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Back To The Future
Below: Candlelight’s owner and founder Mike Winch is shown in the company’s Rotherham showroom. Bottom: The re-launched amber kitchen storage jars are the centrepiece of Candlelight’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Celebrating 50 years in 2022, Candlelight one of the biggest, best-known and most successful suppliers in the gift and homewares industry - is proud to be relaunching the company’s iconic, amber kitchen storage jars to commemorate the special milestone. Founder Mike Winch reflects on five fascinating decades and looks forward to what the future holds. Candlelight - a designer, importer and wholesale supplier of design-led giftware, home accessories and seasonal products isn’t a company that is automatically aligned with the housewares industry; and yet, for most of its 50-year history, it has been at the forefront of bespoke, exclusive product, not only for major Blue chip retailers in the UK, but on a global stage too. “Because of the exclusivity of our housewares products - which have included storage, and large dinnerware services we’ve stayed under the radar until now, but it’s actually housewares that have been one of our strongest and most profitable product
Stock To Spare With freight issues and stock shortages still dominating the headlines, the company took the decision in April last year to increase its purchasing for the back end of 2021 and early 2022, “on the basis that if you don’t have stock then you can’t sell anything,” Mike explains. “We know from our own experience that a lot of major retailers have been hugely let down, and we are more than able to fulfil those big orders. Our warehouse is bulging with stock, so for all retailers - both big and small - we have the stock to not only fulfil immediate orders, but also to supply stock to cover January/February, when the shelves need filling again.”
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Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
sectors over the decades,” confirms Candlelight’s founder Mike Winch. “As a company, we are extremely proactive in the housewares sector, and it is why we have chosen our iconic amber kitchen storage jars to commemorate our 50th anniversary in 2022.” Explains Mike: “The jars, which were a phenomenal success in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, changed our businesses from a UK cottage industry to a global business that saw us selling to countries around the world. Back then, that was a huge achievement. The jars were manufactured in Yorkshire, with the gold stencilling put on by a company
based just three miles down the road from our Rotherham HQ.” In fact, Mike couldn’t be more excited to be re-launching the storage jars and is predicting another global success story for the company. There was a soft launch at Autumn Fair in September, but in February, the jars will be a commemorative centrepiece on the company’s stand at Spring Fair 2022. The show will also provide a perfect platform for Mike to thank Candlelight customers, both large and small, for their all-important support over the years. Candlelight’s 50th anniversary is, of course, not only a major milestone, but also a major achievement for the business. “As with all businesses, there have been ups and downs along the way,
