In Profile: Widdop & Co

Autumn

Bounce Back

Currently part way through an 11-week Autumn Bounce Back showroom event, Widdop & Co’s creative director, Stephen Illingworth, highlights an exciting Autumn/Winter for the company. Open to visitors until September 17, there’s still time to head to Manchester!

From The 12 Dreams of Christmas to weddings, celebrations, occasions, Disney and other licensed offerings, there are 8,000 products on site, as Stephen explains.

Above: Stephen Illingworth, Widdop & Co’s creative director. Below right and left: Different Christmas looks for 2021. Below middle: Off to the North Pole. Bottom left: Celebrating family.

“This Autumn, we decided that instead of exhibiting at Autumn Fair, we would do what we do best and host our own spectacular Widdop’s Autumn Bounce Back showroom event,” explains Stephen Illingworth, Widdop & Co’s creative director.

“During Covid, we realised that what we have to offer here really does resonate with our customers and allows us to take our customers on that journey with us, right here in our very own Manchester showrooms. We have over 8,000 products on site including a multitude of sentiment, licensed, homeware and everyday gifting products that are on trend and style-focused. Our five extensive showrooms are currently guiding visitors through trends and styles, really bringing it all to life, with the last day on September 17.”

Christmas has, of course, always been a huge focus at Widdop. “From the traditional to novelty, and from licensed gifts to homeware, we have it all covered,” confirms Stephen. “For Christmas 2021 we took customers on a journey through The 12 Dreams of Christmas - each one representing key trends in Christmas occasion gifting and decoration. From the more traditional toy shop, Royal affair and holiday cottage styles to the more modern realms of opulence, refined glamour and safari nights, we’ve offered something for every style and occasion, all of which is in stock now. We’ve covered simple to intricate, and sparkling contemporary designs to traditional favourites, with our customers able to travel through a range of festive themes.”

In fact, Christmas covers a large part of Widdop’s product offering. “With our very own North Pole Novelties brand, we can drive innovation year in and year out,” points out Stephen. “For Christmas 2022, we are launching Widdop & Co Presents Christmas at the Movies ranges that encompasses several brand new licensed products.”

In addition, the wedding season is very much back in the spotlight now, with Stephen feeling confident that it’s going to

be bigger and better than ever. “With all the postponed weddings dating back as far as 20 March 2020, wedding events are back on, and people are wanting to make them more special and sentimental - getting friends and family back together for such a monumental occasion.”

The company offers three key ranges to cater for all styles and themes, for both wedding and anniversary occasions. “Amore is our staple wedding range, keeping it classy, simple and traditional with neutral colours, soft blushes and floral accents. Love Story is modern and trend-led, all about shabby-chic barn weddings that we know are popular, with wooden, rustic and cottage-feel gifts and decorations. And finally, Always & Forever reflects utmost sophistication and glamour, encompassing glitz and glam into spectacular wedding giftware.”

Sentiment ranges too, have always been a huge part of Widdop’s offering, across baby, wedding, anniversary and memorial. In fact, Celebrations is Widdop & Co's largest brand. “Designed in the UK to cover all of life's precious moments, the collection provides quality, functional, uplifting gifts and keepsakes at affordable prices,” states Stephen. “Designed with subtle branding to focus on the occasion, Celebrations is a one stop shop for a price conscious but generous consumer, ranging from baby scans to 100th birthdays.”

Also huge for the company is licensed giftware as a whole. “This is a huge category for Widdop and something we only see going from strength-tostrength,” emphasises Stephen. Good news for the company is that Widdop’s Disney contract has just been extended for a further two and a half years.

Explains Stephen: “this Autumn, we are putting a big focus on our Disney and other licensed offerings, and with the launch of our new Disney Mickey & Minnie baby range, it’s set to get bigger and better. We have a huge collection of licensed products, including Disney, Warner Brothers, That’s Not My… and Brightside. From Christmas and baby to everyday gifting, we have a licensed product to cover it. We understand the popularity and importance of continuing to grow our licenced offering and focus heavily on this during our key product launch seasons. Our Christmas 2022 Widdop & Co Presents Christmas at the Movies, launching in January 2022, will have a bigger-than-ever focus on licenced items - so watch this space!” With sustainability a huge focus for suppliers, retailers and consumers, Stephen confirms that Widdop has plans in place to be carbon-free by 2025 and is already reducing the amount of plastic packaging the company uses in its products. “Sustainability is a huge focus for us and we are continuing to look at ways to improve this in everything that we do,” he stresses. Meanwhile, social media is continuing to be a driving force in engaging with customers. “We took a short break from social recently, taking time to step back and reevaluate what social meant to us and our customers. We needed to re-focus and establish a robust and meaningful way forward that ensured we were communicating the right messages at the right time that best suited our customers. We want to use social as a means for people to get to know Widdop - what we do and how we can help our customers in the current climate.”

As for the current global supply chain issues - freight costs, shipping delays etc -

will prices inevitably have to go up? “Yes. As expected, we have seen price increases due to the recent supply chain issues, but we are confident that we will not see any more for the remainder of this year,” predicts Stephen. So what plans are in the pipeline for the rest of the year? “Aside from focusing on our licensed offering and expanding it even further, planning is well underway for both Christmas 2022 and our Spring launches, with both set to launch in January 2022,” Stephen confirms.

Above: Baby photo frames welcome a new addition. Below: Disney Baby. Below right: Gifts for the bride and groom in Widdop’s Amore range. Bottom: That’s Not My...