Christmas in January 2022 by Lema Publishing

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Growing your business www.christmasinjanuary.co.uk

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Seven halls of Christmas Hall C

Hall A

Hall M

A38b

Artcuts Ltd.

Anglo American Distributors Ltd.

M12

Ascalon Design Ltd.

Christmas in January

C24

Bailey & Brooke

M14, 16

Gisela Graham Ltd.

A29

Florelle Import Co.

C25

Bollywood Christmas

Hamac Trading Co

A34

Global Journey Ltd.

C21

DCUK

Kaemingk BV

A21

HELLMANN - VERSAND GmbH

Fair to Trade Ltd.

M22

Konstsmide (UK) Ltd.

A38

I E P Wholesale

Festive Productions Ltd.

Sagedecor

A16

Jeno Floral Imports

C10

Gibson Plus Ltd.

M24

Snowlodge

A37

Keel Toys Ltd.

Heyland & Whittle

A9, A22

Leisuregrow Products Ltd. (NOMA)

C14

Missus Christmas

Hall Q

A25

Lemax Europe BV

C22

Puleo Asia Ltd.

N. Smith & Co Ltd.

Lesser & Pavey Ltd.

C12

Ragdoll Home Ltd.

Smart Garden Products Ltd.

A28

Luxa Flamelighting

Shatchi

Wreaths 'n' Reindeers Ltd

Padgett Brothers AtoZ

Stands Out Ltd.

A39

Portfolio Home

C9a

Terra Rossa

Queen Suite Foyer

A8, A10

Primus (A Perry Ltd.)

C17

The Playwrite Group Plc

QS2

Fountasia International Ltd.

C41

The Straits Trading Company Ltd.

QS1

Vivid Arts Ltd.

Richard Lang & Son Ltd.

A18

Sincere UK Ltd.

A36

Suki Gifts Interantional Ltd.

A40

The English Soap Company

A30

The Giftware Trading Company

The Milford Collection

The Satchville Gift Company

A35

Walton & Co Ltd.

Hall B B8

Christmas Inspirations Bv

Davies Products (Liverpool) Ltd.

B17

Emagination Store

B2, B9

Floralsilk Ltd.

History & Heraldry

Hogewoning

B20

LITE Ltd.

B15

National Tree Company / Norfolk Leisure

B13

PolarX Ornament & Gift

B14

RSW International Ltd.

Sifcon International Plc

Wikholmform

Hall D D2

Arora Design ltd.

CK SUPPLIES

Snowtime

D10

TREND MANIA LTD

Hall H H1

Premier Decorations Ltd.

Premier Halloween

Harrogate Christmas

16th to 16th January 2022 Harrogate Intern 9am - 6pm Sunday - Tuesday, 9am - 4pm W

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Features

Leader page

News 8,11 GCA update 12 Chief executive Iain Whylie Updates our readers

Jolly Holly Piers Croke of Gisela Graham waxes lyrical over ‘Jolly Holly’

Taking Snowlodge style to Harrogate Woodlodge are showing at Harrogate For the first time

Christmas World update

Spring Fair latest

75years of festive experience Davies Products are celebrating 75 years of family trading

Get your orders in while you can John Athwal OBE tells it how it is For Premier

Taking a chance on Christmas Giftware Trading have been doing this very successfully for many years

Harrogate Christmas & Gift Show intro

Retail Coming up roses for 85 years Editor Sarah Welsh interviews Mathew Bent Of Bents Garden & Home

Ring out the old, ring in the New 36 Mike Withers chairman of Snowtime reflects on past industry problems and is looking forward to 2022 Creating Christmas since 1924 Weiste have come an awful long way from those early beginnings

Focused on the future 40 Our front cover advertiser Lesser & Pavey are looking to the future

Publisher: Malcolm Naish malcolm@lemapublishing.co.uk Features Editor:

Sarah Welsh

Production Director: Paul Naish paul@lemapublishing.co.uk Layout: Rick Vickers rick@lemapublishing.co.uk Circulation: Robert Thomas robert@lemapublishing.co.uk

Shatchi see their sales grow John McVey is looking forward to A great show at Harrogate

Artificial Christmas intelligence Puleo Asia are the experts

Constantly re-inventing Christmas Noma have been doing this for Over 80 years

Home & Glory at Harrogate 48 Heyland & Whittle patriotic product at the show

33nd year of publication Published by: Lema Publishing Ltd 1 Churchgates, The Wilderness, Berkhamsted, Herts. HP4 2UB Telephone: 01442 289930 Fax: 01442 289950 Email: info@lemapublishing.co.uk

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Festive Lights have that ‘Twinkly’ Feeling A real family-feel for all things lighting

A sustainable Christmas with Ivyline Quality giftware with a Christmas feel

Creating brand awareness Konstsmide intend to widen their online reach

Crafting the perfect Christmas Crafty over Christmas with Artcuts

Sustainable Christmas joy Keel Toys is all about sustainability For 2022 Lots of surprises in store for Premier

Halloween customers at Harrogate An update on all the new products On show

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

Contents

Regulars

Leader i 2022

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t is hard to believe that the first edition of ‘Christmas in January appeared 33 years ago and it is a great compliment to the Christmas and floral sector that it is even stronger today with much more creativity than that first edition all those years ago. Of course, modern technology has been responsible for many of these great steps forward! The Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair opens its doors on Sunday the 16th January and as we go to press is virtually full. All the major names are exhibiting and I for one expect the show to be a roaring success. The few shows that I have attended over the last few months that were organised for other industries where we publish b2b titles were all very successful. Both buyers and exhibitors welcomed the opportunity to once again meet face-toface, discuss product and place orders I am sad to report the passing this year of three industry icons. Bert Wood was one of the very first distributors to concentrate on Christmas product, representing amongst other companies Krebs and Puleo. Bert was a keen Burnley supporter and at least lived long enough to see his beloved team back in Premiership and was a thoroughly nice man. John Hughes spent many years with Christmascraft and in his latter years helped to create a new company that they named the ‘Paragon Collection’.. John also began the first Christmas Decoration industry golf day, which he ran right up to his retirement and which I took over and eventually merged with one of our other golf days. Martin Hawken worked for Premier Decorations, retiring last year after 28 years. Martin was a real character, he worked hard and played even harder. He was an expert

on fine wines, many of which we all shared over so many fantastic Premier events. All three are remembered within our News pages. There is no doubt whatsoever that 2021 has been the most demanding year for Suppliers ever, having to grapple constantly with shipping problems and obtaining containers to ensure their product arrives in the U.K. The increased costs that suppliers are having to bare has in part had to be passed on to their customers and I have heard that some prices for containers compared to a

There is no doubt whatsoever that 2021 has been the most demanding year for Suppliers ever, having to grapple constantly with shipping problems and obtaining containers to ensure their product arrives in the U.K. year ago have been up to 8 times higher are almost beyond comprehension. This is a global problem. Have the shipping owners created this situation on purpose and could it have been avoided? There are many theories circulating within the industry, but the bottom line is that deliveries were badly affected with suppliers delivering to customers right up to midDecember. We have seen pictures of empty containers stacked in a farmer’s field that would normally have been returned to China.

Some shipping lines have delayed sailing times by slow sailing on the High Seas. Felixstowe has been unable to cope with this log jam and have sent vessels on to other European ports such as Zeebrugge and Rotterdam, leaving the Supplier to cope with off loading and onward delivery to the U.K. If any of the foregoing is untrue, I stand to be corrected, but despite all of this Suppliers managed to deliver the bulk of their ranges. As we move into 2022 quite a number of companies have already placed their year’s production to ensure early deliveries for 2022. It is our fervent hope that the shipping situation improves for 2022 as no one wants another year like 2021. To illustrate the lengths that Christmas suppliers have gone to ensure that their staff remain focused and working for the cause, I visited the Noma showroom just before Christmas to interview Frank Kaminski who told me that at their Wisbech warehouse, they had added a fish and chip stall to keep their staff happy and well fed. What a great idea – “Pass the salt someone please!” Our Editor Sarah Welsh interviews Mathew Bent. I first interviewed Mathew’s father Ron Bent back in the early nineties. What a great history with a family that continue to create a magical Christmas experience for their customers. Long may it continue! Everyone desperately wants the various January and February shows to take place. Personally, despite the daily changing scene, I am ever the optimist and feel confident that we shall see you all on the 16th January. Don’t forget to stop at our stand just inside the entrance to Hall ‘A’ for a chat.

christmasinjanuary.co.uk Photo by Candis Hidalgo from Pexels

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NEWS

Hair raising times Shipping woes A major talking polnt this year is the huge increase in the cost of shipping containers from China, not helped by shipping companies not returning empty containers back to the Far East. Felixstowe has been suffering from major congestion over the last few months and as our picture shows, one shipping company Maersk had to make use of a local farmer’s field to store the empty containers. The situation is exacerbated by a lack of drivers and general labour shortages. One thing is for sure shipping companies have made huge profits from the problems faced by importers, where the price of containers compared to a year ago have been reported at up to five or even more times expensive than this time last year. I’m definitely in the wrong business! Reports filtering through are indicating that whilst prices might reduce slightly, you can kiss good bye to the prices enjoyed by everyone 15 or so months ago!

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New. I am pleased to announce that Trans-Continental Group has a new managing director.

To illustrate the many challenges that suppliers have faced during 2021 with shipping and container problems, our two pictures of Mr. John Athwal show him pictured in 2020 with a fine head of hair and a year later in 2021 completely bald. John quoted “Some of my hair has been pulled out in total frustration and the rest has fallen out with the worry of it all.” From the two pictures taken a year apart, John has also aged slightly due to all the worries!

Martin Hawken

It is with great sadness I share the news that Martin Hawken passed away on Friday 5th November, after a short illness. Quite a few of us have known Martin for a long time as he was with Premier for nearly 28 years until his retirement in July 2020. Indeed Martin had been instrumental in the build up of Premier’s reputation of working hard, but playing even harder. A larger than life character who will be fondly remembered for his love of good food and wines. He was loved by his customers as he made buying and selling fun, which often involved eating and drinking together.

Visit the CIJ website christmasinjanuary.co.uk

Lee Kennerley is appointed sales director and is well known in the industry. Lee was with the company for 4 years earlier in the decade and rejoins in his new role in time for Harrogate. I warmly welcome both appointments and look forward to the new team taking the company forward for many years to come.

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snowtimeXmasInJanAdvert_2022_a4_aw 22/12/2021 15:36 Page 1

It’s Showtime

for SnowTime! The iconic characters from ‘The Snowman’ and ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’ will feature in a brand new range of SnowTime’s products including snow globes, lights, canvases and acrylics.

For something special with a touch more Christmas magic visit SnowTime in Hall D, Stand 14 Sun 16th Jan - Tue 19th Jan Harrogate International Centre King's Road, Harrogate North Yorkshire HG1 5LA SnowTime - your one stop Christmas suppliers

Email: info@transcon.co.uk Web: www.transcon.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1253 207799

JOLLY HOLLY Piers Croke of Gisela Graham London traces the history of an age-old icon of celebration. ,W¶V D VSULJ RQ WRS RI WKH &KULVWPDV SXGGLQJ LW ZHOFRPHV YLVLWRUV DV D IHDWXUH LQ WKH IURQW GRRU ZUHDWK LW¶V WXFNHG EHKLQG WKH SLFWXUHV RQ WKH OLYLQJ URRP ZDOO RU HQOLYHQLQJ D &KULVWPDV ÀRZHU DUUDQJHPHQW $OWRJHWKHU ZH FDQ¶W LPDJLQH &KULVWPDV ZLWKRXW RXU KROO\ LQ SULQWHG LPDJHV RU LQ LWV SULFNO\ UHDOLW\ %XW SURSHUWLHV WR WKH &HOWLF 'UXLGV :RH EHWLGH DQ\RQH ZKR ZH¶UH IROORZLQJ D WUDGLWLRQ WKDW JRHV EDFN WR RXU FXW D KROO\ EXVK GRZQ ZKLOH WDNLQJ D VSULJ RI LW KRPH WR WKH KXW ZRXOG HQVXUH IHUWLOLW\ DQG D JRRG FURS LQ WKH DQFHVWRUV DW OHDVW \HDUV DJR VXPPHU %RWDQLFDOO\ KROO\ LV XQXVXDO 7UHHV FDQ EH HLWKHU PDOH RU IHPDOH DQG ERWK FDQ SURGXFH EHUULHV DV ORQJ DV 'RZQ VRXWK LQ DQFLHQW 5RPH KROO\ ZDV DQ HVVHQWLDO WKHUH¶V D WUHH RI WKH RSSRVLWH VH[ QHDUE\ 2XU RZQ .LQJ HOHPHQW LQ 6DWXUQDOLD WKH FDUQLYDO WLPH FHOHEUDWHG +HQU\ 9,,, DOOXGHG WR KROO\¶V VSHFLDO FKDUDFWHU LQ RQH EHWZHHQ 'HFHPEHU ,W ZDV D WLPH RI MR\ IHDVWLQJ RI KLV ORYH VRQJV \HV WKH SRO\JDPRXV NLQJ ZURWH ORYH DQG SUHVHQW JLYLQJ ZKHQ JDUODQGV RI HYHUJUHHQ KROO\ ZHUH KXQJ LQ KDOOV DQG WHPSOHV LQ KRQRXU RI 6DWXUQ WKH VRQJV WRR JRG RI IHUWLOLW\ “Green groweth the holly, So doth the ivy. $W ¿UVW WKH QHZ UHOLJLRQ RI &KULVWLDQLW\ UDWKHU IURZQHG Though winter blasts blow never so high RQ KROO\ EHFDXVH RI LWV FRQQHFWLRQV ZLWK WKH SDJDQ Green groweth the holly….” IHVWLYDO ZKLFK FRLQFLGHG ZLWK WKH WLPH RI &KULVWPDV %XW WKH ELVKRSV TXLFNO\ JDYH LQ WKH FXVWRP ZDV WRR GHHSO\ ,Q IDFW WKH DVVRFLDWLRQ RI KROO\ ZLWK GDUN ZLQWHU GD\V SRSXODU :H KHDU HDUO\ &KULVWLDQ ZULWHUV UHSRUWLQJ GDWHV ZHOO EHIRUH WKH WLPH RI (QJODQG¶V .LQJ +DUU\ 7KH ³WHPSOH RUQDWXUHQWXU´ ³&KXUFKHV EHLQJ DGRUQHG´ ZLWK VHDVRQ GHI\LQJ KROO\ EHUULHV VXJJHVWHG PDJLF KROO\ ERXJKV DQG VRRQ KROO\ PRUSKHG LQWR &KULVWLDQ LFRQRJUDSK\ ,Q WKH 0LGGOH $JHV WKH UHG EHUULHV FDPH WR V\PEROL]H &KULVW¶V EORRG DQG WKH OHDYHV WKH FURZQ RI WKRUQV ,Q PRUH UHFHQW WLPHV KROO\ KDV EHFRPH OHVV VHULRXV DQG UHWXUQHG WR LWV RULJLQDO DVVRFLDWLRQ ZLWK MR\ DQG VHDVRQDO FHOHEUDWLRQ ,QGHHG LQ WKH WK FHQWXU\ WKH H[SUHVVLRQ ³D &KULVWPDV WUHH´ RIWHQ PHDQW D SRWWHG KROO\ EXVK EURXJKW LQGRRUV IRU WKH IHVWLYLWLHV )RU ZKDWHYHU UHDVRQ ZH ORYH RXU KROO\ /RQJ PD\ LW ÀRXULVK LQ RXU ZRRGV

Lead image: Ilex aquifolia – we can’t imagine Christmas without it! Left: Woodland Wildlife Scented Holly Candle by Gisela Graham London

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NEWS

Obituary - Burt Wood 12th September 1928- 3rd June 2021 I am sad to report the passing of Burt Wood, who for many years represented Puleo Christmas Trees. He had a variety of Sales jobs, becoming a salesman for The Cosmic Crayon Company (Crayola) and was at one time, a partner in a Toy and Fancy Goods Cash and Carry in Manchester. His involvement with toys led him into the world of Christmas and he became a UK agent for Krebs the German glass Christmas decoration company, then for Puleo Asia Ltd, He worked hard to build his customer base for these companies and was well known and respected in the trade. He travelled to various countries for Christmas trade fairs, but the prestigious Harrogate Fair was his favourite and when he officially retired, they presented him with an original painting of the Pump Room in Harrogate in recognition of his support over the many years he exhibited there. Burt will be remembered with great affection and in addition to our many conversations over the years at Harrogate related to the Christmas decoration market, football was also a regular subject. Burt was an ardent Burnley supporter and I remember well our chats, particularly when the club was promoted to the Premier league.

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of John Hughes on the 29th June. John was known by many in the Christmas industry as General Manager of Christmas Crafts before founding The Paragon Collection with Alison Lloyd and her father Jim Neill. A keen golfer, John started the Christmas Trades golf day in the nineties and on several occasions had to put up with me across the 18 holes. As many people will know, John retired early due to ill health and was battling his illness for many years. Refusing to let this stop him he set up ‘Shark Attack’ a head and neck cancer charity which raised tens of thousands of pounds through its golf days and charity dinners which his many friends in the industry actively supported. John had a keen sense of humour and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

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GCA NEWS

A Busy Year for the GCA It’s been 12 months of highs and lows for the Garden Centre Association, but with the annual Christmas Competition up and running again, 2021 ended on a celebratory note, as Chief Executive Iain Wylie reveals… It’s difficult to know where to start when looking back to 2021! The year began with yet another wave of Covid-19 and lockdowns until spring, with different rules, regulations and guidance in each of the four nations. In England, garden centres were allowed to remain open throughout, however centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were not so lucky, and hospitality was impacted across the board. Pre-2020, catering had become such an important and integral part of garden centre operations, but many locations have had to rethink their food focus since the pandemic first took hold. For the first time in as long as any of us could remember the January GCA Annual Conference couldn’t go ahead and for the Garden Centre Association having cancelled inspections in 2020 and our Christmas Competition in December 2020 - this was particularly disappointing, if necessary in the circumstances. We had to wait until March for some clarity about the likely road ahead. The spring season started well for garden centres, with the increased interest in gardening seen in 2020 continuing. Demand was high but there was huge disruption to the supply chain, container shortages and a ship getting stuck in a canal not helping matters! Our members worked hard to meet these challenges and to adapt, day-by-day.

12 christmas in january

The GCA’s team of inspectors usually start visiting centres in March but although we were keen to resume inspections in 2021 after the 2020 hiatus, there was a slight delay until May, but all visits were concluded by the end of July. It was a real boost that all member centres received a visit, and as a consequence we were able to bring back the GCA awards. Following a two-year absence, in-person meetings began in September, with our GCA inspector for each area making a presentation and announcing the local winners We judged centres in October for our Ruxley Rose Competition, with the muchcoveted trophy going to the best plant area. The winner will be announced in January. It is very clear that in spite of, or perhaps because of, the pandemic, quality, standards, flair and imagination in GCA member plant areas have got better than ever, so it was a very difficult task to decide the winner. This is extremely encouraging, given the recent challenges faced with stock management and availability and shows that plants remain at the very heart of our members’ businesses. They are ready to meet the needs of the estimated three million new

gardeners that have emerged since the start of the pandemic. In November our annual Christmas Competition also returned with a high number of entries to be judged around the country. The judging was completed that month, with the winners, Barton Grange, in the Destination Garden Centre category and Castle Gardens in the Garden Centre category, announced in December. Their displays were as magical as ever and along with all the entrants, a considerable amount of work had gone in to maintaining COVID safety and delivering amazing visual merchandising. The GCA also held its five yearly strategic review of activities in 2021 and we will continue to offer and improve the valued benefits to members. These include our GROW e-learning programme and the Barometer of Trade, in addition to inspections, competitions and area meetings. We have had to adapt many things since the start of 2020 and many new ways of doing things have developed. Virtual meetings, for example, almost unheard of two years ago, will no doubt continue to play a part in what we do. We will see an increased focus on the environment and sustainability, not just reducing our carbon footprint but also

the positive role that gardening can play in delivering a more sustainable future and the health and wellbeing benefits it provides, too. Recently we have been preparing for our annual conference in January. An ideal venue, The Dunkenhalgh Hotel, near Blackburn and a great line up of speakers, such as Ruby Wax and Guy Singh-Watson, the founder of Riverford Organics, to name just two, have been booked for the 23rd to 26th January. Of course, the emergence of the new Omicron variant may cast some doubt but at the time of writing we are pressing ahead with making the event a success. Safety is firmly front of mind though and we will only go ahead if permitted and we can do so in a Covidsecure way. It is clear that members do want to meet up and share experiences at the event, and our conference is a great example of this in action but come what may, the GCA will be there to support members throughout the year. We have been delighted to welcome more than 20 new members in 2021 putting our membership at an all-time high and if you aren’t already a member we’d be delighted to discuss joining the GCA with you.

For more information visit: www.gca.org.uk, email: info@gca.org.uk, or call: 01244 952170. Alternatively log on to www.facebook.com/ GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association. christmasinjanuary.co.uk

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SHOW PREVIEW Christmasworld

Christmas in

‘Mainhattan’ Christmasworld is perhaps the most important show globally for the festive and celebration retail trade, and next month international exhibitors and buyers will once again experience the magic at Frankfurt’s Exhibition Centre… In just a few weeks hundreds of exhibitors from countries across the globe will proudly display their show stand magic in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. Christmasworld is a trade event that brings people together like no other, with halls across five levels, covering an area of around 81,000 square metres. That’s sheer breadth of Christmas product on a truly monumental scale! The show also promises networking heaven for those who work in the festive trade, which is fitting when you consider

Christmasworld is located in one of the continent’s business centres, that also happens to be famed for its Christmas markets. Charming Frankfurt sits on the Main River – gifting it its nickname of ‘Mainhattan’ – and combines a stunning medieval old quarter with lush parks and gardens and riverside paths. And of course the city is also home to some of the world’s most important trade fairs, with Christmasworld being no exception. More than a thousand exhibitors and around 40,000 visitors are expected at the convention

centre during the five-day festive extravaganza, and by midNovember it was announced that over 500 exhibitors from 38 countries had already signed up. Christmasworld is likely to be more highly anticipated than ever in 2022, following the cancellation of the physical show last year due to concerns about COVID. And despite European restrictions, at the time of going to press, it was all systems go for Christmasworld to go ahead. “Christmasworld will continue to be the world’s biggest trend and online platform for the international seasonal and festive decorations sector,” says Philipp Ferger, Vice President of Consumer Goods Fairs for show organisers Messe Frankfurt. “We really appreciate that our exhibitors stand by us and want to actively use Christmasworld for their product presentations and networking within the industry – especially now that trade fairs can finally be held again.” In addition to the tremendous buying opportunities across all festive product categories, a fringe programme at the show will offer

even more value for visitors. The Christmasworld Academy lecture area will feature a programme of top industry speakers and trend experts, on topics ranging from window display design to how to increase your digital impact. Christmasworld runs alongside two other shows, Creativeworld and Paperworld, and the show has also been laid out with various dedicated zones and showcases offering special-interest product items. These include The Retail BLVD and Decoration Unlimited, which help retailers improve their point-of-sale experience for customers, and Christmas Delights, featuring seasonal food and beverages. And if you can’t be there in person, a digital platform is in place to ensure networking is still open for virtual participants. After the past challenging two years, Christmasworld will offer uplifting festive inspiration and a wealth of buying opportunities for everyone. No holiday hits the mark quite like Christmas, and the same is true of this vast and truly unique trade show.

Christmasworld runs from Friday, 28th January to Tuesday, 1st February, 2022, at Frankfurt Exhibition Centre. For more information visit: christmasworld.messefrankfurt.com 14 christmas in january

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RETAIL Bents Garden & Home

Coming Up Roses

for 85 Years

Bents Garden & Home has built business success by combining its proud history and heritage with innovation in all departments. Sarah Welsh spoke to chief executive Matthew Bent, as this leading independent looks ahead to its 85th anniversary year… Bents Garden & Home has come a long way since pioneering couple Alfred and Margaret Bent launched what would expand to become a cherished family business, by growing and selling roses in the front garden of their terraced home. Some eight-and-a-half decades on, Bents is now led by the third generation of Bents, Alfred and Margaret’s grandchildren – including current chief executive Matthew – with their great-grandchildren also invested in the hugely successful independent garden centre brand. Not only that but it sits just yards from where it all began in Glazebury, Warrington. Here Matthew lets us in on all things Christmas – past, present, and future – at Bents

Bents celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. What celebration plans are there currently, and will this form part of your Christmas shop 2022?

Yes, 2022 marks this important anniversary for us. Plans are currently being put in place to mark the occasion, and will include events throughout the year. It will also definitely feature in our Christmas 2022 wonderland – but as always

We are still a family business. It was Alfred and Margaret’s sons, Ron and John, along with Ron’s wife Wendy, who expanded the business even further and, whilst John retired in the early 1980s, Ron’s passion and entrepreneurial spirit guided the business through the 1990s and into the Noughties. We are now in our third

“We believe customers want to be transported to a world of imagination and this is why we work so hard to create a new and magical experience every year.” this will be kept strictly under wraps until the official opening date in October.

16 christmas in january

As a family business, how many of you are involved with working on Christmas?

generation with myself and my three sisters all involved with the business. Helen is head of

marketing; Katherine is head of HR and Rachel heads up the visual merchandising team and coordinates our Christmas campaigns. It doesn’t stop there though, as members of the fourth generation are also in the business. Oliver, Rachel’s eldest son, and Ethan, my own eldest child, are currently working part time in our dining and pricing function.

In 1978 Bents famously sold over a thousand fresh Christmas trees in just one day. Is this still a big specialist focus for Bents? What about artificial trees?

The introduction of fresh Christmas trees, seasonal plants and being one of the first garden centres to sell a small range of decorations started what would become a lifetime passion for the festive season for Bents.

christmasinjanuary.co.uk

In January 1978 Bents established a company called Christmas Decorations Wholesale, a stand-alone company, which meant the family could attend trade fairs as a wholesaler – something we weren’t able to do as a retailer. It was that year that myself and Rachel first visited Harrogate Christmas Fair, and since then we’ve never looked back. Fresh Christmas trees remain a big focus for us, and by the end of each November, our forest of freshly cut, premium grown trees arrive in our undercover, brightly lit Open Skies Glass House building. We also have one of the largest selection of artificial, real look trees in the region, with a huge emphasis on style and quality. Whatever type or size of tree our customer dreams of we can make it a reality.

Bents was one of the first garden centres in the UK to offer food and drink on site. How do you incorporate not only the catering side of things, but also food gifts and products into your Christmas offering?

Food is definitely one of our passions and it has been great to see our dining destinations return to a new normal since lockdown ended. At Christmas time our dining offering extends even further with our Winter Food Market and, new for this year, Street Food at Bents, which sees

us welcome a number of different street vendors on a daily basis. These vary from fish and chips to handcrafted pies and are all located in our outdoor plant area. At Christmas our food hall really comes into its element with Honeywells Butchers, Reserve Wines, our delicatessen and fresh produce providing the perfect festive meal and celebrations. And hampers are also another key festive feature in the food hall.

Architecturally Bents seems very ahead of the game with its ‘open skies glass house’ building. How do you incorporate the beautiful building and natural light into your festive displays?

Our Open Skies Glass House opened in 2007 and was and still is one of the most innovative and progressive garden centre buildings. During the festive period it houses our outdoor lighting displays and our Lemax Village display, providing inspiration for both inside and out. It is also the location for our Winter Food Market which comprises wood chalets serving warm mulled wine, bratwurst sausage and sweet treats. It offers all the benefits of traditional Christmas markets, but under cover and brightly lit, with live music and entertainment.

How important is Christmas to Bents in terms of annual sales?

We try and balance the business sales throughout the year, aiming for a third of sales in garden, a third in food and a third in home, which includes Christmas. Like many retailers, 30% of our sales are in the last three months of the calendar year.

How big is Bents’ Christmas store footprint? Our main Christmas footprint is between 30,000 – 40,000 sq ft, but extends throughout the

store in the open skies and other areas of the business to keep the festive feel throughout. We plan our retail space very carefully and, although Christmas runs throughout the centre in all our departments, we dedicate the area used for Outdoor Living during the spring and summer months, to our themed Christmas displays. We close the area off section by section, as the seasons change and in time the whole

christmas in january 17

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RETAILPROFILE BRAND FestiveGarden Bents Lights & Home

“Christmas is always on the agenda for Bents, but it never loses any of its charm or excitement.”

area is completely sealed off and kept under wraps until our official opening. Only those who have designed and built the displays are allowed into the area to ensure the final reveal is a surprise for everyone.

How big is the team involved with planning and running Christmas at Bents? When does the festive planning start? Our Christmas team comprises a large number of colleagues – from the visual merchandiser who design all of our displays, to our buyers, to the joiners who physically build the displays and our warehouse team. Planning for next Christmas actually begins before the current one ends. We always have Christmas in mind!

Bents like to offer ‘unique experiences’ for customers – but how does this play out within the Christmas context?

We’ve been doing Christmas since the 1970s, doing things a bit differently to ensure inspiration and exclusivity is found around every corner at Bents. We have a dedicated team who travel the world to source the most up to date and innovative products and a visual merchandising team who design and create spectacular

18 christmas in january

displays which completely transform the centre. We believe customers want to be transported to a world of imagination and this is why we work so hard to create a new and magical experience every year. We also have ‘Festive Wednesdays’ throughout November where we have seasonal demonstrations to share our tips and secrets, exclusive shopping events for our Privilege Club members and live entertainment in our Winter Food Market.

Looking back to Christmas 2021, what themes did you have? Work began to transform the Centre back in August and our official opening took place in October, when we joined by Russell Watson for the occasion. Last year we had ten new festive themes, including ideas as varied as our ‘So Scrumptious’ display, which was packed full of doughnuts, cupcakes and candy stripes all in a feast of bright and sparkly colours and ‘Grandma’s Kitchen’, a welcoming display in red and white, bursting with festive flavours and ingredients. All of our displays start with a colour theme, conceptualised by our visual merchandisers, and matching the latest décor

themes. From here we identify and buy the decorations which will make their visions come alive.

What festive product categories sold well for you in 2021? Any predictions for 2022?

Last Christmas we saw a huge demand for floral displays, wreaths and garlands. These types of arrangements are hugely popular with customers wanting to decorate throughout their home, from the front door to the banister. Decorations also sold very well as people bought to dress their second tree. This desire to buy decorations for extra trees is something we believe will continue this year.

What can you tell us about the festive suppliers that you work with?

Bents has worked with Dutch-based Kaemingk for many years now, as well as British supplier Festive. A new, smaller supplier who we started to work with in 2021, is Jormae Pourri, who do a range

of festive pot pourri products such as beautiful scented baubles.

What trade shows or showrooms do you attend with Christmas in mind?

We go to the Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair, Spring Fair, Christmasworld in Frankfurt and also visit the Dutch showrooms. In addition, we visit a number of supplier showrooms, plus we visit other garden centres.

Finally, what do you personally love most about Christmas?

I grew up in a household where Christmas was always on the radar, ever since my father Ron introduced it as a focus for our family business and it became a year-round commitment. But the run up to the big day itself was always a magical time with family at its heart - and it’s the same now. Christmas is always on the agenda for Bents, but it never loses any of its charm or excitement and family takes centre stage.

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SHOW PREVIEW Spring Fair

“Christmas at Spring Fair is sheer joy” Suzanne Ellingham looks after some big hitters when it comes to trade events, but Spring Fair tops the bill. And she’s expecting things to get emotional when the 2022 edition of the show hits the NEC, as she told Sarah Welsh… As Head of Content at Hyve Group plc, Suzanne Ellingham is responsible for some of Britain’s biggest trade events, but the Christmas Hall at Spring Fair holds a special place in her heart. Despite being an expert in retail with a close community of buyers from across the sector, like anyone else who walks through the doors of Spring Fair’s Hall 5, Suzanne loves the sense of theatre and fun that envelops you. After all, as she says: “Who doesn’t love a dancing penguin or a singing polar bear?” Suzanne has been in post at Hyve for four years now, and says the decision last year to turn the show into a digital offering due to the COVID pandemic was a tough one, especially following the huge success of Spring Fair in early 2020. But she says the February

timing of the show is crucial for buyers, so going virtual in 2021 was the open feasible option. “Spring Fair is held in February for a reason,” Suzanne says. “It aligns to when buyers are actually buying for Christmas, and the year ahead, so if moved it becomes another show. In 2021 the health of our team, our exhibitors and visitors had to come first, so we had to make a difficult call to offer something virtual. “It was a really good tool for discovery, but a virtual offering can never replace the in-person show.” When the Autumn Fair and Glee shows took place in September 2021, Suzanne says it was clear there was real ‘pent up demand’ for the return of big-scale inperson shows. “Retailers want to get back to

normal and that means attending shows,” she says. “I think people value them even more now. “The Christmas Hall is part of the Gifts section of the show which covers Halls 1 to 5, and the festive exhibitors go all out. Buyers look to them for inspiration and they have a responsibility to bring display ideas. If a product is displayed well in store it will sell, so visual merchandising inspiration brings two-way benefit. The Christmas exhibitors bring a high level of production value with them.” New for the show this year includes a festive trend report, designed to inspire retailers and buyers in terms of visual display – before they hit the show. Spring Fair teamed up with TrendBible to conduct the research, and held a virtual Christmas 2022 trend

Product Predictions

Suzanne says expect to see pared-back candles at Spring Fair, made from sustainable rapeseed and coconut oil, alongside high-end faux Christmas trees and decorations made from wood, paper and card. “Some people are taking a simpler approach to festive decorating, and using ornaments made from natural materials,” she says. “Crafting is also a big trend for this year, with paper chains, hand-made decorations and paper flowers.” Spring Fair takes place at Birmingham’s NEC from Sunday 6th to Wednesday 9th February. For more information visit: www.springfair.com 20 christmas in january

session in December, attended by the likes of John Lewis, B&Q and WH Smith. “It’s really helpful for buyers to think in terms of highly visual trend stories,” Suzanne explains. “Two of the hand-picked trends we looked at were ‘Loud and Proud’ and ‘White Winter.’ Loud and Proud is about self-expression, bold primary colours and retro inspiration, while White Winter is Nordic inspired with a colour palette of icy blues. “Other themes that came up in the trend research included the importance of sustainability and homewares. This kind of insight is really helpful for buyers and we want to be able to provide that for them.” Suzanne says a curated meeting programme will help match buyers with exhibitors based on mutual interest, ensuring deals are done, and reveals that Hyve has also invested in upgrading the show app. “Spring Fair is all about discovery, matching buyers to products they haven’t seen before. That’s what gets buyers excited,” Suzanne explains. “I’m really looking forward to being at the show. I do around 20,000 steps every day just walking the floors and I can’t wait to see everyone! Autumn Fair was emotional – I think we sometimes forget the importance and sheer vibrancy of the human connection and I can’t wait to see that at Spring Fair.”

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PROFILE Woodlodge

Taking Snowlodge

Style to Harrogate Woodlodge has been a leading name in garden heritage product since launching 35 years ago, but now the talented team behind this second-generation family business is also stacking up success in the Christmas market, as Sarah Welsh discovers… 2022 is shaping up to be a bumper year for Woodlodge. Not only does this leader in beautifully made garden products celebrate its 35th anniversary, but the team is also heading to the Harrogate Christmas & Gift Show for the first time. One year on from when Woodlodge’s Snowlodge Collection was launched to great acclaim, the company will be showcasing its Christmas collection at Harrogate, unveiling 700 festive lines on a dedicated Snowlodge stand. And they hope the reception it receives will kick-start a busy year, followed by Woodlodge exhibiting the Snowlodge collection alongside their coveted Honey & Wild garden décor range and Root Indoor interior collection at Spring Fair in February. Christmas is still a new area to Woodlodge, building on their hugely successful sales record in garden and outdoor products, including their heritage garden pots. With Snowlodge they wanted to offer a carefully curated portfolio of products selected to drive sales during the crucial Christmas season. Snowlodge is a collection of stylish, trend-led and classical décor ideas, offering a variety of price points across multiple categories. The high-quality range is also backed with the superior

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customer service that buyers have Snowlodge range. But with a come to expect from Woodlodge. new stock allocation system in The range includes festive stars, place, ensuring fair distribution room ornaments and decorations, nationwide to its garden centre figurines and candle holders, customers, Director Michael stylish trees, gonks and baubles, Wooldridge, says the entire team novelty doorstops, is looking forward to wreaths, garlands “With Christmas meeting buyers and and LED lighting. retailers at Christmas being a fastWoodlodge has & Gift. evolving trade also produced a “We were thrilled stunning range and sales starting with the reaction to of easy-toSnowlodge range increasingly early, our assemble, outdoor in 2021,” Michael says. Harrogate is the decorations “We’re now ready to as part of the perfect show for bring our offering to the Snowlodge wider market, including retailers to view line, featuring independent retailers silhouettes, stakes, our themes and and department stores reindeers and a at Harrogate Christmas innovation” range of lighting & Gift. solutions. It’s the ultimate “With Christmas being a Christmas collection, and boasts fast-evolving trade and sales a subtle and muted earthy colour starting increasingly early, palette, with rustic wood and Harrogate is the perfect rattan, blended perfectly with show for retailers to view snow shite shades, frosted silver our themes and innovation, and glass. and explore the Snowlodge 2021 did bring challenges for festive collection, building on Woodlodge, with production Woodlodge’s expertise from stretched to meet huge demand our Honey & Wild garden and for its products, including the gift décor range.”

For more information visit: www.woodlodge.co.uk Harrogate show stand: Hall M, Stand M24 Spring Fair show stand: Hall 6, Stand 6A60

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PROFILE

Davies Products

- EST. 1947 -

Davies Products Celebrates its 75th Anniversary This year Davies Products marks an important anniversary, but the core values this family business was founded on are still central to its huge success. Christmas in January spoke to sisters Gemma and Sophie Davies as they prepare for Harrogate Christmas & Gift… Tell us a little about the history of Davies Products...

Davies Products was founded in 1947 by our grandfather Alec and his brother Sol, who started importing household products, toys and Christmas decorations. Sophie and I are the third generation to work in the business following our dad, Alan, and his cousin Neville. Together, the family have developed the seasonal specialism you see today, with fantastic ranges for every celebration. We’re proud to have earned an unrivalled reputation as one of the industry’s most reliable and well-respected suppliers of Christmas, Halloween, Floristry, Easter and celebration products.

What factors do you think have contributed to your longevity in business?

Being a family business is essential to our success. Our family ethos has always been to make every effort to give our customers the best possible experience. We pride ourselves on our personal approach and our history of success is in no small part to our relationships with our customers. We listen to them, try to understand their needs and develop the ranges they want, with a unique emphasis on providing quality and value.

Our customers operate in a fast changing, ever-demanding retail environment and we strive to provide them with the products that meet the expectations of the retail consumer – on trend and attractively priced.

You have hundreds of new items every year. How does it come together?

Our in-house designers and buyers are constantly listening to our customer needs, as well as following trends to ensure we produce exciting ranges specifically for the UK market. We create goods “Customers that offer great style and love visiting value, that are truly exclusive to Davies Products.

How are you and Sophie feeling looking ahead to Christmas & Gift our extensive and Spring Fair? showroom, Have you welcomed We’re really looking lot of buyers to and it features ayour forward to coming Liverpool back to the shows all our ranges” showroom? in our 75th year! It will be so lovely to see customers and introduce our 2022 ranges in person. With our show stands we aim to make it easy for our customers to navigate the ranges. This year we have great themes and our products are laid out to facilitate both inspiration and easy buying for the 2022 season. The last two years have been challenging for the entire sector. Why has Davies Products done so well during this time? Strong relationships have successfully brought us through. We have strong and very longstanding relationships with manufacturers and logistics companies alike, which has ensured the prompt supply of our merchandise in challenging times.

Customers love visiting our extensive showroom, and it features all our ranges. With thousands of products and great displays, customers can take their time and experience everything at leisure, and we also offer virtual appointments.

Harrogate as a show has now become more about calendar celebrations – including Halloween – which must work well for you? Davies Products has become a true seasonal specialist, so it’s great for us. We cover all four seasons, starting with Spring and Easter, with Floral and Party products available all year round – and then as the nights draw in our Fall Floral,

Halloween and Christmas ranges have all the key seasonal elements to celebrate in style. Our Halloween range is well known and easily recognisable under our Scream Machine brand. The range offers customers a wide range of fun items, perfect for all ages and events. We’ll be showcasing our full Halloween range at Spring Fair.

You mention Floral Décor, another growth area at Harrogate. Which products will you be showcasing in this category?

Our floral ranges form a key element in all our seasonal themes. You’ll find lots of new items, across all seasons, and see the launch of our Fall selection, featuring garlands, wreaths and stems.

What festive pieces sold really well for you in 2021, and what trends are you predicting will be big with customers for Christmas 2022?

As well as some wonderful new themes for 2022, we’re also building on last year’s key themes of Candy Cane, Frosted Naturals and Celebratory Champagne as well as the rich gemstone hues of our Opulence range. Our wonderful co-ordinating ranges of baubles, floristry and decorations provide the key elements needed to create wonderful inspiring displays for 2022.

For more information visit: www.daviesproducts.com | Harrogate show stand: B5 Spring Fair show stand: Hall 1, Stand E10-F11

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PROFILE Premier

Get Your Orders In While You Can I recently visited Premier Decoration’s Managing Director John Athwal at his head office near London for an update on how Premier has coped with the last 12 months and his take on business moving forward into 2022. It has been one of the strangest and most challenging years we have ever experienced.” John began. “No exhibitions taking place in 2021 due to restrictions on large gatherings put huge pressure on the entire Christmas industry. Trade shows were normally the time when some orders would have been negotiated, so our showrooms became more important than ever.” Premier had the foresight to be ahead of the game and establish their showrooms much earlier than in previous years in both Northern and Southern UK locations. This offered visitors not only early access, but also created a welcoming and safe environment that customers fully appreciated and felt reassured operating within. Orders subsequently came flooding in. Luckily, Premier had been forewarned by their far eastern offices that factories would be severely underresourced in both labour terms and also in component parts. It didn’t take a genius to work out that this was going to affect the entire global supply chain. John and his team sprung into action and placed their purchase orders very early. However, the shortage of I.C. chips, that affected

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the supply of transformers for electrical items as well as other component parts, soon began to affect production. All industries relying on products and components from China were severely hit and at least one major car company had to close an entire plant due to the issue. Not only was industry hit with shortages, but every supplier from raw material providers all the way up to manufacturing was demanding up-front payments before delivery of goods. Whilst Premier was unable to invoice before delivering to their customer base, they were indeed able to keep supply moving by paying such costs in advance. The suppliers grateful to Premier for their assistance in cash flow, responded by keeping Premiers’ production lines open. Manufacturing at the beginning of 2021 was fast-paced. As the year progressed, Chinese manufacturers were continually hampered by increase upon increase in the cost of raw materials. Yet again, this problem was passed onto importers and the Premier team were able to react accordingly. The only message was that supply was more important than other factors.

The next challenge faced was the unavailability of space on vessels and the resulting mammoth price increases within the shipping industry. In some instances these costs were up to ten times higher than a year ago. Despite these price hikes there was still a constant shortage of containers. However, Premier’s resources managed to secure not only the supply of the goods, but also the containers even if some deliveries were just a little later than planned. No one was able to forecast just how badly the shipping lines slowed down on the high seas and how affected ports such as Felixstow became. Instead of accepting vessels, port authorities were forcing them to continue on to other European destinations where once unloaded, goods had to then be placed onto trucks for delivery to the U.K. So how does this affect future plans moving in to Christmas 2022? John Athwal believes that many of the same problems will still exist. Premier however are well prepared with orders already being placed from customer visits to their wonderful showrooms which have been open since December 1st 2021. This has enabled the company to place

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“My advice is to visit either of the Premier showrooms as soon as possible to ensure you are wowed with the new offerings for 2022” their own forward orders already with their suppliers. Manufacturers in China are being forced by their Government to work just 3 or 4 days a week due to energy shortages. This will place even more pressure on importers and the entire industry has to emphasize to their customers to place orders earlier than ever before. Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair presents an ideal opportunity for visitors to do just that – GET YOUR ORDERS IN WHILE YOU CAN! My advice is to visit either of the Premier showrooms as soon as possible to ensure you are wowed with the new offerings for 2022. For the past few years we have seen John and his team introduce innovations to market that have been extremely exciting such as their great selling rainbow colourway and the brilliant Norbert and friends. This year, Premier presents 7 brand new themes for 2022, and over 50% new decorative products. The company appreciates that customers wish to create their own looks and styles for a point of difference in todays’ competitive marketplace and early customer feedback has been extremely positive. Whilst still maintaining strong value led offers, Premier has significantly added to their design-led decorative range across the various product

categories available. Great designs and great value are at the heart of 2022 offers. Seasonal floral stems were winners last season and whilst this category has been expanded, Christmas Stockings, Sacks and Tree Skirts feature many new styles for the coming season, not to mention hundreds of new plush and tabletop items to adorn the home. Tree sales have been fantastic with Premier leading the way. Proven products such as the New Jersey Spruce or the Silver Tipped Fir, as well as the new and hugely popular Nordmann Fir are performing extremely well at retail level. The range is under continual development and the New Jersey now includes a new arch and fibre optic tree added to the collection. As I have alluded to in this article already, freight costs in 2022 will be a challenge. Premier have done much to try to negate these costs already and are continuing their thought process in order to offer the best value possible. Fibre optic trees for example have been reworked, creating smaller box sizes which makes shipping less expensive and simultaneously making the product easier to store and cheaper to send through courier services. Each box size has been carefully considered to

ensure that customers are getting the most out of container loadings without compromising the product inside or the reusability of the box after Christmas. Sustainability is another key focus for the business and a brand new collection for 2022 comprises of mango wood products, stunning recycled glass, and seasonal linens produced totally from recycled plastic. Premier takes its responsibility to protecting our planet seriously and will continue to source more and more ethical products whilst continuing to reduce the amount of materials that are harmful to the environment in their packaging. All in all… there is an abundance of fresh new product to whet your appetite. Visit and see for yourself - Be Inspired!

Premier Decorations Limited | 020 8624 5555 | sales@premierdec.com Harrogate Christmas & Gift - Hall H christmas in january 29

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Taking a Chance

on Christmas Giftware Trading started selling Christmas product three decades ago, due to a chance delivery mishap that turned out to be great for business. Now Managing Director Ben Jeffrey is looking forward to this year’s festive sales season… This year marks Giftware Trading’s 13th outing to Harrogate’s Christmas & Gift show. What are you particularly looking forward to? We’re really excited to once again be exhibiting at the Christmas & Gift Fair as we really missed the fair not taking place in 2021. Customers were very supportive in looking at our new ranges for 2021 without the first shows of the year taking place but I think we would all agree there is no real substitute than actually physically being able to view products in person. Christmas & Gift is such a great way to kick off the year and the early reaction we get to the new collection is always very important to us.

Giftware Trading is known for your breadth of product, and the fact you work with unique manufacturers in Asia. What lines sold well for you last year and what are you predicting will be big business for 2022? Despite the challenges we all faced in 2021 sales were still very positive and many repeat orders were received despite the later arrivals of certain deliveries due to significant shipping issues. We always we try to find items which are a little unusual and quirky and these items once again proved popular. We will continue with some of our most popular items and these will be complemented with many new designs for 2022.

How big a percentage is Christmas product of your sales? Has it become increasingly important as a sector for the business? We put a lot of emphasis on the Christmas collection and this would certainly be our main focus. However, our Easter and Spring collections also prove very popular, and we work with some of the same suppliers. This year we’ve taken more space in Hall A at Christmas & Gift and will also be showing some of our bestselling Easter and Spring ranges. When did you first start selling Christmas? It was in the late 1990s, and came about by chance rather than choice! One supplier accidentally sent us completely the wrong item in a delivery and we received hundreds of gold rattan stars. It was easier to keep them rather than sending them back, but as it turns out they sold very quickly. So the following year we put together a small Christmas range, and from that point on have always had a festive collection. I never did thank that supplier for sending the wrong item!

Will you be exhibiting at Spring Fair this year? We’ll be there. Spring Fair has a different vibe to Christmas & Gift. It’s larger with many more exhibitors and customers often feel more under pressure at Spring Fair due to its size. I guess this is what makes the Christmas & Gift Fair so unique - it feels more manageable to the buyer and has a strong focus on Christmas where a lot can be achieved in a more relaxed environment. How do you approach the design of your show stands? We traditionally start planning the stand design quite early on and thinking about the different themes and ranges that will work well together. Every stand is slightly different in terms of size and dimensions so the layout will change from one show to the other but the more you do it the easier it gets. Finally, how did you spend last Christmas? Christmas is often quite a chaotic affair in our house, but it is filled with lots of laughter and love. We have three children so it usually involves me competing against my sons at the latest computer game, or perhaps telling my daughter that the dress she has been given is too short!

For more information visit: www.giftwaretrading.co.uk Harrogate show stand: Hall A, Stand A30 | Spring Fair show stand: 5A01 30 christmas in january

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CHRISTMAS

2022 Specialists, not Generalists At NOMA we’re specialists, not generalists. In fact, we think lighting is so important, we don’t do anything else. We are at the forefront of the latest lighting technology and trends. Our priority is delivering great products and great service at great prices. We’ve got everything you need to make Christmas 2022 your best ever. FOR SHOWROOM BOOKINGS OR A VIRTUAL TOUR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE OR CALL 01462 744500 Visit us at the Harrogate Fair 16th - 19th January 2022

Scan the QR code to let the magic begin

www.noma.co.uk

2 Scan the QR code to let the magic begin

Specialists, not Generalists Visit us at our inspiring showroom in Hertfordshire where you can explore the NOMA forest, walk around our lighting wonderland, and enjoy a Grillstream BBQ lunch in the LeisureGrow BBQ lodge. For showroom bookings or a virtual tour contact your local sales representative or call 01462 744500 Alternatively visit our showroom remotely with our immersive, highly detailed virtual guided showroom tour. Visit our stand at the Harrogate show, 16th to the 19th of January where you’ll experience all our new and old seasonal favourites for Christmas 2022.

www.noma.co.uk

BRAND PROFILE EXHIBITION i Festive Lights Harrogate J

The Ultimate Christmas Experience For a show that’s lauded as the friendliest trade event of the year, Harrogate Christmas & Gift is also famed for attracting visitors serious about festive buying. Sarah Welsh spoke to show organiser Simon Anslow…

his year good retail tidings are back in Harrogate, and the truly unique trade show that is Christmas & Gift promises to be better than ever for 2022. From 16 to 19 January, Harrogate Convention Centre will transform into a place of festive wonder and magic, with Christmas, celebration, gift and home décor product aplenty, show stands that will inspire and colour, trend and merchandising ideas that take the guesswork out of buying for Christmas. The last two years in the festive and gift retail sectors are something that could never have been predicted. Christmas & Gift – which originally started life as Harrogate International Toy Fair – celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2020, but ended up being one of the only major trade shows held in the UK that year before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year of course Christmas & Gift couldn’t take place, but in 2022 the 71st edition of the show is back with a yuletide bang! The historic show has evolved many times during its long history and is now renowned for its sheer breadth of product combined with an intimate ambience that exhibitors and buyers alike love. Show organiser Simon Anslow has himself been at the helm since 2010, building on his experience of being heavily involved with the running of sister event Harrogate International Nursery Fair.

“Christmas & Gift is the only show of its kind specialising in festive products,” Simon says “Year on year our exhibitors have built on this, and we now have multiple halls with beautiful stands, packed with product. “The show takes place just after Christmas and Harrogate keeps all the decorations up. The trees are lit up, there’s festive music, stunning decorations, an amazing atmosphere and you can smell Christmas as soon as you walk through the doors. “Festive buyers want to buy for next year in January when last Christmas is still fresh in their minds and they have a very clear idea of what’s sold well for them. “Big manufacturers at Christmas & Gift often manufacture to order, and buyers like to see and experience their product samples in person. Ordering Christmas can be a long process. “And what’s brilliant about our location at the convention centre, is that you can park your car and then don’t need it for the rest of the week. Socially Harrogate is a wonderful location too, with great bars and restaurants.” Christmas & Gift now features many other complementary product categories alongside Christmas, that feed into the overall festive theme. These include gifts,

“We are delighted to confirm that we have now secured new dates for the show from Sunday 9th May to Tuesday 11th May 2021 at the Harrogate Convention Centre”

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floral products and home accessories. Evolving lifestyles, the way people shop and the needs of buyers – which include many tourist attractions and heritage sites at the show, to name just one small retail sector – all mean that these days Harrogate Christmas & Gift manages very successfully to be many things to many people. “One of our biggest visitor categories is garden centre buyers and they want breadth,” Simon explains. “They come to buy for Christmas but also want to buy gifts. This can range from books to ornaments and even pet products. “We also have home décor companies who exhibit because people want to dress their homes at Christmas. You’ll see cushions, throws, lamps, soft furnishings, tableware, cutlery and china here. “Over the years product at the show has diversified, and now I’d say it’s about 75 per cent Christmas. We also have celebration-centred product – for example, Halloween ranges, and ideas for baby showers. Premier Decorations has a specialist Halloween range and on the Gisela Graham stand buyers will find products for Easter and baby showers and christenings. “More generally across the board we have a broad range of buyers. They come from big department stores including Fenwicks, from independent shops, from cathedral and museum shops and from visitor attractions like Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures.

Visit the website at www.harrogatefair.com for the latest information and updates. christmasinjanuary.co.uk

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

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

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PROFILE Snowtime

Ring out the old,

ring in the New Mike Withers chairman of Snowtime reflects on past industry problems and is looking forward to 2022

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New. I am pleased to announce that Trans-Continental Group has a new managing director.

Sara Murray has been with the company for 22 years, first as buying manager and latterly as buying director. There are few people in the Christmas industry more experienced than Sara, who has been in the business for 32 years, having joined Mr. Christmas straight from school. She will bring her vast knowledge of all aspects of the trade to her new role and I have no doubt that her undoubted drive and ambition will ensure the continued success of the company in the years ahead. Lee Kennerley is appointed sales director and is well known in the industry. Lee was with the company for 4 years earlier in the decade and rejoins in his new role in time for Harrogate. I warmly welcome both appointments and look forward to the new team taking the company forward for many years to come.

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“Well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted”. So wrote the legendary Cassandra in his first column for the Daily Mirror after the end of the second world war. I rather know how he felt. The Harrogate Christmas And Gift show is the alpha and omega (but not omicron) of the Christmas industry and it is with a certain lightness of heart that I return to my spiritual home, the Harrogate Convention Centre, so recently a Nightingale hospital. How quickly things can change. Having spent a good part of the last 27 years in the Far East sourcing products, I have not been able to travel there for the last two. However, as when contemplating a dismal score during a round of golf, I remind myself that the situation may not be ideal but it is the situation, and we have to make the best of it.

We have all had to adjust to the new reality and change our way of working. This has meant countless Zoom calls with factories, selection of new products from images, designs sent instantly backwards and forwards by the miracle of technology but what has not changed is the determination to serve our customers and not let anyone down. We all know the difficulties in the supply chain. Last year we paid on average $1,800 per container, this year $18,000, a staggering tenfold increase. And don’t get me started on the idiot who got his boat stuck in the Suez Canal! I formed the view early on that we had no choice but to accept the ridiculous freight rates and told my shipping manager to stop asking me for permission

but to get on and ship ASAP. As my staff are no doubt sick of hearing me say, there is one thing worse for a business than having stock at inflated prices, and that is having no stock at all. January is a time for looking forward, not back, so, as an incorrigible optimist, I believe that things will be better in 2022, that the worst is behind us and that only the “sunlit uplands” lie before us. SnowTime has a wonderful new product range to present to customers, we have a strong team in all departments, tempered in the travails of the last two years, but most importantly, we have a broad base of loyal customers that we have served for more than 26 years and hope to continue doing so for many more. Happy New Year.

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Konstsmide Quality lasts longer – more environmentally friendly

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

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

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PROFILE Weiste

Eco Christmas

Nordic Winter

Antique Accent

Creating Christmas

since 1924

Finnish family business Weiste is celebrating Christmas in 2022 with new styles and a range of beautiful festive collections

Family Christmas

From its fairy-tale beginnings, Weiste has been a market leader in the design and manufacture of Christmas decorations. Founded by industrious Kalle Weiste - who ran a paper shop in Helsinki in the 1920s and saw a gap in the market for manufacturing decorations, today Weiste maintains its tradition as a family business, alongside its reputation for excellent customer service and reliability. Weiste has been trading in the UK for more than 40 years, and for 2022 the brand builds on its strong themes of Family Christmas, Nordic Winter, Baby’s First Christmas, and its ground breaking Eco brand, as well as introducing new styles with antique accents and natural earth tones, and adding new leaf patterns to its legendary, bestselling tinsel range.

Family Christmas

This year, perhaps more than ever, our sense of family and being together means so much. These traditional red and green designs are enduring favourites and capture the spirit of family fun with a warm and cosy feel. Make Christmas a truly homely affair, with natural winter comfort from the homeland of Father Christmas.

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Nordic Winter

This core range for Weiste, takes you on a journey into the wild depths of Lapland. Travel through the winter wonderland of forested Finnish landscapes, frozen lakes twinkling in the snow and herds of reindeer walking gently across open plains. These designs encapsulate the dream of a White Christmas.

Baby’s First Christmas

Weiste’s legendary Baby’s First Christmas bauble is the perfect gift for a new baby! Year after year, the baby’s very own bauble is draped on the Christmas tree, delighting the whole family. You might prefer the simple white bauble with a twist of silver, or perhaps the more traditional type, opting for pink or blue. This year the range includes new products and more neutral tones.

Eco Christmas

A revolution in the Christmas decorations industry, Weiste’s famous eco-friendly product line is made from biodegradable wooden fibre. The collection features the coveted eco-friendly Christmas bauble, the result of expert design and engineering at Weise’s factory

in Finland. The range includes twigged garlands, tinsels, mini Christmas trees, filigrees and tree top stars, made either of paper or biocomposite. Additions for 2022 include golden and red glittered Christmas baubles and filigrees together with Eco Baby’s First Christmas baubles.

New for 2022

This year Weiste adds new styles to its range with antique accents and natural earth tones, enhancing the traditional feel of Christmas and honouring the Scandinavian’s deep love of nature. Not only that, Weiste’s classic and extensive range of tinsels includes beautiful new leaf patterns this year. Also don’t forget Weiste’s irresistible range of bestselling mice! Although not exhibiting at Harrogate this year, Weiste will have its usual stand at Christmasworld in Frankfurt (9.0 B60), running from 28 January to 1 February. Weiste’s 2022 Collection is available to order online via their web-shop, or via a video call with one of their UK Sales Team. *For more information visit: www.weisteshop.fi and: eko.weiste.com

UK Agent: Morris May Ltd | 0131 208 0247 | info@morrismay.com christmasinjanuary.co.uk

Konstsmide THE brand for all your quality Christmas Lighting

Visit us at: HARROGATE CHRISTMAS & GIFT 16th–19th January 2022 Stand M22

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

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

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BRAND PROFILELesser & Pavey

Focused on

the Future

Last year Lesser & Pavey celebrated its landmark 50th anniversary, not quite in the way the company would have wished for. However, the home of the legendary Leonardo Collection is firmly fixed on another successful year ahead, as Sarah Welsh discovers… Since its establishment in 1971, Lesser & Pavey has built a worldwide reputation on supplying Gift and Homeware pieces that combine design flair alongside a love of nostalgia – and all at very affordable prices. With an in-house art department and 15,000 sq ft offices and showroom in Dartford, Lesser & Pavey is also famed for its main focus brand: The Leonardo Collection – and as Director Jonny Greves told Christmas in January, the company can’t wait to showcase its exciting new festive collections and launch a new Christmas collaboration for 2022. 2021 was a strange year for the festive and gift trade, but an important one for Lesser & Pavey… Yes, we’d been due to celebrate our anniversary at Spring Fair in February, but ended up having to celebrate with people when we saw them in exceptional circumstances! It was nice to have that anniversary, but to be honest as a company we’re always really focused on the future anyway.

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Why does The Leonardo Collection have such broad appeal? The Leonardo Collection dates back to the 70’s not long after Lesser & Pavey launched. People buy into certain styles and it’s certainly developed into some core Gift and Tableware product ranges. The Tableware side of the collection has become much broader: Mugs, Jugs, Trays, Coasters & Placemats – even venturing into more Gift like items such as Candles and Diffusers. The Leonardo Collection has a big audience that’s for sure.

“Harrogate is where we officially launch our new Christmas products each year, although we do have many visitors to our showroom throughout December as well. Lesser & Pavey bring out an entirely fresh range of designs for Christmas each year.” You’re also well known for collaboration with artists and greeting card designers…

Yes, it’s core to our business really and always a big part of Christmas for us. I’m currently sitting in our showroom looking at our festive designs for 2022, and I have to say what we do really well is combine traditional designs with ranges that feature more contemporary artwork, so there’s something for everyone. I think that’s a key to our success – we like to offer something traditional alongside ranges that are more ‘on trend’ and contemporary as well. How important is Harrogate Christmas & Gift Show for you? Harrogate is where we officially launch our new Christmas products each year, although we do have many visitors to our showroom throughout December as well. Lesser & Pavey bring out an entirely fresh range of designs for Christmas each year. We only show our Christmas range at the Christmas & Gift show, around 500 pieces, but we spend a lot of time developing our festive range, because we aim to improve it year on year. At Spring Fair we launch our full range for 2022, so our stand there is one of the biggest at the show.

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What is it about Christmas & Gift that you love? The Harrogate show is so focused on Christmas, and that means when we’re exhibiting there that we can give this season its proper attention. It’s not the biggest show, but it attracts excellent numbers of serious festive buyers from all sectors of the market including garden centres. Christmas is a huge event in the retail calendar and it’s getting bigger all the time. Tableware and matching Giftware has become a massive part of Christmas and that’s great for The Leonardo Collection. We tend to pick up lots of new customers at Christmas & Gift, as well as Spring Fair, but Harrogate in particular always has a lovely atmosphere and it’s a great opportunity for customers to see and touch the products. Can you tell us more about the artwork for this Christmas? We have three collections from the MacNeil Studio, which has a traditional

feel, delicately painted designs with attention to detail that our customers love. This artwork features Snowmen, Animals, Robins and an idyllic Christmas scene. These designs are quintessentially British. We also use artwork from the Jennifer Rose Gallery which are featured on two ranges – Winter Robins and Forest Family. These are more contemporary watercolour designs, very subtle and simplistic, using softer colours. And finally, what about your new design collaboration for Christmas 2022? We have a brand new range called ‘The Berry Thief ’, by artist Karen Tye Bentley which is really exciting. It is inspired by the famous William Morris Strawberry Thief print, which is very well known. Our range features Robins, Berries, Pine Cones and Mistletoe in a delicate repeat pattern. It’s very festive and we think it will be hugely popular with our customers. We can’t wait to see their reaction to it.

What products will you be showcasing at Harrogate this year? We’ll be taking a huge array of Gift and Tableware from The Leonardo Collection – Mugs, Coasters, Placemats, Lap Trays, Jugs, Butter Dishes, Salt & Pepper Sets – as well as Fragranced Candles and Diffusers, Cushions, Doorstops and Gift Bags. In terms of festive imagery, we use popular subjects, but always different artwork each year. Robins are very popular, as is Santa and the Magic of Christmas. We’ll also be taking Plush Santas and Reindeers to Christmas & Gift, and some stand out statement pieces.

For more information visit: www.leonardo.co.uk Harrogate show stand: Hall A, Stand A6 | Spring Fair show stand: Hall 5, Stand 5D10-E11 christmas in january 41

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PROFILE Shatchi

Shatchi see their

sales grow

I caught up with Shatchi’s sales director John McVey to find out how they have been coping during these turbulent times and to learn what 2022 holds for this fast-growing company. Over the past three years both sales of their ‘Shatchi’ brand of Christmas products and MSpa hot tubs have enjoyed massive growth. So much so that their stand in Hall ‘M’ at Harrogate is far

John continued “We have taken measures to ensure that for 2022 by ordering key items already and working with our closest and most trusted factories that deliveries will arrive in a

“Shatchi have increased their Hitchin, Hertfordshire showroom and are already welcoming buyers by appointment to come and see for themselves” larger than in previous years to cope with the increased range of both existing and new products. These include all main categories of Christmas such as lit products, room décor and gift items. With all companies in this sector experiencing frustrating delays to their shipping and delivery plans I asked John the question ‘How have Shatchi managed their deliveries from the Far East to ensure customers’ deliveries?” He told me “Like everyone else, we managed to battle our way through to ensure that the bulk of our deliveries arrived in good time, but we certainly had some very frustrating problems to overcome.”

timely fashion. Of course, this is a global problem and what with power supply problems in China and possible shortages of chips and other necessary raw materials, we can only ensure that we have done everything possible our end to ensure the arrival of our products.” Shatchi have increased their Hitchin, Hertfordshire showroom and are already welcoming buyers by appointment to come and see for themselves. John stresses that not only are Shatchi top quality, but their prices are amongst the keenest in the U.K.

Showroom appoints call 01462 432 600 or email John at john@shatchi.co.uk 42 christmas in january

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PROFILE Puleo

Artificial

Christmas Intelligence Puleo Asia has built a reputation for inspired and innovative artificial Christmas trees and outdoor décor, but the roots of this business started with a pivotal purchase way back in 1954… Puleo Asia might now enjoy globally, with Puleo Asia based in international success on a big scale, Kowloon, Hong Kong, whilst its UK but at its heart it is still a family showroom is based in Rochdale. business. Adrian Yapp, from the UK Sales And it’s this founding essence team, says that Puleo Asia is of close relatives and looking ahead to “Grand, majestic 2022 with designs friends gathered around a beautiful for everyone. and imposing festive tree at the “Grand, majestic centre of a brightly-lit, looking trees and imposing welcoming home, that such as the looking trees the brand will bring to such as the Harrogate Christmas & Kensington Kensington Fir and Gift this month. the Washington Fir and the The company was Valley, continue to Washington originally founded lead the trend for when matriarch Valley, continue this style of tree,” Marian Puleo bought Adrian reveals. to lead the an artificial tree for “Meanwhile striking her family home in short needle trend for this New Jersey back in trees, portraying style of tree” the early 1950s. She a noble kingly planned hand-crafted appearance, improvements she could make like the Northern Fir and to the simple tree to really bring the Barrington Spruce, Christmas to life for her loved ones, offer something for those and this ethos has since been who prefer trees with an passed down the generations of impressive outward show. both the business owners and its “We’ve also seen a many customers. large increase in sales The Puleo family went on to of index shaped found the company in their garage, trees. For those who growing it from there, and today like the natural the Puleo brand is one of the forestry look, biggest producers of creative the Kingsmere and unique artificial trees and Darlington

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For more information visit: www.puleointl.com Harrogate show stand: Hall C, Stand C22

designs are really appealing for the customer.” Adrian says the Puleo brand has seen sales in the UK for pre-lit Christmas trees continue to grow year on year, alongside sales of pre-lit wreaths. “Puleo Asia also boasts an engaging range of pre-decorated wreaths, offering the warmth of cones, berries and fruit, complemented by designs featuring primary and pastelcoloured baubles,” he says. “And replicating the freshness of a frosty morning, wreaths with a dusting of snow and a glacial effect are also available. “Finally, we’re also offering a welcome range of plain, plentifully tipped wreaths, for those who prefer to decorate themselves. The range – built on more than 55 years of experience – is completed with a family of amazing garlands, stunning swags and an array of mini trees.”

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PROFILE Leisuregrow

Constantly re-inventing christmas It is always a pleasure to visit Noma’s Hertfordshire H.Q. in Hinxworth, where Leisuregrow have steadily built up this long-established brand under Frank Kaminski’s watchful eye.

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“We were prepared for the issues with shipping, but we have a great relationship with our shipping agents as LeisureGrow is a business that ship 12 months a year”

A quick blast up the A1M and I was soon being shown around the Noma showroom to see for myself a virtual cornucopia of lighting taking many different forms, much of it new awaiting launching at Harrogate in January. Like all companies during 2021, the company knew they would be facing issues with shipping. Frank told me “We were prepared for the issues with shipping, but we have a great relationship with our shipping agents as LeisureGrow is a business that ship 12 months a year. Our customers were well informed of the status of their stock on a daily basis and as a result were sympathetic and supportive’’. Some shipments were delayed further than we would have liked, but again our customers accepted this as they appreciated this was beyond everyones control. Our partners in China, many of whom Frank has dealt with for 20/30 years for saw the I.C/Chip problems and were able to secure enough I.C. chips for the season and beyond, despite there being a world wide shortage.” Frank was full of praise for James Quigley and his Noma operations team and the way in which they dealt with customers shipping and deliveries. Moving into 2022 Noma have already placed orders for the entire year with their Chinese partners, giving them more than enough stock to supply customers to the end of 2022, that should see early deliveries into their warehouse in Wisbech, where Noma have taken additional warehouse space. Frank

added “Times have changed and we have to make sure that we can fulfil our customers’ orders.” New for 2022 A collection of outdoor festive figures including a magnificent Highland stag. These festive outdoor characters have a clever ‘duo bulb’ that can change from white to warm white or even a mixture of the two. Many new designs have been added and as Frank says “We feel these new design give the Wow factor. Noma have a merchandising team that are able to help customers to create appealing Christmas scenes within their garden centres/stores – just another service than enhances Noma’s customer care. A very clever range launched last year are their ‘Magic Candles’. These have a wand that control the lighting and as Frank states ”These now have a definite magical feel to them.” Connectables – An ever growing range that more and more can be added for all year round and not just for the Christmas period. These lines are also ideal for summer lighting too ! `A growing trend are Noma’s colour changeable ranges. Also finding favour more and more are Noma’s fine wire lights, I particularly liked a new range from Noma of Bristle lit trees. These make an ideal indoor centre piece for any table, door or shelf. Being also a leisure outdoor furniture supplier we have used our expertise and designed a new range of outdoor festive rattan

characters in a stunning flat grey weave material combined with the duo bulb. With a history going back over 80 years, Noma’s ‘Heritage’ range comprising a selection of nostalgic Christmas light chains and seasonal table top that include a Ferris wheel, Carousel, ice skating ring and a most impressive rocking horse, that I can foresee being an item that can be handed down the generations. New for Noma are a collection of paper stars plus a selection of lit baubles, all in white – certainly different to the traditional Christmas bauble. Quite a number of Noma’s products could be described as stunning the Outdoor lit wreaths certainly fall into this category. Starry Nights – An ever more popular part of Noma’s outdoor lighting are their magnificent starry nights range It consists of a range of trees that have both hard and soft fixings with heights up to

12 metres. The larger trees need a flag pole to guarantee a firm fixing. Part of this range are their door trees that can be easily fixed to any door both inside and out. Having been shown around the showroom, it was time to enter a new area known as ‘Secret Garden’. This room comprised a collection of impressive garden lighting that comes under the Solar 365 and ‘Fit & Forget’ battery category Many different shapes and sizes that give the consumer 72 days of constant high lumen lighting. Packaging and re-branding – Frank was very pleased with the company’s new re-branding, Which has resulted in increased orders, the new style enables the customer to instantly understand the product they are purchasing. With an increased amount of stand space at Harrogate, Noma look forward to showing their many new and existing ranges to both new and existing customers.

Harrogate A9, A22 | www.noma.co.uk | 01462 744500 christmas in january 47

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PROFILE Heyland & Whittle

Hope and Glory and Harrogate

Award-winning home fragrance company Heyland & Whittle love offering customers old and new something a little different at festive-focused Christmas & Gift…

Heyland & Whittle have staked their reputation on making their luxury scented candles, room diffusers and finest handmade soaps here in Britain with the finest natural ingredients, and a lot of love. At Harrogate Christmas & Gift this family company – founded by Paddy and Ursula Heyland – is always a big hit, in particular with the many garden centre buyers who attend, and this year they are taking a beautiful collection of product to showcase, including something particularly special. The brand’s Hope & Glory range

has been produced to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and includes a stylish candle, diffuser and organic soap with a gorgeous scent, all presented in smart patriotic packaging. Heyland & Whittle are also taking their collection of Eco Candles to the show. The popular range of six stunning fragrant, and sustainable, candles, are palm free and made with soy wax for a clean, slow burn. And as Paddy says: “The team can’t wait to see all our customers on our stand at Harrogate.”

For more information visit: www.heylandandwhittle.co.uk Harrogate show stand: Hall C, Stand C6 Spring Fair show stand: 4G77 48 christmas in january

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A Glimpse of Gisela Graham’s 2022 Christmas Collection Across Europe there’s really nothing to match Gisela Graham’s 2022 Christmas collection: fourteen designer collections comprising over 2,500 SKUs, including an awful lot of balls... and it sells Our London showroom opened 01 December 2021. Or see us at the Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair 16-19 January 2022, Hall M, Stands M14 & M16 GISELA GRAHAM LIMITED $PMXPSUI (SPWF #SPXOJOH 4USFFU -POEPO 4& -3 TBMFT!HJTFMBHSBIBN DP VL XXX HJTFMBHSBIBN DP VL

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BRAND PROFILE Festive Lights

Festive Lights have that

Twinkly feeling

One of the success stories in Christmas lighting is that of Festive Lights and their ‘Twinkly brand. So it was that I headed my car up the M1 and then M6 to meet Matt Higginson at the company’s Wigan warehouse. I must confess that it was my first visit to Wigan, it was whilst there on a business trip, Mark’s but once at the warehouse it was indeed a trip curiosity led him to the World trade show well worthwhile making. where he discovered Christmas lighting. With First and foremost, Festive is very much a a 15-year background retailing cut trees from family success story now in its 22nd year. Founder his self-made tree farm, the prospect of selling Mark Higginson along with his wife Margaret Christmas lighting wasn’t totally alien to the established the company in the family. With retail space available family’s home village of Charnock “The company truly in his then recently acquired Richard, near Chorley. Mark decided to order a are a family business. office, It is a brilliant story that I’m container for the approaching sure that Mark never envisaged millennium and on his return No less than four growing to include a 90,000sq. opened a Christmas shop. siblings Matt, Mark The lighting store proved very ft. warehouse plus a very healthy turnover of over £20 popular in the area and grew to junior, Martin and million. Originally a Forester, be the regions ‘go too’ specialists Mark’s car was stolen in the late Michelle along with and solidifying Festive lights LTD 80’s, so he decided to invent in 2004. Michelle’s husband a security device to ensure it The company truly are a never happened again. Matt family business. No less than Stephen make up a showed me this very clever four siblings Matt, Mark junior, 7-member board of Martin and Michelle along with device in bright yellow that fits snugly around the steering Michelle’s husband Stephen directors” wheel with a lock system that make up a 7-member board of makes it impossible to remove. The Disklok directors with each responsible for a key sector is still the strongest security lock in its class within the company. and the ethos of ‘building the best’ is carried Along with Steve, Matt showed me the very throughout the group. efficient picking and packaging system that With manufacturing relocated to Taiwan, ensured not only Festive products, but also a

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From Left to right Stephen Alty (Company Director) Michelle Alty (HR Director) Mark Higginson (Managing Director) Margaret Higginson (Managing Director) Matt Higginson (Commercial Sales Director) Martin Higginson (Marketing Director) Mark Higginson (Purchasing Director) number of third-party companies. Along with over 100 fulfilment clients, their distribution centre is capable of dispatching 5000+ orders every day and operates at this level for the 8 weeks run up to Christmas. A new 8,000sq.ft dispatch extension with 3 loading bays had just been opened, further enhancing the company’s efficiency, turnaround times and growth demands. During the three-month pre-Christmas period, Festives’ employees swell to over 100

christmasinjanuary.co.uk

Festive for Business

staff to cope with increased order processing in their distribution center. During my guided tour, there was an obvious feel-good atmosphere amongst the staff and I got the feeling the family have developed a critical mutual respect which breeds achievement. Having completed the tour, I then followed Matt to the company’s showroom in Chorley, which I found to be just a few miles from Wigan. Standing out in the total darkness, Disklok House provided the perfect showroom to illustrate the Festive collection of Lighting. With the impressive sell-through of the Christmas lighting in their shop, it wasn’t long before Mark Higginson was importing in volume and supplying to wholesale and e-commerce accounts, major electrical wholesalers very soon became regular customers.

Connect Pro – uses just one power point to a maximum of 7600 LEDs thanks to mains voltage, the system adapts each year to follow market demands to current needs in the professional and retail sector. This system has just won the Which? Best buy award 2021. Festoon Pro – Again uses just one mains voltage power source and is connectable based so a customized length and bulb type can be tailored to individual spaces and demands commercially. Connect Go – Similar to Connect Pro, it’s their most diverse system, but on a safer low voltage for the domestic and semi-professional market. Can be powered by plug, battery or solar with multi-function and timer options. For any buyer looking to invest in premium Christmas or seasonal lighting, be it in retail, hospitality or commercial lighting, Festive have each sector fully covered. They carry stock year-round and can work with bulk forward ordering too. You can obtain full details via their website – www.business.festivelights.com or www.twinkly.com Festive Lights are a totally rounded lighting company selling not only to retail customers, but to the event, leisure, hospitality and professional installation outfits. Having built up an enviable market share with their Connect Pro, Connect Go and Festoon Pro, Festive were able to secure the distribution rights in 2018 for the U.K. for the Italian created ‘Twinkly’ lighting system controlled by an app on your smart phone. Against several other companies vying for the U.K. distribution rights, ‘Twinkly’ chose Festive to be their U.K. distributor as the best fit to nurture the brand in multiple channels and sectors.

Until then America were the main beneficiaries of the technology and in the U.K. only John Lewis retailed the range. Twinkly lighting offers an infinite number of effects controlled from a very sophisticated app, that truly needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. The effects are dazzling with 2021 sales proving what a fabulous system this is, at home and on the high street.

Twinkly Pro

Working with commercial installation partners that Festive have chosen very carefully for their various skillsets, Twinkly Pro can be seen at a number of sites nationwide that include a 36ft Christmas tree installed outside Manchester City football club. Other locations include Liverpool F.C., John Lewis (Oxford Street), town center’s such as Middlesbrough, Plymouth and Watford plus over 20 Garden Centre’s to name a few. The company’s stand at Spring Fair will be split between both the Retail and Commercial offerings for both Festive brands and Twinkly Retail and Pro. Many retailers have invested in Twinkly PRO for their outdoor WOW displays, then presented the retail range indoors for consumers to replicate in their own homes – a revolution in the making!

Email – business@festive-lights.com or twinkly@festive-lights.com Tel:+44 (0)1257 792111 (opt 2) christmas in january 51

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PROFILE Ivyline

A sustainable

Christmas with Ivyline Book your place now to visit the new Ivyline showroom At a time when the world has become increasingly conscious of our impact on the environment, even the smallest of changes can make all the difference in becoming more sustainable, especially during the Christmas period. Here at Ivyline, our exquisite Christmas catalogue has been curated with the planet in mind, whilst still bringing festive joy into our homes and gardens. We aim to put people and the planet first, and every sourcing decision we make is carefully considered for its impact on our planet and reducing our carbon footprint. With guaranteed delivery times and pricing stability across our suppliers, you can plan your seasonal buying with confidence. We audit each of our supplier manufacturing facilities to ensure they meet global ethical standards, and with our business focus to drive down the excessive use of packaging, this ensures

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your purchases are ethical and sustainable from design through to deliver. Our 2022 Christmas collection is made up of five key trends: Rituals, Eco-Friendly, Japandi, Nordic Forrest and Luxury Christmas. Our ethical, ‘Sustainable Christmas’ edit for 2022 is designed with love in our UK studio and comprises everything from candles and decorations, to tree buckets, mats and skirts. A beautiful Christmas shouldn’t cost the earth, and with our sustainable Christmas collection you can help to reduce the impact on the environment as well as filling homes and gardens with festive cheer. With functional beauty at the heart of everything we do, our vast array of Christmas tree skirts and buckets will guarantee the tree is the focal point of the living

space. The handmade, foldable tree skirts, made from warming and inviting jute, seagrass and water hyacinth, blend effortlessly with our chic and contemporary wicker decorations and wreaths that have been selected with sustainability and the best interests of the planet in mind. Oozing luxury and helping to create a warm and snug atmosphere, Christmas isn’t complete without our candles, sourced from European manufacturers, casting enchanting shadows around the room from our advent tealight centerpiece, or from our new ‘Felicity circular base lanterns’ which feature acacia wood from FSC approved forests. Our ecofriendly candles are made from 100 per cent vegetable rapeseed oil and no aluminium is used for the wick holder.

For over 45 years, our mission at Ivyline has been to enrich lifestyles by creating inspirational products for the home and garden. Founded in 1976, our dedicated team work passionately throughout the entire production process, ensuring our beautiful, high quality and trend driven products bring home and garden to life. Opened in November 2021 our brand-new showroom in the heart of Warwickshire gives you the chance to preview all our ranges, including the core Ivyline range, Outdoor Furniture and Botanicals collection, as well as the new Christmas 2022 edit. With complimentary lunch and gifts, come and visit our Covid-19 safe facility at our head office, from 11 January to 28 February, 2022.

For more information email: sales@ivylinegb.co.uk or call: 0844 800 2214. Ivyline Ltd, Stoneleigh House, Stoneleigh Park, CV8 2LG christmasinjanuary.co.uk

7 ranges of fabulous Themed Decorations

Extensive library of images available to use throughout the ranges

See all of these ranges and more HARROGATE CHRISTMAS & GIFT 16th-19th January 2022 Harrogate Convention Centre - Hall H

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Extensive library of lifestyle images available for trees and floristry

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PROFILE Konstsmide

Creating brand awareness with the lighting specialists

konstsmide

After 15 years of guiding the U.K. fortunes of Konstsmide, Richard Jerrom is stepping down as M.D. and handing over the reins to Oscar Johansson. Richard will continue in his role as Financial Director, retiring in 2022.

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Richard Jerrom - Finance Director with Oscar Johansson - M.D.

Following 10 years of living in London, followed by three years working with Konstsmide at their Chesterfield H.Q. Oscar is well equipped to manage the company. As the son of one of the three owners of Konstsmide, as Oscar told me “I have been involved in the business since the age of five and now have an opportunity to increase sales and most importantly brand awareness.” Oscar sees growth through a far greater use of Social Media to further enhance recognition of the Konstsmide range and of course the company’s website. 2022 sees the company celebrating 80 years of experience and they are proud to have led many advances in lighting technology. The first company to create ‘Welcome Lights’ that now sees almost every home in Britain owning a set. Over the years Konstsmide’s Welcome Lights have seen many new designs and ideas to suit all tastes and pockets first hitting the market in 1947. Transformers – Konstsmide were the first company to make use of transformers to run their lighting sets and finally LED’s – again the first company to create LED lighting. First and foremost is their almost slavish commitment to quality. They have never been a company to manufacture for a specific price, always using top quality parts and components to ensure that the finished product is second to none.

Konstsmide are famous as specialists in all forms of lighting and whilst this magazine concentrates on Christmas related products, their other lighting assortment that specializes in outdoor lighting for your house and garden also enjoys a very good reputation. Any company that has a long history such as Konstsmide (founded in 1942) and one that has never deviated from its core products must be doing something right! Sustainability – Equally important, according to Oscar, was that the quality branded product is better made and will last longer, a thing Konstsmide pride themselves on. This, of course, will have an environmental impact as well. Instead of buying the “one year throw-away” cheap product that impacts on the environment, if carefully stored each year will most certainly last the test of time. It has been a challenging year for all companies delivering from the Far East and Richard believes the freight companies have been taking advantage and inflating their prices. Unfortunately, he can see it going on well into 2022. Konstsmide have been delighted that despite all the problems they have managed to deliver the bulk of their products that were ordered. Continues Richard Jerrom “Customers have been most understanding,

appreciating the challenges that we have faced and we look forward to introducing our new products to them at Harrogate .” Richard fears, though, 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 cooperating 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. Konstsmide continue to thrive in the U.K. marketplace by constantly offering top-

quality product with original designs that give them a point of difference over their rivals. Harrogate will see a brand new stand design at their normal location in Hall ‘M’ where plenty of new designs and ideas await.

For more information visit: www.konstsmide.co.uk | E-mail: sales@konstsmide.co.uk Harrogate show stand: Hall M, Stand 22 christmas in january 57

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PROFILE Artcuts

Crafting the

Perfect Christmas Craft, gift and decoration experts Artcuts have been producing beautiful and truly unique product for a decade, and these core values still run right through this family business… It’s been a tough two years for everyone with expertise in the festive and gift trade, and Surrey-based sustainable designers and manufacturers Artcuts are no exception. After attending five trade shows in January 2020, garnering fantastic feedback and receiving a stack of huge orders from American-based buyers, they then felt the weight of COVID hit – seeing 27 cancelled orders on the Monday that the first national lockdown was announced. But this is a family-grown business beloved by trade and retail buyers alike, with its highly original laser cut wooden pieces and craft kits, manufactured in small runs, from Scandinavian Birch wood. The coveted pieces are completed with a range of paper and fabric designs, ranging from Japanese silk-screened Chiyogami papers to iconic William Morris Liberty London prints, and Tartan finishes. Now almost two years on from the onset of the pandemic, and the Artcuts team has been supplying John Lewis stores to huge acclaim since March 2021, with staff doing demonstrations in store, and has also clocked up five years of supplying pieces to National Trust England. As they look ahead to their

decade anniversary in April, Artcuts founder and owner Derek Cox says he is pleased to put a chaotic 2021 behind them, with a jam-packed first few months of the new year to enjoy. “We’re looking forward to showing at Christmas & Gift, Top Drawer, Spring Fair and Scotland’s Trade Fair Spring,” Derek says. “Having attended a couple of retail shows in the late autumn that are a good barometer for the trade market, we were thrilled because we couldn’t keep up with demand! “Customers and retailers alike are still buying, but it’s in a more considered way I think. They want a quality design and product, and that is what Artcuts is all about. The trend seems to be about pared back, simple pieces and getting back to nature.” Amongst the company’s product being showcased at Harrogate, will be Hamish, their famed tartan cow design – which sells really well in the States – alongside 3D stags, hares and rabbits finished in beautiful prints, as well as a large number of craft kits, including festive crafts. “The organic style of our product range sits really well

with buyers at Harrogate,” Derek says. “Our pieces are very tactile, wood-based with hints of metallics and copper. They’re very popular with heritage sites such as Cathedrals and Abbeys and of course garden centres. “We’re also really happy to help our buyers with merchandising ideas, and have even built display stands for some garden centre customers. “It has been a tough couple of years, but we’re holding our nerve with some beautiful new designs coming through, as well as planning some extra deals to mark our 10th anniversary.”

For more information visit: www.artcutstrade.com. Harrogate show stand: A38B | Spring Fair show stand: 4D70 58 christmas in january

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PROFILE Keel Toys

Sustainable

Christmas Joy! For Patrick Downs, Head of Design at Keel Toys, festive inspiration for working in toy and gift industry comes from his four-year-old son Zachary. But Patrick’s team will be helping to bring the wonder of Christmas to many other homes in 2022… The last two years have been particularly challenging ones for the retail sector. How have they been for the team at Keel Toys? It’s been an incredibly challenging time for us – as I’m sure it has been for every other company in the UK – but we’re lucky to have an incredibly strong business, as well as a fantastic team that have guided us through. We’ve used the last couple of years to invest in and grow our Keeleco range, making us the number one recycled soft toy supplier in today’s market. In fact, since Keeleco launched in 2020, we’ve used the equivalent of more than 14m water bottles in the manufacture of the range. Christmas & Gift has always been a much-loved show. What appeals to you about Harrogate? We’ve been exhibiting at the show for many years. Our Christmas collection is a key area of the Keel Toys range so the show is invaluable, both in showcasing its importance and meeting our key festive customers in a very focused setting.

What product ranges will you be showcasing at Harrogate this year? Our main showcase for the Harrogate show will be our 2022 Keeleco Christmas / Winter range. The collection has been completely redesigned for this year and is totally sustainable. The range features all new Reindeers, Penguins, Polar Bears and many more designs. We will also be showcasing Keeleco Adoptable World, the newest part of the sustainable soft range and the first fashion eco soft toy collection! With happy expressions and wide expressive adorable eyes, the collection of 12 characters simply begs to be picked up and adopted by a loving new owner. Keeleco are also soft toys that don’t cost the earth. Spring Fair is obviously broader in scope as a show than Christmas & Gift. How do you approach the NEC event in terms of what product to showcase, and visual merchandising? Spring Fair is a hugely important

show for us and a welcome opportunity to meet all of our customers face to face. We have one of the largest and most impressive stands at the fair and it allows us the space to showcase our entire range. The visual impact of our stand is vital in highlighting our collections and drawing attention to new products. Spring Fair 2022 will feature some fantastic new displays to highlight our Keeleco Adoptable World and Keeleco Baby ranges. The stand will also feature Keel Toys Retail Solutions, a fantastic and simple way to display key soft toy collections, including both FSDU and MDF permanent display units. Have you brought out a lot of new festive pieces for Christmas 2022, and is your design process influenced by sales trends from the year before? The 2022 Christmas range is all new for this year, our main focus was to make it 100 per cent recycled and 100 per cent huggable. Our design process for this range is heavily influenced by the success of our Keeleco range but

also with new fabrics, seasonal trends, patterns and finishes. We feature classic winter and Christmas character favourites along with all new Keeleco Adoptable World Christmas Reindeer, Owl & Penguin, and more. What are you most looking forward to for Christmas 2022 - both in terms of Keel Toys, and personally? We’re certainly looking forward to building on all the hard work and successes of 2021 and offering our customers even better product and levels of customer service. Personally, spending some quality time with family and friends, and like every year watching the wonder and excitement of my four year old, Zachary, open his presents on Christmas morning is one of the main reasons why I love working in the toy and gift industry!

For more information visit: www.keeltoys.com Harrogate show stand: Hall A, Stand A37 | Spring Fair show stand: 5G20-H21 60 christmas in january

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PROFILE

Premier Halloween

Premier Halloween 2021 Halloween has been an amazing year! Many children as well as adults dressed up and were out in the thick of it, trick or treating… What a joy that has been. Laughter as well as screams were heard up and down all streets. Even houses were all dressed up to the very last detail. Long gone are the days when one basic cobweb and a lantern were the most you would see. It was obvious how much planning, care and effort everybody put into their decorations and costumes. Lights and lit figures, animation, inflatables… all out! In the last couple of years, we have faced challenges in almost all aspects of life but I believe that we have also learned and grown, developed at the same time. We have seen more technology developments, systems and procedures being brought in and utilised to their utmost efficiency. Premier Decorations has not been an exception with our updated and improved online ordering portal, new and improved DD services, new packaging with the environment in mind and much much more.

For 2022 the Premier Decorations Halloween range has a lot of surprises. From new fun inflatables to innovation in outdoor lighting, animation and even whole new categories like Halloween gonks, trees and pet costumes and toys. Our showrooms are already open and packed with a variety of astonishing products and more surprises. Our Sales Team would be glad to make an appointment for you to visit and are ready to go around with you in case you need them. Alternatively you can always place your order online by registering for an account at www.premierdec.com, email us at sales@premierdec.com or simply pick up the phone and give us a call on 02086245555.

See them at Harrogate Christmas and Gift fair from Sunday 16th to 20th January in Hall H. 62 christmas in january

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Shatchi are delighted to announce our exciting and extensive new ranges of

Trees Lights Fibre Optics Room Décor and Gifts for 2022 Come and see us at: Harrogate Birmingham Christmas & Gift Fair Spring Fair NEC Hall C, Stand C2 Hall 5, Stand 5C70-E71 16th -19th Jan 2022 6th - 9th Feb 2022

"To order a catalogue or book an appointment at our Hitchin Showrooms please call 01462 432600"

J January 2022

Growing your business www.christmasinjanuary.co.uk

Christmas in January 2022

Articles inside

A sustainable Christmas with Ivyline

Halloween customers at Harrogate

Sustainable Christmas joy

Creating brand awareness

Crafting the perfect Christmas

Festive Lights have that ‘Twinkly’ Feeling

Home & Glory at Harrogate

Constantly re-inventing Christmas

Artificial Christmas intelligence

Shatchi see their sales grow

Show intro

Creating Christmas since 1924

Ring out the old, ring in the New

Focused on the future

Taking a chance on Christmas

Get your orders in while you can

Taking Snowlodge style to Harrogate

Coming up roses for 85 years

75years of festive experience

Leader

Christmas World update

GCA update

Spring Fair latest

Jolly Holly