on the 4th December for an early preview of their new collection.

At the time of writing they have had 30 customers visit them to see what the latest trends in decorations and lighting are likely to be, these early visits are useful to both customers with Christmas sales still fresh in their minds and also to Festive to perfect their new offering before heading to Harrogate for the all-important Christmas and Gift show.

There is a renewed sense of purpose at Festive with the creation of their new mission statement with all departments having input into what they believe Festive should be about, which is – PRODUCT, PRICE, SERVICE &

48 christmas in january

QUALITY. Each product area has its own goal: Tinsel – to be the worlds leading tinsel supplier Trees – to be the market leader in artificial Christmas trees Lighting – to be the ‘go to’ supplier for innovation and quality Decorations – to be a traditional Christmas supplier with a contemporary design twist ‘We had our core goals at the forefront of our minds when we created our 2018 collection’ says Marketing Director Jonathan Hughes ‘for this range we have returned to our traditional roots with strong core colours featuring throughout’.

Festive has developed its Christmas ‘Moments’ collection of decorations based on trend data from a variety of sources including WGSN and Christmas World as well as using

the resources of the worldwide Hedlund Group of which it is a part.

The lead Christmas Moment is Chalet Noel, a contemporary combination of Skandi and woodland influences. This collection features many of the large display items for which Festive has become famous, this year features not one but 2 cable cars as well as a snowmobile all of which can be used for in store photo opportunities.

There are a few other surprise items which will feature at Harrogate including an add on cab section to the train which was a HUGE hit in 2017, so for all those customers who bought this they can move it on with a train cab which customers can also get in for photographs!

Festive is the home of the Swedish Santa or ‘Gonk’ as they are affectionately known, they were the first in the UK to have these lovable characters and the range has grown ever since they were first introduced in 2012 with customers wholeheartedly embracing them to create their own ‘Gonk’ worlds. For 2018 Festive has added new characters in a number of different styles including a new Bling ‘Gonk’ which has to be seen to be believed……don’t miss them whatever you do!

As part of their commitment to innovate

in Christmas lighting, Festive were the first to market in 2017 with the best-selling Snowfall Projector. This smash hit item is the first cost effective product to project LED snowfall onto the front of your home something which customers have been requesting for some time.

Not only has the pricing improved for 2018, there are also additional products in this range to strengthen what is already the market leading range of LED and laser projectors.

For those customers who find the display of projectors challenging, Festive has come up with a bespoke solution ideal displaying and selling projectors something which has to be seen at Harrogate!

Festive’s 2018 projector collection includes best selling favourites as well as new innovation items which when paired with their new display solutions produce a winning combination.

With retail solutions in mind, their core lighting offering has been strengthened this year as this has been a key area of growth for the South Wales supplier. In addition to their market leading packaging there is a new point of sale package to support the core lighting offering which, like projectors, provides an easy to present option for the retailer. Festive will be showing all their new products and retail

solutions at their showrooms as well as the Harrogate fair.

Tinsel is at the heart of what Festive do, with over 30 years manufacturing in the UK, tinsel has seen a major resurgence in the last few years. Festive produces 12 million metres of the 16 million metres currently produced in the UK and with this core product growing so quickly it requires a brand new bespoke showroom at their head office in Wales.

John Lewis is a major partner and big supporter of Festive’s UK made tinsel collection and both companies have featured in numerous media activities in 2017 including BBC’s ‘Inside the Factory’ to ‘Newsround’ as well as radio and online content, there really is now doubt about tinsel ensuring popularity.

The team at Festive are proud to present their 2018 collection either at their UK showrooms in South Wales and Enfield (North London) or at Harrogate Christmas and Gift as well as the Spring Fair in February.

Pay them a visit on stand C1 at Harrogate from the 14th to 17th January.

christmas in january 49

Feature Kaemingk

Giftware Trading celebrate their 10th year at Harrogate

M

anaging Director, Ben Jeffery, comments, “We are thrilled to be exhibiting for our 10th time at the Harrogate Christmas & Gift fair, I’m not sure where the time has gone. Harrogate continues to go from strength to strength and 2017 marked the busiest Harrogate fair to date. It’s great to start the year with a show and receive some early feedback on the new collection”.

2017 has been another busy year for Giftware Trading after moving to new premises they purchased in 2015. “Even though we have been in our new premises for two years there is still much we wish to do. We invested in a new showroom which was always a priority and wish to build additional offices in the future. It was great to welcome so many clients, old and new, to the showroom and they found it really beneficial to see the complete collection in a relaxed environment”.

Giftware Trading always introduces many new items into the Christmas collection whilst retaining the popular items from previous years. Ben comments “We always try to come up with new and diverse products and I think we have achieved this again for 2018. It is a challenge but it’s what we have to do so we are in a position to offer our clients really interesting products at sensible price

50 christmas in january

points. There are some really fun and quirky new products which we are hoping will be popular plus we have expanded on one particular range which was very successful last year”.

Harrogate continues to go from strength to strength and 2017 marked the busiest Harrogate fair to date Ben Jeffery

Giftware Trading will also be showing a small selection of their current Easter collection. Ben says “Easter has been really popular, particularly the smaller pick up products such as little bunnies on parachutes and bunny pot hangers. The Easter collection is quite new for us and we appreciate it is never going to compare with Christmas but the clients who bought the Easter items were really happy and reported strong sales. We thankfully have a bigger stand this year at Harrogate and thought it would be wise to show a small selection so buyers can see what we have to offer”.

Giftware Trading can be found at the Harrogate Christmas and Gift fair, Hall A stand 30 and The Spring Fair Hall 5 stand 02.

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Feature Floralsilk

A little bit of Christmas Nostalgia from Floralsilk

T

he nostalgia of Christmas is what makes it magical to many of us.

We recall our own Christmas family traditions and in turn love to recreate similar memories with our children and grandchildren.

Our Christmas decorations are steeped in history of their own. Did you know that…

• As long ago as the 1580s, entrepreneur Hans Greiner designed ornamental strings of glass beads in the glassblowing town of Lauscha in Germany.

• The tradition of lighting up the Christmas tree dates back to the 17th century when small candles were attached to the branches with melted wax.

• The first decorated trees were adorned with candy canes, apples and pastries wrapped in paper.

• In 1848, once the news had travelled of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s stunning tree, demand grew for ‘kugels’ (German ‘balls’) and thus the ‘modern bauble’ was born.

Baubles can reflect the cultural zeitgeist.

As was seen in 1958 when the first Soviet satellite launched into space and a vogue for space rocket and astronaut-shaped decorations followed. More recently in 2013, baubles launched in the shape of Daft Punk’s infamous helmets sold out following the release of their hit Get Lucky. Floralsilk thought it would be

fun to honour some of our more recent history with their new retro collection of Christmas ornaments, which celebrate the technology of (some of our) youth. Much of which has now been replaced by the single mobile phone! The collection includes a ghetto blaster, a record player, a polaroid camera, an old fashioned TV and a viewmaster It may even remind some of us of our Christmas presents of the past.

The noughties saw a return to simpler, less flashy festive attire for the British tree, instigated by our Nordic neighbours. This trend still appeals to all those who prefer their Christmas to be inspired by nature rather than glitter.

Floralsilk capture this trend with their wintry foliage and berries as well as their pared down birch tree and snowy twig tree collection, with subtle twinkle lights to add that festive touch.

Recent years have however seen a resurgence in gem studded round and oval baubles, possibly driven by Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberge’s flamboyant eggs. ‘Think of it as costume jewellery for your tree,’ says Liam O’Flaherty, Floralsilk’s Managing Director. ‘And our new collection for 2018 is a real treasure trove.’

Hall B Stand B1/B5 Tel: 01778 425205 email: sales@floralsilk.co.uk www.floralsilk.co.uk 52 christmas in january

Feature Premier

Challenges A and Triumphs

s I arrived at Premier Decorations’ head office in Ruislip to meet up with managing director John Athwal, it was immediately apparent that major refurbishments are taking place at the premises of this leading supplier of Christmas products.

I was welcomed into the building whilst John explained the reason for the scaffolding and skips, saying: “Premier has been in this building for 18 years and apart from showroom updates a few years ago, the offices haven’t changed at all. In 2018, we will have been trading for 30 years and in celebration we decided to give our head office a complete overhaul with a modern open plan design, stylish meeting rooms and state of the art AV for easier communication with our offices in China and Hong Kong.”

John continued: “A bright new working environment will give the Premier team a much-needed boost to morale after what has been an extremely difficult year for us all. First with the sad passing of Sean Looney who had been our Halloween supremo for 18 years; and then then the ill-health of our newly appointed Halloween manager who has only recently returned to work on a part-time basis. Despite this, he has managed to do a superb job with the range and is well poised to give our Halloween customers a pleasant surprise.”

John also explained further challenges experienced by Premier, which also affected other companies in the industry: “The Chinese Government has been carrying out long overdue environmental, pollution and health safety checks on all manufacturing plants. Naturally, all of Premier’s major factories passed with flying colours, but smaller component suppliers didn’t fare so well. This resulted in them having to close for days on end and were threatened with imprisonment if they reopened without further checks, resulting in a serious lack of supplies. This gave some of the major factories a tough time and additionally printers were unable to deliver coloured boxes, because of pollution checks, so the price for print rose heavily as a result. The situation caused a minor delay in some shipments which unfortunately affected our customers. In addition, some sales orders were late. However, it has been a learning curve

54 christmas in january

and steps have been put into place to circumvent should this happen again.”

On a positive note, John went on to describe successes for the company in 2017. “Earlier this year, we completely re-branded our outdoor living and summer collections and customer response has been fantastic. Now we are concentrating on our Christmas collections and the industry can look forward to some significant improvements including a new streamlined catalogue with much clearer pictures of a very diversified range.”

As one of the market leaders for Christmas lights, Premier has invested heavily in the last year to ensure that its products remain top of the league.

John explained: “We realised that very few consumers go into a store and ask for a set of lights containing a specific number of bulbs. What they

really need to know is the length of the set and the area that it will cover.

Consequently, we have completely re-branded all our lights, even changing the packaging on existing stock, so that it states the length of the lights on the box and this has been welcomed by our customers.

“In addition, our ever successful Timerbrights™, outdoor battery lights with a timer function, will now be joined by Microbrights™ – copper wire lights with timers in both outdoor battery and low voltage transformer. Premier has had this range for many years, but has negotiated a lower production cost and rebranded to lower the retail price. With 5cm bulb spacing, this multi-action discreet lighting will last 30 days on one set of batteries.

“Our best selling regular battery lights will now be joined by the battery-operated copper wire range in blister packs and can be static or flashing utilising a three-way switch.

Many of our lights are available in a point of sale stand or by the carton.”

John also referred to the saying ‘buy cheap, buy twice,’ describing how they invested heavily in its hugely popular glitter lamps introducing new shapes and designs, but concentrating on quality. “Last year we had customers, who had purchased cheaper products from other suppliers, discovering the inferior quality on delivery and rushing to Premier to try and place last minute orders. Unfortunately, we had sold out. Next year we not only have some exciting innovations with this range that no customers should miss out on, but some great price offers too.”

Asked if there was anything particularly special for Premier to shout about next year, John didn’t hesitate: “Definitely lasers which have been selling in vast numbers.

There has been a breakthrough that we have all been waiting for; and we will introduce the snowfall projector which projects snowflakes onto any surface, so it appears that it is really snowing. Whilst we had a similar product in 2017, this new launch has investment and includes an innovation which puts it into a price band in reach of most. Premier will also be concentrating on volume purchases of this range which will further reduce the retail price.”

Finally, John extended the big news that Premier has been appointed as the exclusive distributor for ScentSicles™. These best-selling aromatic Christmas tree ornaments, which make artificial trees smell as good as the real thing, have been rebranded and expanded. Look out for a bigger range than before.

Once again, Premier decorations will be exhibiting at Harrogate Christmas & Gift with its entire range of products in full glory in Hall H of the Harrogate Convention Centre.

John concludes: “The Premier team is excited to present the results of its hard work over the last year to customers old and new. As always, visitors will be warmly welcomed with Premier’s legendary hospitality and we look forward to seeing everyone at the show.” christmas in january 55

Feature Keel Toys

Keel Toys back at Harrogate

K

eel Toys is delighted to announce that we will be exhibiting for the first time at the Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair.

Harrogate will be the launch of the complete Keel Toys Winter Range for 2018.

Central to the range are three themed Christmas collections; Pugsley, Pipp the Bear and Animotsu – our top selling sparkle eyed toys. Pugsley features the adorable Pug in onesies in both laying and sitting poses and will include, for the first time, sound chips with Christmas themed songs. What could be cuter?

Pipp the Bear is available in sitting and standing poses including musical items and featuring Pipp as Santa, Elf and Reindeer. To complete the range, Pipp also features plush in a mug and festive stockings.

Animotsu is Keel Toys number 1 selling soft toy range. For Winter 2018 these sparkle eyed friends will be available as tree decorations 56 christmas in january

and toys in 10cm, 14cm and 20cm sizes featuring all your favourite Christmas Characters in a variety of colourful fabrics.

New Christmas assortments include the stripy legged collection of Elf, Santa, Snowman and Reindeer with beans in their bottoms, ideal for sitting on the shelf or mantelpiece. For Winter themed promotions Keel Toys offers from stock a fabulous selection, including Penguin, Reindeer and Snowman in super soft fabrics with great value and a huggable quality.

Keel Toys Bespoke Service offers you the opportunity to create your own unique toys for Christmas 2018. We will guide and manage your project from design to delivery. Steve and Jonathan will be delighted to discuss your specific requirements at the fair, or email us on sales@keeltoys.com to get your ideas started on their way to becoming a soft toy.

The stand will also show case Keel Toys Retail Solutions – a fantastic and simple way to display key soft toy collections, including both FSDU and MDF permanent display units. These units have proven to boost sales where they have been strategically placed for maximum impact. Ranges include; the Keel Toys #1 sellers Animotsu and Mini Motsu, together with our Pippins; our classic cute pocket money animals with six new additions launching in January 2018. These two winning

ranges have been added to with Hugg’ems, a collection of 8 animal characters that Love to Hug. Hugg’ems can hang off your arm, neck or even from a shelf or chair.

Keel Toys, Christmas soft toys wrapped up at the Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair.

Harrogate Christmas and Gift Fair 2018 Stand D2 Keel Toys 01233 506363 sales@keeltoys.com

Feature Konstsmide

Quality is remember remembere long after t is forgotte forgotten I

can almost guarantee whenever I visit Konstsmide’s offices in Holmewood, near Chesterfield that the M1 motorway will have some type of closure or holdup to make what should be a two/three hour journey considerably longer and so it was in November. Two lorries had decided to collide between junction 15 and 16 causing the closure of the north bound carriageway for most of the morning, but never mind on arrival I was made most welcome by Richard Jerrom with an excellent cup of coffee.

Konstsmide are one of very few major suppliers of Christmas lighting to have never strayed into other product categories, preferring to be known and recognized as a quality brand dedicated to lighting.

If one thing irks Richard a little it is the me-toos who occasionally copy Konstsmide products but use inferior quality components and quite often make the space between lighting, for example, far shorter than Konstsmide’s offering. Plus a far shorter plug in lead.

The result is that whilst the me-too is far cheaper, that may result in one of their customers stocking the item, customer dissatisfaction is soon voiced on that customer’s website.

Konstsmide continue to thrive in the U.K. marketplace by constantly offering topquality product with original

58 christmas in january

designs that give them a point of difference over their rivals.

Richard fears that everything they source in China is going up. Their government is far more stringent now when it comes to inspecting standards in Chinese factories and has been closing many of these down. Whilst this is encouraging from the quality angle, this has meant far fewer factories to choose from, although the Konstsmide group has a very good relationship with their suppliers and have, in the most, been co-operating with them for many years. Many other UK suppliers have the habit of changing Chinese suppliers every year in the pursuit of a cheaper price. “Not good for the end consumer” Richard mentions.

Another increase is in paper and cardboard prices in China.

As well with more and more online business, the likes of Amazon and other online giants who post their orders to consumers, has meant a big increase in companies needing packaging materials.

Richard vows that with Konstsmide’s DNA firmly entrenched in quality, they will never compromise this for the sake of an improved margin.

Konstsmide Sweden has always set great store by the investment in product testing. Not content to achieve simply the C.E. mark, but also all known lighting bench marks for safety, as clearly shown on all their packaging.

He is also convinced that

iss ered red r the price en certain of the retailing giants believe “How can we best rip off our customers this Christmas?” not caring about retaining customers, only making the biggest margin they can out of them at the expense of quality.

Richard has also noticed a big leap in the number of garden centres preferring to offer their customers ‘Own Brand’ rather than stocking branded products.

This he believes is done to make it more difficult for the consumer to price compare with other retail outlets.

The problem being is that it’s just a competitor’s item in another box. The public are not fools. Konstsmide will not do own brand as they believe their European brand can hold its own in the market.

“What’s New” This is always the first question posed by the buyers when coming on to a stand at the show. With three international product meetings a year, the company ensures that this first question asked will always be answered

with a great selection of new and original designs to whet the appetite.

It is interesting to note that whilst Konstsmide’s other European territories, such as Germany, may first turn down a product that Richard believes will sell really well in the U.K. quite often a couple of years later Germany will then include this item in their range. The UK market appears to be a few years ahead of mainland Europe in Christmas Lighting. A very good recent example is the three small lit birds that the Great British Public took to their hearts.

Despite the dollar exchange rate Konstsmide have kept price increases to a bare minimum and managed to deliver almost 100% of their orders on time.

Let’s face it, 75 years on from the company’s inception Konstsmide have carved a niche into the quality lighting business that is the envy of many.

The company will be in their usual position at Harrogate in Hall ‘M’ Stand M22.

christmas in january 59

Feature Xystos

Bath and body products are big news for

candle giant Xystos

X

ystos will be opening its one-stop shop for candle and personal care products at Harrogate and Spring Fair, having enhanced its portfolio through recent partnerships with two leading bath and body companies.

The various ranges from WoodWick continue to lead the flame and fragrance charge, while the company’s Cello melt burners have added another dimension to the success story that sees the company go from strength to strength.

Xystos director Tom Sykes describes the vessels that make up the new WoodWick Artisan Collection as “decorative art works in themselves” as well as being the holders of candles with stunning new fragrances.

“They have been extremely well received,” says Tom, “as have the other new editions of the candle with the crackling wick.”

But it is Xystos personal care products that have been making the big news of late.

Two-and-a-half years ago the company made “a conscious move to become the number one bath and body distributor” in the UK. Having subsequently added the distribution of the Woods of Windsor, Baylis & Harding and Di Palomo brands to that of The Naked Bee, it would be difficult to deny that the company has achieved its ambition.

Director Tom Sykes explains that, while continuing to be a leading player in the candle market – “we haven’t taken our foot off the gas there” – much of Xystos’s growth is now with garden centres, and “bath and body is the cornerstone of that business as far as gifting is concerned”.

Comments Tom: “Baylis & Harding has proved to be a phenomenal addition to our portfolio.

60 christmas in january

Never before have we taken on the distribution of products that are supported by so much marketing – and the brand awareness is second to none in the category.

“They have given garden centres and independent gift shops affordable luxury gifts, including fantastic products for men between £8 and £20, which is just what the market wants.”

Looking ahead to next spring and summer, Tom says that Baylis & Harding will target men with beer-related and beard grooming products, while its more feminine offer “will have lots of fizz”, reflecting the continuing popularity of prosecco and the renaissance of gin, and featuring plenty of pink and rose. He believes that its Signature ranges will continue to set trends.

The latest Xystos partnership is with another bath and body supplier, Di Palomo, which Tom describes as “a very commercial brand” with good distribution backed by strong marketing and product development.

The company continues to win admirers with a range of appealingly presented products such as Black Cherry, Wild Fig & Grape, Orange Blossom with Wild Honey & Olive, and White Grape with Aloe.

Tom adds: “We have created a one-stop shop so that buyers are able to source high quality fragranced bath and body products, all of which are beautifully packaged, which is so important when it comes to gifting. Equally important is that we have something to suit every pocket.”

Harrogate: Hall D-D05 Spring Fair: Stand 4H50-J51 Xystos: Tel: 0191 499 1570 Email: sales@xystos.co.uk www.xystostrade.co.uk

Feature Joe Davies

Building on

Festive Show success

R

enowned gifts supplier and distributor Joe Davies have received numerous awards for their dazzling customer service – but the company has also built its reputation on another winning combination.

The team at Joe Davies know how to perfectly combine releasing an amazing number of new products each year with the latest trends, meaning they are always innovative with something new and different to offer their customers – be they the many independent and small retailers they specialise in or well-known multiple stores.

And visitors to the Harrogate Christmas & Gift show can expect no less from the company’s show stand, C19, where they are looking forward to building on last year’s brilliant debut.

As Sales Manager David Cree says, this is a trade event perfectly time to meet the needs of the seasonal buyer, also giving exhibitors the perfect opportunity to showcase their collections before the Spring Fair rush.

“Last year’s Christmas & Gift show was great for us,” he says. “We opened lots of new accounts, and converted many others to good all-year-round ones as well.

“What we’ve noticed about the show is that it attracts forward-thinking customers who come in the right frame of mind to buy. Visitors come armed with the facts and figures they need to make immediate decisions, and can plan their themes for the key festive period in a relaxed, yet focused environment.”

Joe Davies will be showcasing more than 750 new items from their Christmas selection, at their carefully designed show stand. Exciting new gifts, stunning jewellery collections and excellent décor accessories will all be highlighted as part of a broad range of unique pieces.

“Our stand is quite concise and set up like a Santa’s Grotto,” David reveals. “We always make sure we help the retailer in terms of visual merchandising.”

LED was a huge retail trend in 2017 and this looks set to continue well into this year. Joe Davies has a huge range of products to meet the expected demand, including some welcome new additions. Mason Jars and Mercury Bottles are currently performing well for the company, and they are particularly excited about their ‘Festive Craft’ collection, that combines Scandi style with more traditional elements. The collection includes wooden LED Christmas light ups which are expected to be a great seller.

Joe Davies’ Equilibrium Collection continues to be the UK’s hottest jewellery brand, and last year was one of the company’s best-selling Christmas ranges. The series has been expanded to meet the 62 christmas in january

same demand this year, including competitively priced brooches, necklaces, earrings and scarves.

All items are beautifully boxed making them perfect for either a Christmas gift, or an impulse self-purchase.

Joe Davies is closely associated with hot new American brand snoozies, and this year is no exception. The company has seen tremendous sales of the Christmas ‘Jingle Bell’ collection and comic Christmas Cameo snoozies – that both make great stocking fillers. The new collection will be displayed alongside some old favourites at the show.

Festive fairies are another growing theme and Joe Davis has a number of items tapping into this. They have extended their best-selling non-festive Fairy Glade Collection into Christmas with a number of exquisite pieces, and have also introduced a pocket money collection of Christmas fairy wish jars, jewellery and Santa letter kits. Elves also remain a strong theme with Christmas Eve becoming increasingly important, and Joe Davies has a number of great ideas to help you make the most of this.

Joe Davies’ customers have reported fantastic sales of the company’s range of glass Christmas trees for the sixth year in succession. They are available in four sizes and a variety of styles and designs, and there are even LED versions. The company will also be showcasing a huge number of new décor pieces, including Scandi-style items, message plaques and even pet sentiment items.

Finally as the largest distributor of the Leonardo Collection from Lesser and Pavey, Joe Davies will be showing the best of their new Christmas lines as well as established favourites at Christmas & Gift.

As always, everything will be available to buy in small quantities for affordable ordering, and carriage paid orders are just £100 with delivery dates to suit customers’ requirements.

“We want to ensure ordering is as simple and easy as possible for our customers,” David explains. “All our items are available in sensible ‘little and often’ quantities to make repeat ordering of best-sellers trouble free.

“We look forward to meeting customers old and new at Harrogate Christmas & Gift so be sure to visit the stand.”

Of course you’d expect nothing less than a fabulous show offering from the company who has won the Greats Award for Customer Service 15 times in a row – so make sure you check it out!

Harrogate – Hall C, Stand 19 Email: info@joedavies.co.uk Tel: 0161 975 6300 Web: www.joedavies.co.uk

We welcome visitors to our Showroom in Holland and we will also be exhibiting at Harrogate, Hall A, Stand A25 and Christmasworld, Frankfurt Hall 9, Stand A55

Contact lemaxeurope1@btinternet.com Tel: 01732 454477

Cello have a fantastic range of home fragrance DFFHVVRULHV LQ D YDULHW\ RI VWXQQLQJ ÀQLVKHV :LWK such stylish and elegant collections in Mosaic, Porcelain and Metal, there’s something to suit every GpFRU

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Harrogate ŚƌŝƐƚŵĂƐ Θ 'ŝŌ 14 - 17 Jan 2018

Stand D5 Scotland Spring Fair 21 - 23 Jan 2018 SECC, Glasgow

4 - 8 Feb 2018 NEC Birmingham

Stand G31

Stand 4H50 - J51

Xystos 'MBNF 'SBHSBODF t #BUI #PEZ

The UK’s No.1 Home Fragrance Supplier to the Gift Industry

For more info, contact our Customer Service Team Email: sales@xystos.co.uk or Tel: +44(0)191 499 1570 www.xystostrade.co.uk

Feature Noma

Specialists not generalists H

inxworth is a mere dot on the map between Baldock and Hitchin in Hertfordshire and is home to Noma part of the Leisuregrow Group. As a major supplier of Christmas lighting and other Christmas products it was up the A1M for an early morning meeting with Beau-Jane Curtis – Marketing Manager to be shown the 2018 Collection.

As the heading suggests all of Noma’s products have lighting of some description and as they approach their 80th year in 2019, they consider themselves quite rightly as lighting specialists.

In fact, the only product without lighting are an unlit selection of Christmas trees that are also very popular with their regular customers and compliment their lit trees..

NOMA Christmas has its sights set on Christmas 2018 with exciting products, new trends, and new merchandising solutions on offer. And it’s never been easier to view the NOMA Christmas range – customers can visit the stand at Harrogate or take a trip to NOMA’s head office in Hertfordshire, or for those in the North of the country, drop-in to its Scottish showroom.

Frank Kaminski, marketing director for NOMA said; “Our Christmas 2018 range is our most confident yet. Because our focus is just on lights, we can really concentrate on making sure our lighting is the most innovative and eye-catching. We’re at the forefront of the latest lighting technology and trends, and our priority is delivering great products, great service, and great prices.

We’ve got everything our customers need to make 2018 their best Christmas season ever”.

NEW Bare Wire Lights Bare wire lighting has become really popular with consumers, with the trend moving into the mainstream. The look is delicate with small LED lights set into a wire, with the wire on show as part of the appeal. For NOMA’s bare wire range has been extended with silver-coloured wire complete with iridescent pearly-look lights with a subtle warm glow for a different take on the look.

And the star of the bare wire range is a gorgeous Cascading 64 christmas in january

Copper Wire Tree set complete with bare wire star for the top of the tree.

Christmas 2018 top Trend: The Bulb at Christmas NOMA’s Garden Art range has seen great success with its Edison-style bare bulb range of outdoor lighting, and for Christmas 2018 NOMA is predicting the vintage look Bulb will be a big seller. The Bulb looks stunning on a Christmas tree, or hanging from a mantelpiece for an unusual, industrial Christmas look. For both indoor and outdoor use these 30’s looking LED filament bulbs have five different designs with sets incorporating all five or as individual designs.

NOMA’s Easytimer NOMA’s patented Easytimer couldn’t be easier to use: simply choose a light setting, hold down the Easytimer button at the time you want the lights to turn on, and the lights will come on at that time every day.

Their Northern Lights collection continues to grow in popularity and a number of new items have been added for 2018 including a Snowman and Polar Bear. I particularly liked their new trophy heads including a splendid Unicorn – whatever next!

A full range of wire products that include a new collection of Polar Bears, Penguins and Unicorns. Also in the wire range was a splendid T-Rex . Acrylics continue to thrive with new additions that include Penguins and Polar Bears.

As lighting experts their wicker collection in white includes several new additiions for 2018 including Stags and Snowmen in several sizes.

Trees The NOMA Christmas 2018 range of artificial trees is packed full of carefully designed trees, with quality and value for money at its core. The range includes various sizes, potted or on stands, plain or pre-lit, with the pre-lit trees featuring NOMA’s innovative 1, 2, Tree technology.

This year NOMA is launching its ‘real tree’ – the 7.5 foot NOMA Nordman Fir comes in a full net just like a real fir tree. With realistic

foliage, memory wire that springs the branches into position and a real tree smell courtesy of an authentic Pine scent that sits in the base of the tree. These trees are so realistic you would almost think they were fresh out of the ground!

NEW Merchandising Solutions As well as innovative new products, the NOMA Christmas team has spent a lot of time considering POS and merchandising for its Christmas 2018 range. On offer is a variety of easy to install, stylish in-store merchandising solutions that have been designed to show off the NOMA products to customers and encourage impulse buys, including our NEW NOMA Try-Me light bars.

NOMA Christmas 2018 Showrooms The NOMA Christmas 2018 showroom for trade customers is now open. If you haven’t been to visit the impressive showroom at LeisureGrow’s Hertfordshire base then it’s well worth a visit, with plenty of Christmas styling inspiration, and the chance to view the full NOMA Christmas range in a purpose-built Alpine Lodge.

And for those North of the border, LeisureGrow

also has a Scottish showroom with more than 200m2 space just outside Glasgow, giving retailers in Scotland and the North of England the chance to see the new NOMA Christmas 2018 range without having to travel too far.

Noma are showing at Harrogate Christmas & Gift in Hall A –Stands A09 and A22.

To visit one of NOMA’s showrooms please call the NOMA sales team on 01462 744 500 or sales@leisuregrow.co.uk.

I left Hinxworth most impressed with Noma’s progress from their purchase of Noma four years ago to the size of their offering for 2018.

Feature Kaemingk

Kaemingk creating wonderful moments

C

hristmas is the time of year to create beautiful, lasting memories. Each celebrates the holidays in their own way. For some this might be finding that perfect Christmas tree, celebrating a night out or lovingly preparing a home cooked dinner, others just enjoy spending time together with the people who mean the most.

Kaemingk’s inspiring, 5,500 m2 showroom offers everything needed to assemble an elaborate and varied Christmas collection. Create tasteful settings with our range of realistic-looking artificial Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands, glass and shatterproof baubles in exquisite colours and in all shapes and sizes. Combine these with ccolourful candles, pretty sparkling novelty li lights and floristry items. For your new C Christmas collection, there are over 13,000 h home decoration and gift items to choose ffrom, all wonderfully presented within several, ccreative themes. We offer you a glimpse o of what Christmas wonders await you by rrevealing three of the themes:

W We’ve found the perfect tree – let’s celebrate!

Those wondrous weeks before Christmas, a T 66 christmas hi t iin jjanuary

time of anticipation! A time to get together with friends and seek out a Christmas tree during the annual ‘Tree Cutting’-event. Cosy and warm, atmospherically lit by a multitude of Christmas lights. A fire basket centres a cosy lounge corner with pallet sofas, comfortable mattress cushions and soft, woollen blankets to keep you warm.

A healthy, homemade Christmas dinner, prepared with love At last, time to spend in the kitchen and cooking up a homemade feast; healthy dishes prepared with love. Delectable scents fills the house in every nook and cranny, whilst the last Christmas presents are being wrapped. In the living room you will find a real Christmas tree and a vase filled with freshly-cut holly for the typical Christmas smell.

Can you hear the sleigh bells ringing?

Sitting together awaiting Santa’s arrival, will he show? The Christmas stockings, stuffed to the brim with wish lists, hang from the mantle. A green garland, speckled with Christmas lights, adorns the hearth. The most beautiful season of the year is spent best with the people you love.

Kaemingk are showing at Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair in Hall M – Stand M2

Feature Harrogate

Hall D stand number 06

Lesser & Pavey Ltd Tel 01322 279225

www.leonardo.co.uk Introducing a new range of glassware from Lesser and Pavey for those that happen to be a lover of ‘gin’.

The range of Gin Glasses include Tumblers that feature inspiring wording - Let the good times be Gin; Knock Knock it’s Gin o’clock and Gin is liquid sanity.

Stemmed glasses feature - Let the party be Gin; Knock Knock it’s Gin o’clock and Gin made me do it.

This fashionable new range is part of the Lesser and Pavey gold and silver edition glassware range which features Gin, Prosecco, Champagne, Martini, Beer slogans on a range of glasses, flutes, wine glasses, stem less glasses, tankards, cocktail shakers, drinks dispensers and ice buckets.

Visit the Lesser and Pavey stands at Harrogate fair in January Stand number D06 and at the Spring Fair at the NEC in February in Hall 5 stand number D10/E11.

Hall A – Stand A25

Hall B – Stand B15

Lemax-Europe B.V>

National Tree Company

Tel: 01732 454477

Email: lemaxeurope1@btinternet.com Lemax has just enjoyed one of its best seasons ever and the company are so excited for 2018 as the New Collection is better than ever!

Every Lemax piece begins with the ‘spark of an idea’ from the design team through to the incredible engineers that bring them to life. From our largest Animations and Porcelain houses through to the smallest of figurines each one is carefully decorated and painted by hand making each and every one unique.

For over 25 years we have been supplying customers in more than 20 countries across Europe. Our collection has over 1700 items to which we introduce more than 300 new pieces each year. Lemax collectors watch avidly for the new seasons items to come into the stores.

New technology for the 2018 season sees the introduction of a better sound quality to the speaker box in our musical animations which is now edited and programmed in Europe. An example of this is our new Carousel and Ballroom which will make its debut in both Harrogate (Hall A Stand A25) and Christmas World in Frankfurt Hall (9 Stand A55). Lemax also welcome visitors to their showroom in The Netherlands.

The company pride themselves on quality and innovation and know that the new collection for 2018 will inspire both seasoned and new collectors to Lemax.

The Company has entered its sixth decade of providing finely crafted artificial Christmas trees and holiday decorations for an ever-expanding marketplace. A family business with roots three generations deep, National Tree Company continues to innovate and develop technologies that generate excitement in the industry and amongst consumers. Some popular tree features offered exclusively from National Tree include Feel Real® high quality life-like branch tips, multifunctional Dual Color® LED lights now with new and improved functions for 2018, PowerConnect™ technology where electrical connections are made through center poles to make assembly even quicker and easier and MemoryShape® trees that come pre-shaped right out of the box. In addition to the many other products offered including wreaths, garland, fiber optics and indoor/outdoor decorative pieces, National Tree Company becomes a one stop shop for a wide variety of holiday décor items. Constantly updated showrooms are maintained in both Hong Kong and the USA to showcase their diverse line of seasonal trimmings.

For more information, please visit their website at www. nationaltree.com; contact directly via sales@nationaltree.com or phone 01 9087094141.

christmas in january 67

Premier® are the NEW and EXCLUSIVE distributors of the ScentSicles® range of products for 2018

PREMIER DECORATIONS LIMITED www.premierdec.com • Tel: 020-8624 5555 • e-mail: sales@premierdec.com

s

4

Many NEW products to show you.

Volume Purchase Deals Galore!

Scan me to see the effect!

PREMIER DECORATIONS LIMITED www.premierdec.com • Tel: 020-8624 5555 • e-mail: sales@premierdec.com

Feature Alton’s

Going the extra Festive Mile As the biggest garden centre in Essex, it stands to reason that Alton’s Christmas offering is big in the planning and dynamite in the delivery. Sarah Welsh spoke to some of the Wickford-based team to find out more…

A

s the owner of Alton’s Garden Centre Derek Bunker has pretty much seen it all where festive retail cheer is concerned.

Which is no doubt why he was one of the first garden centre experts in the country to realise just how big Christmas as a sales sector had the capacity to become for this area of the market.

A regular at the Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair for many years, Derek has travelled far and wide building his decades of enviable festive experience – but it was a holiday to Canada with his wife Helen way back in 1981 that really cemented his belief in the retail potential of the season of good will.

“It was early November and bitterly cold,”

70 christmas in january

“We were pretty early getting in on the action when no one else had foreseen how important Christmas sales would become to garden centres,” Derek Bunker, Owner Derek recalls, on the day we’ve arranged to chat about ‘all things Christmas’ at Alton. Fittingly this is also a day where Britain has experienced some of its worst snowfall for several years.

“The weather was so bad in Canada during that trip that we saw smaller garden centres closing up, but letting their car parks off to Christmas tree sales companies. What was interesting though was that larger garden centres in the country heated their retail space and put on huge festive displays. I knew immediately that I wanted to get into that at Alton.

“Of course no one then had foreseen how important Christmas sales would become to

garden centres, so we were pretty early getting in on the action.”

As the 1980s rolled on Derek recalls that Christmas in retail became much more fashion conscious with the importance of stand-alone festive trade events also growing. Then, in 1987, Alton was approached by Keddies department store in Southend to see if they would be prepared to take on their decorations section as a concession – and since then they’ve never looked back.

“Alton was invited to join the Tillington Group in 2006,” Derek says. “There are 11 garden centres around the country and we all exchange information and ideas. It was after joining that we began using new festive suppliers, including Kaemingk and National Tree Company, and now every year we start building Christmas immediately after the August bank holiday with a view to opening by October half term.

“We have an amazing space of roughly 15,000 square feet devoted to Christmas retail and it really is loved by customers of all ages.

“This business has been in my family for more than 40 years and I also personally have some wonderful and eventful memories connected to the festive side of things. There was the time I got caught travelling back from Christmas & Gift in snow and gales and had to sleep at the army

barracks in Grantham for the night.

“And then there was the time actually in Harrogate where the festive displays had spilled over the road from the exhibition centre to the town’s swimming baths. I recall looking at Christmas cards laid out in the changing rooms – quite a unique experience. But then, working here, we all love this time of year!”

Seasonal Buyer Tracy Pickett has worked at Alton for 15 years and is part of a team that buys everything for Christmas except lighting, trees and gifts.

“We source and buy decorations, cards and wrap, table linen, floral arrangements – everything from candles to jumpers really,” she says. “It all starts in the first week of January and we have an intense two to three month buying period where we visit Kaemingk, Christmas & Gift, Spring Fair, Koopman in Frankfurt, the Swift Imports showroom and SageDecor for festive florals.

“We take inspiration from suppliers such as Kaemingk, but also go on the basis of bestsellers from the previous year and colour trends and fashionable themes. Plus we always add an ‘Alton twist’ to everything we do – which is often a floral element.

“For 2017 we had five themes: winter wonderland, which was white, pinks and pastels, traditional red, nativity – which was hues of brown, cold and copper – and a toyshop theme based around elves, lollipops and candy canes.

“When we think about visual merchandising and the Christmas space our psychology is to create displays that appeal to customers of all ages – not just the children.”

In addition to the festive floor space itself, Alton also has a very popular Santa’s grotto and

the ‘Christmas pantry’ where the food products on offer range from pickles, jams and chutneys from suppliers including the local Tiptree brand to beers, mulled wine and cider, sweets and hampers.

“We always add a ‘Alton twist’ to everything we do – which is often a floral element,” Tracy Pickett, Seasonal Buyer “It takes around five to six weeks to fully install the Christmas shop area,” Tracy says.

“Then we always hold a ticketed preview evening which sells out very early. One of the great things about working at Alton is the garden centre’s community reach - people travel from far and wide to come here for our festive offering.”

Fellow seasonal buyer Ann Roach has been with Alton for 11 years and is heavily involved with the visual merchandising side of the business.

From fully dressed Christmas trees that customers buy lock, stock and bauble, to acrylic boxes, plenty of wall hanging installations and lighting displayed in a black out area, the Alton’s team make clever use of the garden centre’s vast space and high roof and even have interactive video displays that show visitors how to spruce up their artificial tree.

“Floral is very important to the store and is a constant theme in everything we do,”

Ann reveals. “So, for example, we decorate Christmas trees using beautiful floral clips instead of angels and tree toppers.

“Looking forward to Christmas 2018 I think white and silver will still be important colours for us, as well as pink-themed decorations which were a sell out last year. We do look back on what has sold well in terms of our buying patterns for the next season.

“There’s no doubt that Christmas is a monster in retail at the moment and you have to love it to work in this field. Personally I never tire of the festive season. I simply love coming to work every day and you can’t get luckier than that.” *Alton Garden Centre, Arterial Road, Wickford, Essex, SS12 9JG. For more information visit: www.alton-gardencentre. co.uk, email: helpdesk@altongardencentre. co.uk or call: 01268 726421

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EXHIBITING AT HARROGATE CHRISTMAS & GIFT 14th – 17th JANUARY 2018

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