Honour For The GA’s Sarah Ward Sarah On Trade Association Powerlist

International Women’s Day (8 March) got off to a superb start for Sarah Ward, ceo of The Giftware Association, who was thrilled to hear that she has been nominated and included as one of 100 women selected for the inaugural Women in Trade Associations Powerlist, a collaboration between FSB, CBI and the Trade Association Forum, to celebrate and recognise inspirational women in the Association sector.

“I am so honoured to have made this list and be celebrated in this way,” commented Sarah. “There are so many other powerful women on the list too, so I am privileged to share this achievement with them and for the power of our industry.”

The list was compiled from over 200 public nominations, and a selection panel from the Trade Association Forum, the CBI and FSB selected the 100 women that make up the inaugural list.

Other dynamic women on the list included Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the Greeting Card Association (GCA), and Seema Grantham, housewares sector manager/director of sales for the Exclusively show, BHETA.

PG Live Goes International

Nicola Bates, chair of the selection panel and strategy, and external affairs director of the Portman Group commented: “It has been a real pleasure to be able to bring the CBI, FSB and TAF together to champion the role of women in trade associations, celebrate their achievements and encourage the next generation of women into the association sector.”

The Giftware Association’s ceo Sarah Ward.

Above right: The GCA’s ceo Amanda Fergusson.

With just over two months to go until Progressive Greetings Live 2023 opens its doors to welcome retailers and overseas distributors, exhibitors, both in the UK and internationally, are busy with their preparations and launch plans for the show, which takes place on 6-7 June at London’s Business Design Centre.

A ‘must visit’ for gift retailers, organisers and owners Max Exhibitions has confirmed that this year will see the largest contingent of overseas exhibitors signing up to take part in the 2023 event, with a myriad of international buyers registered too.

The exhibitor list currently features over 180 greeting card publishers, to include Avanti, Designer Greetings, Fine Moments, Quilling Cards and Up with Paper from the US; Greetings From Lowlands Studios from The Netherlands; Germany’s P&G Cards from Ireland; Origamo and Cromo from Italy, and Australia’s Simson Licensing

“Now celebrating 15 years, this is going to be our most international show yet,” stated Warren Lomax, chairman of Max Exhibitions.

“The show will be bringing the global greeting card community together.”

Visitors and exhibitors will again be able to enjoy a free lunch on both days of the show, along with complimentary tea and coffee, and a fabulous post-show drinks party event at the end of the first day (6 June).

To register to attend PG Live 2023, visit www.progressivegreetingslive.com. For the full show lowdown, turn to pages 50-51.

Above: PG Live takes place on 6-7 June.

KeepSakes Opens Sixth Store

KeepSakes Scotland recently opened a sixth gift store in Dundee’s town centre in mid-February. “The response has been fantastic, with customers saying this is exactly what Dundee needed, and others saying they know where to go to get all their Christmas shopping. We feel confident the store will perform incredibly well,” said co-owner Scott Nicol.

The first KeepSakes store opened in March 2020 in Pitlochry, with stores following in Loch Lomond, Inverness, Stirling and Ayr, with Stirling and Ayr both opening last year.

Right: The new KeepSakes store in Dundee.

Major New Launch From CBG

Carte Blanche Greetings (CBG) has hit the ground running with its first major plush and gift launch since 2020, bringing in work from artists and designers for a core offering of Signature and Essentials, with capsule collections of trend-led gifting.

The Me To You Everyday plush and gift range will hit stores in April with a refreshed look and new formats in the bestselling Signature and Essentials ranges. The Everyday 23 range also includes two trend-led capsule ranges, Lakeview and Tropical Oasis.

“There will be a competition for the best window display, with a range of prizes including a Tatty Teddy costume character visit for the winning store,” highlights CBG’s marketing manager Grace Elphinstone. Throughout the year, there will also be a range of additional consumer promotions to help support the launch. “We will also be providing independent retailers with their own social media packs including an amendable press release and lifestyle imagery so that they can create their own coverage,” adds Grace.

Above: Essentials from CBG’s new 2023 collection.

Depesche Grow Its UK Presence

A well-loved household name in mainland Europe, gift and stationery company Depesche is refocusing its efforts on the UK market having invested in a brand new sales set-up, appointed a UK-based fulfilment partner, reduced its minimum order quantities and become a Cardgains official supplier.

With a quest to grow its presence in the UK, and further build on the success of its brands which include TopModel, Dino World, Miss Melody, Yivi and Princess Mimi, the last few months has seen the company ramp up on the sales side.

Heading Depesche’s UK sales team are Pete Goodman and Mike Apicella. “While historically Depesche’s distribution in the UK has been more skewed to toy retailers, the expansion of the product portfolio means it is now more relevant to the gifts, greetings and garden centre retail sectors too,” confirms Pete.

“With Depesche now an official Cardgains supplier, we look forward to building the brand’s relationship with many more gift and card retailers over the coming months and years.”

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