6 minute read
In Profile: Puckator
Global Vision
Having started out as a tiny importer of Balinese wood carvings in 1990, Puckator, a leading giftware and licensed gifts company, has gone from strength to strength globally, with Europe a key part of the company’s success and development.
With UK premises in Liskeard and Sheffield, along with offices in China, Italy, Spain and Poland, as well as a brand new European Distribution Centre (EDC) in Poland too, the company is looking forward to unveiling a host of new product launches at Spring Fair.
PG&H caught up with founder and managing director Mark Howard to hear more about the plans that will be taking the company forward in 2022.
Left: Puckator’s founder and managing director Mark Howard. Middle: The company’s newly opened European Distribution Centre in Poland. Bottom: New for Spring 2022 is a floral giftware range from Julie Dodsworth.
There is always a turning point in a successful business’ trajectory, and for Puckator, it was founder and managing director Mark Howard’s first trip to China’s Canton Fair in 1997. “It was starting the cooperation with China that saw the company embark on a path of fast growth,” he explains. “Over the next 12 months our product range was completely transformed. From supplying ethnic handicrafts, we became a supplier of mainstream gift and home items with broad appeal, and have never looked back.”
Mark continues: “In the UK, we operate from a modern, purpose-built head office, warehousing, and distribution facility in Liskeard, Cornwall, as well as from an inhouse design studio in Sheffield, where part of our European customer services and sales team is also located. In addition, we have branch offices in China, Spain and Italy, as well as our new EDC in Poland, which opened in September 2021. There are also European wholesale websites dedicated to France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and Poland, as well as a site serving the Chinese domestic market, all of which reflects our phenomenal growth.”
Over the last ten years or so, conceptually, the business has changed from being an importer of ‘off the shelf’ products, to a design-led company with a key focus on the marketing of an extensive portfolio of products featuring in-house and licensed designs. “Product design and development is key to Puckator, based on our strong belief that ultimately it’s good product that drives sales, which is why investment in product research and design has become core to the company,” states Mark.
Aside from Puckator’s licensed and inhouse designs, product and market diversification has been central to the company, both in terms of customer type and geographic spread. “A strong diversification of product ensures that there is ‘something for everyone’, diminishing risk by not being too reliant on one product area,” comments Mark. “Similarly, with our broad geographic reach, especially in Europe, it ensures that we are not too exposed to the vagaries on any one particular country or region. Nevertheless, while this usually holds good, this year, trade with Europe post-Brexit, even with our market diversification, has resulted in a
Mark’s Words Of Wisdom
l Three words that best describe you? “Fair, determined, workaholic.” l Best piece of business advice that you were given? “Cashflow is King. Also, never fall into the trap of over-trading.” l Best piece of business advice that you would give to someone else today? “Value your staff because they are your best asset. Be fair to staff, be fair to customers and be fair to suppliers. At the end of the day, it has to be win-win.” l What was your career plan B? “To continue to work in the shipping industry.”
whole new series of problems and challenges!”
The company’s main product areas feature gifts, home and garden, outdoors and leisure, plus toys and stationery, along with aromatherapy, fashion and beauty, with Mark highlighting a massive increase in demand for aromatherapy products over the last couple of years. “It’s been a fast-growing part of our product portfolio, with core lines being our extensive range of backflow burners,” he confirms.
Another fast-growing area is outdoors and leisure, including rapidly increasing ranges of water bottles, travel cups and lunch pots/boxes. “Our Relaxeazzz brand travel pillows - which won a Gift of the Year award in 2020 - reflect another range where we have invested heavily in design,” points out Mark.
Major trade shows, both in the UK and internationally, are a long-time huge marketing tool for Puckator - the company exhibits at around 20 shows in a normal year - together with a number of showroom events staged in Europe and the UK.
Mark confirms that with a continuing focus on outdoors and food accessories, new products being launched at Spring Fair include foldable bottles; picnic blankets; noodle cups, and oval and round bento boxes. The products feature many of the company’s in-house designs, together with some of their most popular licences.
And with licensed giftware a huge part of the business, playing an important role in Puckator’s future growth, new licences launching at Spring Fair include Minecraft - the company’s leading new licence for 2022; Julie Dodsworth; Hello Kitty (which complements Puckator’s highly successful Pusheen range), and Pacman. They join a roster of established licences such as Shaun the Sheep; Wallace and Gromit; Yellow Submarine; Mr Bean; Simon’s Cat; Volkswagen CamperVan; Fiat 500; The Original Stormtropper;
Pusheen and Asterix. “Since the Autumn trade fairs, we have continued to see a rapidly increasing level of business in Europe, with many of our newer licences, such as Original Stormtrooper and Pusheen, proving incredibly popular,” states Mark.
Looking ahead to the coming year, Mark says he is viewing 2022 with an enormous amount of optimism. “The EDC in Poland has provided us with an incredible opportunity to really focus on further developing our market in Europe, and over the next 12 months we are confident that it will pay dividends. With Puckator’s product range now available for despatch from the EDC, it means that we can serve our European customers quickly and efficiently, with delivery times of just a few days, even to the South of Europe. It will also enable us to grow our market in Eastern Europe, which, Poland excepted, has, until recently, been a minor part of our overall European sales - although we have long been aware of the opportunities this region presents.”
He adds: “Therefore, during the course of 2022, and going forward, the Eastern European market will be a much greater part of our focus. Additionally, the reaction from customers to our new product ranges has been so positive that we feel sure that in 2022 we will see a continued, strong bounce back after what can only be described as a very challenging 18 months or so due to Brexit, the global container shortage, and, to an extent, Covid lockdowns. However, we’ve felt that since the Autumn, there has been more of a return to normality - which hopefully, the newly discovered Omicron variant won’t hinder - so I’m very hopeful that, over the next 12 months, we will see a resurgence in the home and gift market.”
Puckator: The Lowdown
l Following a successful career in shipping, Puckator was founded 32 years ago by Mark Howard, who started out importing Balinese wood carvings. l In 1996, the company merged with another small gift importer, Delta Imports, with its founder, Matthew Shaw, becoming Puckator’s sales director. l A B2B website was launched in 1998, with trade show expansion - both in the UK and internationally - seeing stand size increase year-on-year. l In the ensuing years, the company opened offices in China, Spain, Italy and Poland. l In 2018, Puckator was included in the Sunday Times SME Export Fast Track 100. l Further expansion took place in September 2021, with the opening of a 4,000 sq metres (European Distribution Centre) DC located in Wroclaw, Poland. l Currently, over 120 staff are employed by the Group across its premises.
