Progressive Party Europe July August 2015 by Max Publishing: Print, Digital Media + Events (London)

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CONTENTS The home of market leading trade magazines

The home of market leading trade magazines max-publishing.co.uk The Thehome homeofofmarket marketleading leadingtrade trademagazines magazines March/April 2013

The home of Exhibitions The home of Exhibitions The Thehome homeofofExhibitions Exhibitions

The home of market leading trade awards The home of market leading trade awards The Thehome homeofofmarket marketleading leadingtrade tradeawards awards 10-11May See you next year!

Busi nes s Design Centre, London The International G reeting Ca rd S how

Max Publishing Ltd, United House, North Road, London N7 9DP T: 020 7700 6740 F: 020 7607 6411 www.max-publishing.co.uk

Welcome to the Party One of the best things about working in the party industry has to be people’s reactions when you tell them what you do for a living. It’s almost impossible for them not to squeal with delight as they imagine you draped in a superhero cape as you work behind the tills or dressed in a clown suit as you do your endof-year accounts. Persuading people that the fancydress and balloon industry is a serious business is not always as straightforward as it should be when they’re already visualising a confetti cannon going off behind you before you’ve even launched into your well-rehearsed speech about the trials and tribulations of the retail market. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people who do make a success of working in the party market love it so much – they have to, in order to get through the seemingly endless barrage of jokes! It’s certainly Above: Progressive Party’s Rob Willis one profession where having a GSOH is absolutely and Jacqui Parr. essential, as PPE found when we went to meet up with industry stalwart Ricky Heppolette, who has been running Party Shop Superstore for the last 25 years. An ex-professional footballer, Ricky started off selling balloons on the street corner (yes, seriously!) and now has a large, successful party business which is well-known for its professional, enthusiastic approach. After almost a decade in the party trade, PPS has visited one or two party shops in our time – and there was definitely something special about Party Shop Superstore. Attention to detail, dedication to customer service and continual improvement are of course essential, but there was also something more than that. Independent retailers are only ever as good as their offering – but by the nature of their business, that isn’t just limited to the stock on the shelves. Personality (and yes, that includes a GSOH) and lively customer interaction (not just ‘service’) can make a significant difference to the overall shopping experience. Watching Ricky and his team at work – chatting with the customers, coming up with new ideas, enjoying themselves – reminded PPE exactly what the party industry can be like and why many of us have been part of it for so many years. The importance of having a good time cannot be underestimated. After all, costumes, balloons and partyware aren’t essentials. Consumers can go without or get the basics from a supermarket – but if they can have fun as part of the planning and shopping experience as well, then the balance of power shifts significantly in the indie’s favour. On that note, while a GSOH is commonly cited as one of the most desirable qualities a person can have, that can mean wildly different things to different people. We have taken a look at the ever-popular comedy and novelty costume market to see what’s tickling the nation’s funny bones in 2015. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are a number of reasons that people choose to wear a silly costume when dressing up and so a huge range of costumes – from the seriously silly to the bad taste – is now available, offering an unmissable opportunity for the wearer to take centre stage. We have also spoken to the team behind Amsterdam-based OppoSuits – a fast-growing brand offering stylishly designed yet wildly patterned suits – to find out more about the party industry’s latest phenomenon. And it wouldn’t be a July issue without the annual look at the Christmas and New Year’s Eve market – there are just 23 weekends until Christmas at the time of writing. Not that we’re trying to scare you at all! In the meantime, we have a long, hopefully hot, summer stretching out ahead of us. We hope you all have a fantastic summer season and that those tills keep on ringing. (Top tip: oversized hats double up as ideal shade from the midday sun, so push those as a summer essential wherever possible!) See you on the other side!

@Prog_Party_Eu

Jacqui and Rob – Progressive Party Europe

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Fly high with our Barbie Power Costumes!

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CONTENTS

What’s inside: July/August 2015

39 NEWS

The latest happenings from the world of party, costume, balloon and retail.

THE JESTER

Progressive Party’s columnist tells it like it is.

LICENSED TO PARTY

The newest officially licensed party products.

NEW PRODUCTS

You’ve never seen anything like it!.

PARTY CENTRAL

PPE talks to the party retail experts behind the scenes at Party Shop Superstore.

07 15 19 21 22

27 30 35 39 43

SUITS YOU SIR

The future’s bright for the team behind dress-up sensation OppoSuits.

IT’S CHRISTMAS!

Well, it will be in six months – time to start preparing now.

EXCITING INNOVATIONS

PPE asks industry experts what has changed the party industry for the better - and what’s in store for the future?

WHY SO SERIOUS?

Getting down to the serious business of comedy costumes.

BEST SELLERS

Retailers share what’s been keeping their tills ringing.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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NEWS PAGE

NEWS UPDATE A Year Of Costume Fundraiser spends 365 days in fancy dress to raise money for breast cancer charity. It’s the sort of costume-based publicity that money can’t buy, but when Eve Hazelton decided to spend an entire year in fancy Two of Eve’s dress to raise money for breast 365 costumes. cancer charity Coppafeel, it certainly raised a few eyebrows. She finished her fancy dress “I thought, whatever I’ll do, year in July, and has smashed I’ll do it in fancy dress,” Eve her original £20,000 target and explained. “Then I thought, what raised an incredible £30,000 if the challenge was just wearing so far – and that figure is still fancy dress for a long time?” rising. “My favourite costumes Eve gave away all her clothes were the musketeer and the pink (to friends, family and a charity gorilla,” Eve said, “as the best bit shop) so that she wouldn’t have was that no-one knew it was me an excuse to cheat or give up. underneath. I could get away with What could otherwise have running around town, which was proven a costly experiment was good fun!” made much easier when Smiffy’s “As soon as we read about stepped in and donated all of Eve’s plans, we knew we wanted Eve’s 365 costumes. As each one to get involved,” said Dominique is only being used once, she has Peckett, Smiffys’ director. “We have also been selling them on to raise a packed calendar of fundraising more cash.

Not So Mellow Yellow A yellow frenzy is sweeping the UK as the transgenerational characters replace Frozen as best-selling toy licence in the UK. According to global information provider, The NPD Group, the Minions have become the top-selling licence for the British toy market. While the Minions film was always expected to be a success, it has managed to unseat Disney’s Frozen, which had been occupying Above: Rubie’s the top position Minions outfits. since July 2014. “Expectations are high at retail after the general public allegedly demanded more merchandise following the first two movies,” said Frédérique Tutt, global industry analyst for The NPD Group. “The Minions movie with its anti-heroes has a fresh appeal and a feel-good factor that could well make yellow the colour of summer 2015.”

Geoff Rees Retires From Bristol Novelty After 15 years as office manager for Bristol Novelty, Geoff Rees is finally hanging up his gloves and retiring from the party industry. Geoff has seen many changes both at Bristol Novelty and in the party industry over the years and will be affectionately missed by all the team at Bristol Novelty – and beyond! “Geoff has often been referred to as ‘The Oracle’ at Bristol Novelty; he’s our go-to guy,” said Gary Vincent. “If you want to know anything about Bristol Novelty or our long customer history, he’s the man! Many thanks for your long service and great contribution to Bristol Novelty, from all the team.” In the words of the man himself; “I have enjoyed meeting and speaking to everyone and that is what I will miss most. Material things don’t mean much to me, it’s the memories of people and places that make life. But as an afterthought, if people could just send cash to fund my retirement lifestyle of sport and travel, it would be appreciated.” Everyone at Bristol Novelty and Progressive Party Europe wishes you all the very best in retirement!

Rubie’s Acquires Mask-arade

Costume company Rubie’s has acquired popular party mask business Mask-arade from its owners, Ray Duffy, Dean Walton and Chris O’Nyan. The deal, which was announced at the beginning of July, sees Maskarade join the Rubie’s group of companies with Ray remaining the company as commercial Well establishedwith fancy dress director, and Dean and Chris and party shop in west London. leaving the company with events ourselves, so we’re immediate effect. All enquiries email agent: delighted that we could help Eve in “We’re thrilled to have Maskhans@huntersnet.co.uk raising money by providing a year’s arade join the Rubie’s family,” worth of costumes.” said Rubie’s vice-president “We’ve loved following her EMEA, Chris Isitt, commenting journey and seeing her daily on the acquisition. “This is a photos, she really has brought our great company producing high costumes to life! We all got rather quality, innovative product that emotional watching the video of Eve has really made a niche for itself. talking about reaching her target We look forward to helping the a week or so before the challenge Mask-arade brand achieve its was over,” continued Dominique. potential both in the UK and “My personal favourite was Eve across the rest of the world. wearing the shark costume in the It’s great that Ray has agreed bath! It’s been a pleasure to work to stay on to drive this mission, with her and we can’t wait to see and we also acknowledge the what she does next!” huge contribution that Dean and Chris have made from the start in establishing the business with Ray and creating the demand with their fantastic PR.” Rubie’s hasdress confirmed it will Well established fancy Party Delights, a division of Party remain business as usual at the City Holdings, licensed shop its brand in west London. andhasparty Mask-arade base in Southam. to PD Retail Group, a JV affiliate of

FOR SALE

Party Delights Store Opens

Below: Frozen masks from Mask-arade. American Greetings (which owns All enquiries email agent: Clintons). The new deal will see the hans@huntersnet.co.uk company’s first bricks and mortar party store opening at The Brewery retail park in Romford, Essex. The partnership leverages the combined strength of the online Party Delights brand and the retail expertise of American Greetings. The new store will be offering approximately 5,000 party essentials.

FOR SALE Well established fancy dress and party shop in west London. All enquiries email agent: hans@huntersnet.co.uk

Inset: It's business as usual at The Party Show.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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The ‘Must Have’

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PARTY NEWS

H & P Expo Partners With Independent Retailer Conference Halloween & Party Expo, the industry’s prominent Halloween and Party event, is already preparing for its second year in New Orleans, from 22 – 25 January 2016. This year will see a partnership between The Independent Retailer Conference - which is dedicated entirely to the unique lifestyle and responsibilities of small business owners - and the Halloween & Party Expo, which will see the show welcoming the conference at the key party event. “When we look for trade show partners, we aim to work with companies that have the same goals as we do – which is to help independent merchants achieve stronger store success. The Halloween & Party Expo aims to achieve this, as well, and we look forward to supporting them in their efforts to do just that,” said Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, Independent Retailer Conference co-founder. The trade-only event, which brings industry professionals

Extra Extra! Rubie’s will be releasing its Additions Catalogue at the start of August, with a wide range of new licensed costumes, including great new Minions for adults and kids, a line of Frozen dress-

The H&P Expo is a key annual event in the international party industry.

together each year, provides a platform for sourcing, learning, and networking. Proceeds from the Halloween & Party Expo are used by the Halloween Industry Association to promote and grow the safe celebration of Halloween and year-round costumed events throughout North America. “The 2015 show was a great week for our members,” said Michele Biordi, executive director, Halloween Industry Association.

up for adults including Anna, Elsa and Olaf, and brand new Super Hero costumes including Marvel’s Spider-man and Thor, DC’s The Flash and great new Arkham Batman, Robin and Harley Quinn. With lots of new lines on offer for kids and adults, www.rubiesuk.com will have all the latest updates. Left: Rubie’s 2015 additions catalogue is out now.

Alandra’s Quick Fix Hen party expert Alandra Partyware has just launched a brand new ‘Instants’ range. “We call them quick fix fancy dress kits,” says managing director Alan Green. “The idea is to provide the consumer with the essential accessories while wearing their own clothing to achieve a costume theme. Alan further explains; “We understand party accessories better than most companies and our aim is to increase the ‘Instants’ range with many more kits as the brand continues to grow, always keeping the price incredibly low. We want to give retailers and online traders something easy, trendy and great value for money in one simple eye-catching pack.”

“It was a good representation of international buyers on the show floor and we are looking forward to strengthening and growing international buyer representation... offering members new opportunities for their business." More than 80% of the exhibition space has already been renewed for the 2016 event. For more information, visit www. halloweenpartyexpo.com

R H Smith scoops DN21 Business of the Year 2015 Award R H Smith & Sons, better known in the party trade as Smiffys, picked up the DN21 Business of the Year 2015 Award at a glittering awards ceremony at The Blues Club in Gainsborough on Thursday 4 June. The DN21 Awards are a new event, which celebrates and rewards the local business community within the DN21 postcode. With awards such as Retailer of the Year, Green Business of the Year and Customer Service Team of the Year, the awards celebrate the wealth of local business in the Gainsborough community. The judges cited R H Smith’s efforts in pushing into new markets as a major factor contributing to their win. The business is delighted to have added another award to its growing trophy cabinet, and thanked its workforce for its continued dedication, passion and pride in their work.

TAKEOVER BID OF A GERMAN COMPANY One of our customers is offering his company for sale: a German company with more than 50 years experience in producing, exporting and importing toys, gifts, festival articles and gadgets. This company is an exhibitor at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg and has long term relationships with its customers in Germany and other European countries and suppliers worldwide. If you are interested in cooperating or buying, please contact for further information:

Alandra has launched nine different instant kits including a doctor’s kit, nurse, pirate, Hawaiian, army, sailor, mouse, policewoman and hippie. Call the sales team on 01279 620 180 for further information.

G.M.A - Unternehmerberatung für Controlling, Marketing und Organisation G.M. Altenhofer GmbH

gma.unternehmerberatung@t-online.de

Above: Instant army style from Alandra.

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PARTY NEWS

Smiffys Cracks Down On Counterfeiters RH Smith & Sons has successfully completed a Civil and Criminal Prosecution against an illegal counterfeiter. RH Smith & Sons, which operates under the Smiffys and Fever brands, has successfully concluded both its High Court and Criminal Court anticounterfeiting action against Party Pit Stop, an established Copyright is customer of RH Smith & Sons. taken seriously in Party Pit Stop, a Stoke-on-Trent the UK courts. business operated by Joshua Shemirani, was found to be importing inferior quality, knockagreed to pay RH Smith & Sons off fancy dress costumes from tens of thousands of pounds in China, towards the end of last respect of its legal costs and year. The costumes were copies damages. He also had to send of the original garment designs the thousands of pieces of produced by RH Smith & Sons and remaining counterfeit stock to RH were being sold under the Smiffys Smith & Sons to be destroyed. brand and packaging artwork. Joshua Shemirani also After receiving legal admitted guilt under a separate proceedings just before Christmas, criminal prosecution. Party Pit Stop conceded liability “As a business, we invest on all three counts – design, heavily in designing top quality trademark and image copyright. garments and employ nearly 250 Joshua Shemirani undertook to people; the livelihoods of those the High Court that he would not people and those of our honest deal in the illegal copies again, retail customers are put at risk

Demand High For Christmasworld 2016 The trade fair with a focus on Christmas and other seasonal festivities is shaping up to be a real success with 95% of the exhibition space at Christmasworld 2016 (29 January – 2 February 2016) already booked up. “This confirms the high level of satisfaction on both the exhibitor and visitor sides at the last edition of the fair. Over the years, Christmasworld has proved to be an extremely reliable business platform, even in difficult economic times,” said Eva Olbrich, Christmasworld director, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. She continued: “We will naturally continue along these lines in 2016 at the same time as showing new ideas and concepts for promoting sales at the point-of-sale.” The latest trends and newest products from the world of seasonal decorations will be on show. For more information, visit www.christmasworld. messefrankfurt.com

by this illegal counterfeiting,” said director, Elliott Peckett. “We will sue anyone who we discover is importing or selling knock-off RH Smith & Sons products that infringe our design, trade marks or image copyright anywhere in the world." "We are now focusing our attention on the long list of illegal counterfeiters who will receive the same zero tolerance approach" he continued. Further information on this issue can be obtained from marketing@smiffys.com

Delights Direct Launches New Website

A new website from Delights Direct has been launched, making ordering from the party

The BCA OneDay Sale

Below left: Delights Direct new website.

goods distributor a smoother experience for retailers. The updated version of the website is fully responsive to all major Apple and Android devices, across both mobiles and tablets, while a new Saturday delivery service will be offering all day Saturday deliveries at the company’s normal price (£4 and free for orders over £100). The new website has a fresh look and feel, along with a brand new, 100%

Party Suppliers Walk For Charity Pioneer Europe and Amscan joined forces to represent the party industry at this year’s Cardgains charity challenge last month. Teams from both party suppliers took part in the 25mile walk in Yorkshire. The day was a great success, raising more than £13,000 in total. Team Amscan comprised Andy Smart, Chris Smalley and Jim Young, while Pioneer

The British Costume Association will once again be hosting its One-Day Sale in September 2015. This trade show is targeted at independent fancy dress hire shops and party shops buyers and welcomes both BCA members and nonmembers to attend. This trade fair gives the customers the opportunity to buy directly from the stalls and take their goods away on the day or place short delivery orders in time for the important Halloween and Christmas Party season. The UK’s best hire quality costume manufacturers will be exhibiting both costumes and mascots, as well as a selection of accessories and party goods. It’s a great opportunity for a last minute stock up for Halloween, and there are always lots of bargains and offers to be had.

SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2015, AVON SUITE, STONELEIGH PARK, WARWICKSHIRE, CV8 2LZ, (SAT NAV USERS CV8 2LG) Opening times, 11am-5pm The show details are as follows:If you would like to know more about visiting the show or exhibiting, please contact Linda and Yvonne on 01912 243005. secure, PayPal option. The site also offers greatly enhanced functionality on both building and saving baskets while shopping. .Below: Team Pioneer Europe (l-r) Michelle Comerford, Mark Drury and Anna Bubnova

Europe’s walkers were Mark Drury, Michelle Comerford and Anna Bubnova. “Cardgains do an amazing job organising these charity walks every year,” said Anna. “This was my fourth charity walk and I really enjoy them despite the aching legs afterwards. It's very rewarding as the money we raise helps small, local charities such as Calvert Trust, which was the chosen charity this year.”

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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PARTY NEWS

BAPIA Latest News The latest BAPIA newsletter is now available. The publication, which contains all the association’s latest news and information, is automatically sent out to members, but if you would like a copy simply contact BAPIA. In addition to business advice and support, new DVD information and an update on the referral programme, highlights in the current issue include: ■ BAPIA now offers a new AVIVA Insurance facility for all BAPIA members, with up to 30% off the standard premium! Whether you are a homebased business, a retail shop, a distributor or a manufacturer,

Record Breakers! On Sunday 28 June, Rubie’s Masquerade teamed up with Centum Books, one of the UK’s leading children’s publishers, at an exclusive VIP screening of the Minions Movie to try and beat the Guinness World Record for “the most people dressed up as a Minion in one place.” Directly after the screening, members of the audience donned their Minion costumes ready for the Guinness World Record attempt. “Sunday was an amazing success and it was a real sight to see a cinema full of Minions,” said Geoffrey Reynolds of Centum Books. “I was delighted by the effort everybody made and it was good to see the children (and grown-ups) having so much fun!” David Wootliff, UK commercial director at Rubie's said: “We’re pleased to support a fellow licensee with our Minion’s costumes and the attempted GWR and hope that this is recognised as a new record and that everyone had a fun day!” A validation process is now underway before this Guinness World Record is ratified. Inset: The GWR attempt took place at Vue Cinema Westfield.

BAPIA’s new exclusive insurance facility in conjunction with AVIVA insurance could benefit you. All BAPIA members can benefit from significant savings on the standard premium. ■ Registration for BAPIA’s GOSH Christmas party class 2015 is open! On Monday 14 December 2016 BAPIA is once again sponsoring the décor for The Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital Christmas Party. Organised as a class, this is exclusive to BAPIA members and has been over-subscribed in previous years. For more details check out the training calendar on the BAPIA website – www.bapiaonline.com.

Disney Wins Starwars.co.uk Domain Battle Disney has forced Abscissa, owner of online fancy-dress retail site www.joke.co.uk to hand over a handful of domain names which were using the Star Wars name after a legal battle. Abscissa had been using the starwars.co.uk domain for more than a decade (as well as a host of other variations, including star-wars.co.uk, star-wars.uk and starwars.uk). The domain names redirected people to a section of the Jokers' Masquerade web store which sold Star Wars-themed costumes. Disney took legal action with the UK domains regulator, Nominet, who ruled that Abscissa must hand the domains over to Disney. Nominet's expert Steve Ormand oversaw the case and decided: "The name Star Wars cannot sensibly refer to anyone else other than the Complainant. It is a unique term coined by the Complainant for the purposes of a science fiction film released in 1977 and enhanced as further films have been released." “If the new Star Wars films were not being released, we wouldn't be having this discussion," said Abscissa’s chief executive Mark Lewis, who believes that the complaint arose because of the upcoming film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is set for release in December 2015. "They wanted the starwars.uk domain, they haven't [got it], and in essence they've thrown their teddies out of the pram. That's how we feel. Are we disappointed? Yes. Are we surprised? Not necessarily."

https://www.facebook.com/balloonan dparty

website: www.bapiaonline.com

NEWS Summer 2015

To request a copy of the latest newsletter contact BAPIA at info@bapiaonline. com or on 020 8123 1746 Above: BAPIA newsletter, summer 2015.

Disney Goes Gender-Free Young Star Wars fan Izzy Cornthwaite has prompted Disney to revise its labelling policy, after she was disappointed to find a Darth Vader costume she wanted was marked ‘for boys'. The eight-year-old wrote to Disney, complaining that the costume she wanted to wear was apparently not meant for girls. The entertainment giant was touched by Izzy’s efforts and has announced that all Disney Store costumes will now be labelled ‘for kids’. Izzy’s mum said: “Disney told Izzy that they would change the description from 'boys' to 'kids'. We looked online and realised they had changed the entire website. It had gone not just from this particular item, but the whole thing had become gender neutral.” Below: Izzy Cornthwaite as Darth Vader.

A Unique New Face Party supplies expert Unique Party has recruited a new marketing assistant, who joined the company last month. Sophie Robinson will be managing all of the company's marketing needs for the future. Welcome to the party industry Sophie! Right: Sophie Robinson

Rubie’s UK Announces Key Staff Restructure Rubie’s Masquerade has announced several changes in key roles to support its UK business and strengthen its position across EMEA with a number of new appointments. Tracey Devine, previously of KD Group, has been appointed as Rubie’s new head of marketing EMEA. She will be responsible for coordinating and building cohesive marketing plans across the Rubie’s group on a European level, from product through to in-store activity and TV advertising. David Wootliff, previously head of marketing at Rubie’s, has been promoted to the position of commercial director for the UK. Having been at Rubie’s since October 2010 and played a huge part in the success of the UK business during that time, he will be responsible for all aspects of day to day commercial activities

such as sales, marketing, product development, systems and finance for the UK business. Neil Ash has been appointed as Rubie’s head of apparel operations, while Jaimi Weston has been promoted to head of production and planning EMEA, and will oversee the production planning, forecasting and ordering of Rubie’s mainstream product lines across EMEA. “These new roles allow us to further plan for growth and efficiencies across the wider business as we continue to increase our presence in EMEA and strengthen our UK team to better meet the needs of our customers and the consumer with great product,” said Chris Isitt, vice president, EMEA and Australia.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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HIGH QUALITY FAKE FUR MUSTACHES AND BEARDS MADE IN EUROPE.

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13/07/2015 10:46

The Jester Says

THE JESTER SAYS

Writing freely, from behind a magical cloak of confidentiality, The Jester draws on an entire lifetime of party experience to bring us controversial opinions, interesting viewpoints and all the latest industry gossip, fresh from the grapevine...

It’s All Greek To Me

“I

n-out in-out, shake it all about, you do the hokeycokey and you turn around, that’s what it’s all about! As this is being written, the good people of Greece have yet to decide on what type of bailout they need – if any – and whether they pay it back or not. I was thinking about all this and it occurred to me that they will need a lot of money as last time I visited Athens it was all in ruins (apologies about the bad joke!). What does this have to do with the party industry? Well I’m not sure that it has much to do with us at all. Recently the United Kingdom saw a referendum which offered a vote to the Scottish people to see if they wanted independence or stay within the UK as a whole. Well – and without intending to upset our Scottish suppliers or party shop owners – what a waste of time. As soon as the politicians realised that the vote was not going to go their way they automatically decided that if things in Westminster did not agree with them they would hold another referendum. So this just leaves us where we all started. Then we went straight into a general election. The only thing that seemed to surprise

everybody was that somebody actually won. Now surely that is the point of a vote, so the people can decide who they wish to lead the country for the next five years. Not for the politicians to decide whose back to scratch to form some sort of cobbled-together government. Although it might have been fun watching everybody back-pedal to form a coalition after they all stated that they would not govern with each other. So now we move on to the pressing issue of the ‘Great Greek Tragedy’. Why is this a surprise? After all, it has been brewing for at least two or three years, so it should not have shocked anybody. In fact it’s longer than most plays by Sophocles. Should it worry us that the Greeks may leave the euro, or even if the euro fails? Below: AThe EU referendum is a bone of contention for many – on both sides of the fence! Bottom: Scottish bunting and other party goods could be even more in demand in the future.

From the party businesses point of view a great deal of our suppliers are American-owned and most of our stock is manufactured in China! Logically then, most of our suppliers buy their stock in either the Chinese yuan or the American dollar. I am just old enough to remember the referendum in 1975 (although I was still too young to vote!) and I am sure that we were asked if we wanted free trade within Europe. This is still important, and today we should be looking for free world trade. But does this need the federal state of Europe to accomplish this? I’m not sure but one thing I am sure of is that during the lead up to our own referendum on Europe we will all end up completely sick and tired of all the politicians (and celebrities) telling us which way we should vote. My only

hope is that whichever way we swing we keep to it and form the best world we can. You may ask if I have any advice for the possible splitting of these institutions in the coming years? If I have it is just this; if you carry flags or bunting make sure your stocks are kept low of Union flags and European country bunting, just in case we have to change the Union flag (if Scotland leave) and because we really have no way of knowing who will be in or out of the EU in the case of European flags or bunting. I shall end this column with a very old joke. Q: What’s a Greek urn? A: About five dracmas/euros an hour (delete as required).

“

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Progressive Party rounds up the latest licensed releases.

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■ Feeling The Force

■ Minion Madness

■ Grumpy And Green

Pioneer Europe has introduced Star Wars-themed Bubble balloons with designs based on both the Star Wars saga and Disney XD’s animated hit show, Star Wars Rebels. The saga design is also available in latex: 5”, 11”, and 12” Quick Links. An all-round print means the balloons look great from all angles.

New from Rubie’s is a wide range of updated licensed costumes including great new Minions for adults and kids – perfectly timed for the new movie – and brand new Super Hero costumes including Marvel’s Spider-man and Thor, DC’s The Flash and great new Arkham Batman, Robin and Harley Quinn.

With the success of the Shrek Musical and ongoing tour planned until February 2016, the opening of the Shrek adventure in London and the new Puss in Boots series, the grumpy green ogre’s popularity continues. This new line from Star CutOuts – which includes Shrek’s sidekicks – is expected to be a big hit.

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■ Puppy Love Bounding into Amscan’s AirWalker collection is Chase from preschool show Paw Patrol! Measuring 137cm high the pup makes a fantastic gift or party statement decoration and is available to pre-order now. It can be combined with a full range of partyware and balloons for the perfect pup-themed party!

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■ ROARsome Global Solutions for Clothing (GSC) is licensing its successful dinosaur onesies as part of a deal with the Natural History Museum. Working closely with palaeontologists, GSC has improved its existing designs to create new and improved dinosaur onesies including the best-selling T-Rex, the Triceratops and a new cute Stegosaurus.

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■ Let It Go A wide range of updated licensed costumes from Rubie’s includes this new line of the ever-popular Frozen dress-up. This time it’s been specially designed for adult fans of the hit Disney animation though, and includes stunning costumes for Anna, Elsa and even Olaf!

DECEMBER/JANUARY JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE 2010/11 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE PARTY

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Another clever addition to the evergrowing Betallic balloon range is this 40” foil ampersand, ideal for weddings, engagements, anniversaries, conventions and a whole host of other celebrations. The balloons fully co-ordinate with Betallic’s popular line of Megaloons.

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Block Party

Block Party is one of many new early release collections to have been recently unveiled by Creative Party. The brand new theme is fantastic for children (and grown-ups), with a bright colour pallete and includes an air-filled balloon centrepiece kit that is quick and easy to assemble at home.

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Bouncing Baby

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Amscan’s stunning new collection of foil balloons includes exciting innovations such as bouquets with giant letters as well as multi-balloons in ‘It’s a boy’ and ‘It’s a girl’ designs. Also available are some spectacular 3D effect multiballoons and new rocking horse AirWalkers in two different colours.

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Clowning Around

This latex clown mask is just one of Thetru’s new range of full-head latex masks and animated (with light and sound) Halloween props. The complete new Halloween collection, offering everything from costumes and masks to décor items, will be available from the first week in September.

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Rainbow Pride

Ideal for Pride celebrations, gay clubs or any other rainbow-themed event is a whole range of multi-coloured items from Palmer Agencies. With everything from the subtle bow-tie to the statementmaking wearable flag or male tutu / wings set, there’s bound to be something for everyone.

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Fit For All

These new plus-size costumes – in a wide range of themes, styles, cuts and designs – are from Alexa by Dreamgirl and are available from New Temptations. The ranges goes up to a UK size 22-24. Stock will be available to ship from end of July onwards, with pre-orders being taken already.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Party Shop Superstore

Inset: Upstairs is dedicated to costumes and acessories, of all varieties.

Party

Central With three large, well–established party stores in one town, Peterborough is well–known as a key destination for all things fancy dress and balloon related. PPE paid a visit to 25–year–old Party Shop Superstore to find out more about why the retailer continues to thrive.

any party stores are initially borne out of a mix of luck and circumstance – a one–off opportunity to take over an already established business or an events décor company which has taken the leap and expanded into retail – but they all have one thing in common; they remain trading through a mix of hard work, gut instinct and raw enthusiasm. Party Shop Superstore is no different, although the story of how it first began to operate is more unusual. Ricky Heppolette, founder of the store, left school at 15 and then proceeded to live out many youngsters’

Virtual Fashions In keeping with many bricks and mortar stores, Party Shop Superstore also has a complete online offering, at www.thepartyshopsuperstore.com. “The website does really well, commercially,” said Ricky, “but we would always prefer people to come into the shop. It’s nice to see people, to be able to help them and show them what else we can do. The internet might make last-minute shopping easy but you can’t beat personal serice.”

dreams, playing professional football for the next 20 years. When people asked him what he’d do if he wasn’t a footballer, he always replied; ‘balloon seller’. Unknown to Ricky, this long–standing joke, romanticising selling individual balloons on a sunny street corner, was to be the catalyst for the start of his second career. “Being a footballer was an amazing experience,” said Ricky, “and in reality we never gave much thought to what would happen when it ended. Unfortunately there wasn’t the same money in it in those days though, so we had to do something! I’d always joked about being a balloon seller, so when the opportunity presented itself, I just went through with it.” That opportunity – which changed the course of Ricky’s life – presented itself in the USA, where Ricky was on holiday with his wife. Watching a balloon decorator at work in a mall, Ricky was fascinated by the process, and bought his first ever batch of balloons on the spot. “That was how this all started,” he laughed. “Fate definitely played a big part in it!” After about three years of selling balloons, Ricky began to look for his first shop – which started out selling

Above: Personalised balloon décor is proudly displayed around the shopfloor.

solely balloons and offering a balloon decor service. “We didn’t really have any plans to expand,” Ricky explained, “but we were offered a lot of fancy dress stock as part of a clearance sale and so we took it on to see how it would do. That was a long time ago – the fancy dress market has changed dramatically since then! Now, suppliers really keep up with the latest fashion and novelty trends and offer all sorts of weird and wonderful things and we need to make sure we have a steady stream of fresh stock coming through the shop as consumers are also much more aware of the market. Back then it was much more basic!” Customer service is more than just something you do to get a sale – it’s a way of life for Ricky and his team. Wherever possible, each and every person who walks through the doors

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Party Shop Superstore

Above: The two-storey shop is conveniently situated on a retail park with lots of parking.

is individually greeted – although there’s no hard sell, just friendly chat and an offer of help. It’s clearly an approach welcomed by the consumers, many of whom turn up following recommendations from friends and looking for the specialist advice which comes from having years of experience. “There is a certain level of service needed for party retail, as it’s not the sort of shopping experience many people have very often,” said Ricky. “The party market does need a bit of extra help in that way, and that’s why we make sure no customer ever goes ignored. This is a service industry after all, and we are here to help!” He continued; “I do get a bit upset if people walk out empty–handed, as it means we’ve failed! We try and offer people as many different options as we can though – there’s often an alternative they might not have thought of and we can help with that.” With a regular rota of five loyal staff (which rises to 12 at Halloween), each plays an important role in the running of the store. Shirley, who has worked for Ricky for the last 15 years, looks after the fancy dress department. With between 2,000 and 4,000 hire costumes on offer, they are diligently catalogued and displayed in carefully– constructed albums, grouped by theme. “We source the costumes from all over the place,” Shirley told PPE. “There are a lot of high–end, hire–quality costumes from regular suppliers, but we also have a lot of them made especially for us. They’re incredible quality.” The costumes themselves cover a huge array of themes and styles. “We tend to get around seven hires

out of each costume,” said Shirley, “ although of course that depends on the quality of the item itself and how popular it is. Some will easily last a couple of years before we have to start looking to replace or repair them.” “We have a policy,” Ricky interjected, “to never sell or hire anything that we don’t think is up to scratch. Because that then becomes associated with us, even if people are only buying it to wear as a one–off.” Ricky cites feather boas as a prime example of how this policy works. “We’ve never found one which sells at a reasonable price but doesn’t fall apart and shed almost immediately,” he explained. “So we just don’t sell them! There’s no hard and fast rule, but what we do works for us.” According to Shirley, the 70s, 80s and 90s are always popular for fancy dress themes, with Spice Girl-style 90s dresses proving particularly popular. “Fancy dress aligns itself quite closely with the fashion industry,” she explained, “I know our customers are always looking for something different, so we make sure we are constantly changing things around to keep the store looking fresh.” The shop is split into two levels, and while Shirley’s

dress-up domain is upstairs, Ricky resides over the balloon, partyware and décor section on the ground floor. With dramatic bouquets and personalised columns dotted around the shop floor the wide variety of services available is clear at a glance. “Proms, weddings and conferences are a big part of our business,” explained Ricky, “but the smaller orders are just as important – hen nights and birthdays are always popular. And 14 babies are born in Peterborough each day, so that keeps things ticking over as well!” Because he is such a balloon enthusiast, advising customers comes as second nature to Ricky, and it’s here that the customer service element really somes into its own. “Customers and party

Above: The Party Shop Superstore retail website is fully operational. Left: Ricky serves customers who have popped in for hen night bouquets, wedding orders and a three-year-old’s birthday party.

Balloon Bits Over the years, Ricky has played an important part in making sure some fairly illustrious events go according to plan. He has: ■ Managed a 40,000 balloon release for Asda. ■ Created the celebratory decor for Diana Princess Of Wales’ 40th Birthday at the Ritz Hotel in London. ■ Provided balloon decor for all the Conservative parties while John Major was Prime Minister, and as a result has been invited 10 Downing Street three times, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

organisers are happy to give me an idea of what they want and their budget and then I’ll give them a whole selection of different options to choose from. People want the ‘wow’ factor and I love having the opportunity to get really creative!” Operating in this way means that it is important that the whole team stays on top of the latest balloon techniques in order to help the customer visualise what they want and create the appropriate décor concept. “It’s our job to help create the magic moment that makes the whole party,” Ricky continued, more earnestly, “whether that’s with a big reveal or a dramatic entrance. We like to use confetti canons and pyrotechnics where we can as well – anything for a little bit of extra pizazz! It’s a lot of fun, but we take it extremely seriously.” It’s this attitude toward event planning and ensuring that no customer goes away less than dleighted which means that – depsite it’s name – Party Shop Superstore remains so much more than ‘just’ a local party shop. JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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International multilingual printing service (CMYK)

OppoSuits Profile

Inset: The men behind the suits – (l - r) Guus Bakker, Jelle van der Zwet and Jasper Castelein.

SUITS YOU SIR A fast-growing brand offering stylishly designed yet wildly patterned suits, the OppoSuits concept is positioned firmly in the middle ground between fancy dress and fashion. PPE speaks to co-founder Jelle van der Zwet to find out more about the party industry’s latest phenomenon.

imed firmly at men who don’t take themselves too seriously but still want to maintain a sense of style, the OppoSuit – which consists of jacket, trousers and tie – starts at just £59.95, making it an extremely affordable way of looking great. The idea for the Amsterdam-based company first came about while Jelle and his business partner Jasper Castelein were traveling through Southeast Asia, and it was subsequently founded by them, along with business partner Guus Bakker. In just under three years it has already grown into a successful adventure that has taken the team halfway across the globe. “We all came from different backgrounds and joined forces to test the market in 2012 when we launched with 2,000 bright orange suits for Left: The new Suitmeister brand offers a different type of suit with a whole new range of designs.

Dutch football fans in the run up to the European Championships,” explained Jelle. “The suits sold out in no time, proving we were onto something.” Since then, the trio has worked 24/7 to grow their bold idea into a global business. Their strengths lie in their core beliefs, and they stand by the same values today as they did when the company first launched. “The last couple of years have proven that there’s a substantial group of men out there who also want to look good but don’t take themseleves too seriously,” laughed Jelle. The team have set up a range of over 45 designs, secured customers in over 50 countries and have gleaned more media coverage than they can possibly keep track of, but as Jelle points out; “Our ambitions keep exceeding our accomplishments, so luckily the end of our journey is nowhere in sight!” As a relatively new business growing at a rapid pace, 2014 has been OppoSuits biggest year so far – although it is on track to beat that in 2015, primarily due to impressive growth

Fan Favourites “One of the key styles we are known for is the Testival suit, a design based on the retro TV test card, and that remains very popular in 2015,” said Jelle. “So far, the response has been very good for our licensed Batman and Superman suits, so it will be interesting to see how strong those lines have been at the end of the year.” Left: Officially licensed Batman and Superman suits will be available from August 2015.

across the US market. “Trading conditions have been OK despite some of the brick-and-mortar retailers struggling,” explained Jelle. “I think that the concept we created with OppoSuits is so unique that it has helped us in bringing this to the retail market. The highlight of the year was definitely the amount of PR we generated in December 2014 with our Xmas suits going viral!” The range of Xmas suits became an internet sensation after press and bloggers began to say that OppoSuits has taken the ‘Ugly Xmas Jumper’ trend to a whole new level with the introduction of the ‘Ugly Xmas Suits’. Major national newspapers such as The Guardian, The Daily Mail and The Independent (as well as many others) picked up on the trend, creating a huge buzz around the brand. This led to OppoSuits featuring on big US TV channels such as Fox News and Bloomberg - although things really kicked

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OppoSuits Profile

Design Detail Many new designs have been released throughout the year, with the licensed Batman and Superman suits (available from August 2015) one of the key additions. A small number of Summer Suits (with short sleeves and shorts) are expected to become popular at festivals and in warmer climates. OppoSuits is testing this product throughout the summer to determine demand for 2016 and beyond. off when popular US TV Host Jimmy Kimmel wore the popular Christmaster design throughout his whole show. As a European company, OppoSuits is well-placed to see how trends and fashions change geographically, reflecting the different market conditions. “Overall we feel that the fancy dress market is pretty positive at the moment,” said Jelle. “The timing of our concept has been good as it seems that a number of consumers were definitely ready for higher quality products.” Because OppoSuits offers a high-quality product that is therefore higher priced than the average fancy dress costume, the next logical step in the business expansion is to offer something for the budget end of the market. The new economy range of suits is about to hit the market. Named Suitmeister, the range ensures the company has something to offer to everyone. “The Suitmeister product will give us the opportunity to also reach the consumer who is looking for a fancy dress outfit at a lower cost,” explained Jelle. “It is inevitable that the two brands will cannibalise each other up to a certain extent, but overall we will have increased our potential in reaching prospective customers across the spectrum.” The Suitmeister collection will have an extremely competitive price point of around £35 to £40 – roughly the same price as a ‘normal’ fancy dress costume, which in turn, should help OppoSuits to penetrate the lower end of the market. “The Suitmeister collection will be different to the OppoSuits collection and this new range is aimed at the

consumer who doesn’t want or need the level of quality that OppoSuits offers,” said Jelle. That level of high quality is an important part of the suit design for OppoSuits, as it allows the product to remain competitive in the market despite any potential copies. A dedicated product development team is tasked with coming up with the coolest designs for the collection. The same team will be working on the new Suitmeister brand and so will be working even harder to create two distinct collections aimed at very different audiences. The nature of OppoSuits styling means that the designs are heavily influenced by fashion, so high street trends are important. “We also have a huge wish list of design ideas that we have built up over the years, partly based on suggestions from retail partners or direct from consumers” explained Jelle. “We discuss these on a regular basis and make decisions about which designs we will be adding or discontinuing in order to continually keep the collection fresh.” It’s not just design feedback that makes the independent retailer so important to OppoSuits business – although the company sells into some large players around the world, the independent retailer

Future Of Retail “Similar to the rest of the retail industry, I think we will see even more changes when it comes to the way goods are sold to the consumer in the future,” said Jelle. “Apart from the continued growth of the online shopping channels, we have seen further sophisticated omni-channel retail strategies being implemented by major US players – these will no doubt also be implemented throughout Europe at some point in the future.”

Inset:The blend of fashion and fun makes OppoSuits perfect for festivals and other group outings.

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Above (clockwise): Testival is one of OppoSuits most enduring and popular designs; New lines are being designed and introduced on a continual basis; New summer suits are being trialled this year.

still plays a key role in the business. “Now we will have two different suit lines with two different price points, we will be able to provide even more options for both the large players as well as the independents,” said Jelle. “We have seen that many independents want to sell niche products that are unique – and higher-end – compared to the products sold via the bigger chains.” As a successful, innovative company which is continuing to grow, it is perhaps no surprise that the OppoSuits team sees that the party market as being ‘pretty optimistic right now’. “With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, we’re all hoping for a great Halloween season and our Xmas suits should also be very popular after all the PR attention we generated last year,” Jelle pointed out. “Despite our suits being a yearround product, Carnival, Halloween and Xmas are very important seasons for us right across Europe.” The coming months will see the OppoSuits team focusing on the development of the Suitmeister product, which is expected to attract even more fancy dress retailers across the UK and continental Europe, thanks to its extremely competitive price point. From there, the plans for 2015 and beyond are ‘suitably’ ambitious. “We have increased our collection heavily this year to continue our rapid growth,” said Jelle. “We have four dedicated Halloween designs, our Xmas collection has now increased to eight designs, we have just introduced a licensed Batman and Superman suit and are in the middle of testing our Summer Suits collection. And there are plenty of other things in the pipeline as well!”

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

13/07/2015 14:31

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Christmas Party Essentials Inset: A very traditional Christmas from Amscan

It’s (almost)

CHRISTMAS! Santa Claus is coming to town! The party season and the party industry go hand in hand, so Progressive Party Europe takes a peek at this year’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve trends and themes.

he festive season is a favourite time of year for many – and not just because it’s a great excuse to indulge in turkey, mince pies and mulled wine. Of course, it’s time for celebrating family and friends – but more importantly, it’s the ultimate time of year for parties! This means dressing up for extravagant celebrations, decorating the house in gaudy colours and playing games that you wouldn’t even dream of playing at any other time of the year. Dave Barry, author of Christmas Right: Oversized Elf Christmas jumper from Rubie’s.

The Office Party! “Office parties are always big for us. Everyone loves to let loose after a year of hard work and fancy dress costumes serve the double function of making any party more fun and, most importantly, helping everyone escape their ‘office persona’ for the night. We don’t expect lots of ‘sexy’ outfits for this one but novelty costumes and slightly ‘classier’ fancy dress will be really popular.” Emma Angel, director, Angels Fancy Dress

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Shopping: A Survivor’s Guide, summed it up best, saying: “In the old days, it was not called the holiday season; the Christians called it Christmas and went to church; the Jews called it Hanukka and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank.” Beating most other party seasons – other than Halloween – hands down in the dress-up stakes, the festive season is usually a welcome and profitable time of year for party retailers everywhere. No wonder really, when there are so many merry gatherings and endless opportunities for dressing up – office parties, nativities, masquerade balls, fancy dress-themed shindigs and of course, Santas everywhere. But how does a party retailer prepare for the busiest time of year? Right now, most people will be packing for their summer holidays, or deciding how they’re going to occupy the kids during the (seemingly!) endless school break. But not the party market, oh no. We’ll be busy thinking about Christmas balloon designs, or this year’s festive colour scheme. “Over the years we have found that Right: Even dogs can get into the Christmas spirit, thanks to Rasta Imposta.

Above: On-trend balloon patterns from Pioneer Europe.

when it comes to Christmas decorations and tableware, traditional colours and designs for party products are the most popular,” said Carl Taylor, sales director at Pam’s. “As this is the case our tableware and party ranges tend to be mostly traditional. However over the last few years the Winter Wonderland icy blue, silver and white colour range have been extremely popular, especially with the Disney Frozen mania that has been in full swing for the last year! Beautiful snowflake balloons for Winter Wonderland parties are popular, as are Santa-themed balloons for traditional party décor.” So, for this year at least, the recently popular (thanks to Frozen) silver, white and ice blue colour scheme is sticking around. But what about other predicted trends? What fanciful and crazy designs will people be wearing this year? According to Emma Angel, director at Angels Fancy Dress: “We are

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Christmas Party Essentials

Child’s Play “For kids, Nativity costumes are going to be the big seller,” predicts Emma Angel, director at Angels Fancy Dress. “With the children’s fancy dress market getting bigger each year, the quality expected gradually increases and our new California nativity costumes are the best around! We expect them to do really well come Christmas.” expecting the complete range of Christmasthemed OppoSuits to do to very well in 2015. The perfect combination of silly and well dressed, these were a sell-out last year and we’re confident we can build on that success again this festive season.” For 2015, Fun Shack has grown its range of more humorous Christmas fancy dress lines to include a range of t-shirts and hats

Above: Three wise men, from Palmer Agencies.

and a Christmas gentleman, as well as a wonderfully cheeky range of Christmasthemed mankinis. Perfect stocking fillers! It has also introduced a variety of affordable costumes for 2015 to complement the already popular Christmas range, including Deluxe Santa and Angelic Angel. Readying itself for the party season, Leg Avenue has just launched its new range of glamorous Christmas and New Year outfits, from the ever-popular Secret Santa to the slightly more ‘out there’ Cozy Polar Bear. “There will always be a desire for the traditional Christmas atmosphere – velvet reds and recognisable characters are always popular during this sparkling holiday,” said Joyce Mallo, marketing and communication. “Leg Avenue’s new Christmas costumes and accessories will bring some classic Christmas spirit into stores.” Along with the more traditional Santa, elf and angel, Palmer Agencies will be bringing the three wise men to the party. “Christmas remains a strong season in the

Left: Santa’s Lil Helper, from In Character.

party calendar,” said Sergio Battaner, Palmer Agencies’ marketing director. “Last year was very strong for anything elf-related, and we expect this year to be reasonably similar. We have some great new wise men and adult angel costumes for this year though, as we are also anticipating a lot of business in the more ‘traditional’ costumes areas. There are some incredible Santa outfits as well – very continental in style, with elaborate embroidery and edging.” In addition to these classic lines, Palmer Agencies is making a big push for the office party market, with novelty glasses which are perfect for the ever-present selfies and offer retailers fantastic profit margins. Also steering clear of the traditional, Rasta Imposta urges party-goers to ‘embrace the festive spirit’ with easy-to-wear novelty cut-out costumes, such as ‘Gingerbread Man’, ‘Santa Hat’ and ‘Christmas Tree’, complete with tinsel, decorations and presents! Available in one size, and designed to fit most adults, these larger than life foam costumes are guaranteed to make an impact. In a similar vein, Struan Robertson, trade marketing and digital manager at Rubie’s Masquerade commented; “Rubie’s always has plenty of Christmas costumes on offer, from plush Santa costumes to various elves – even novelty oversized Christmas jumpers featuring a printed knitwear look.” Could these be the hot new trend for 2015? One style that will never go away is the sexy Santa/naughty elf – outfits which come with all the (Christmas) bells and (wolf) whistles! Smiffys’ Grace Hutchinson is excited about a new range she hopes to be popular this year, saying; “Fever has introduced a number of flirty new festive lines for the Christmas period, sure to be a hit for Noel-themed nights out and parties. Customers should look out for sultry Santa-inspired costumes sure to set pulses racing and turn up the heat at the festive party.” Widmann is also looking forward to a fruitful and festive Christmas and New Year’s season, with sales director Anna Solly commenting: “Santa is still always our most popular theme, and the fantastic choice of gowns, suits and novelty Santa costumes that we have Right: Leg Avenue’s flapper dresses are perfect for New Year’s Eve parties.

Christmas Cookie Christmas is always a time for family baking and it is the perfect occasion to get the family together in the kitchen to whip up some festive treats. The Christmas Cookie Cutter sets from Creative Party are fab for gifts and make a really impressive display in-store. Merchandising spinners are available to stimulate those impulse till point sales.”

Left: Fun Shack’s Santa Baby t-shirt and hat. Above: Christmas cookies, made with a little help from Creative Party.

available offers something for everyone, whatever their budget.” “We also have plenty of accessories to accompany any outfit everything from glasses, quality wigs, beards, belly stuffers and boot-covers, not forgetting novelty head boppers and sexy stockings in lots of colours and styles,” she continued. So what about partyware and balloons for 2015? Amscan’s Charlotte Cox explains that; “In terms of balloon trends for Christmas, cute and contemporary designs taking a family-friendly approach are proving very popular.” Pioneer also has a full offering of Christmas-themed balloons. Anna Bubnova, marketing communications manager, comments: “We see a rising trend in the Nordic patterns and snowflake designs but still believe traditional designs are going to be strong.” So whether your customers are looking for a novelty line for the office party or something more traditional for the local school grotto, there’s just one thing to remember.... It’s Christmas!

Happy 2016! Traditionally a night of glamour and glitz, the 1920s theme is expected to continue to do well for New Year’s Eve, with sequinned flapper dresses, dapper suits and feathered headbands all proving popular. Anything ‘Great Gatsby’ or ‘Chicago’ themed is guaranteed to be a hit for the ladies, while many of the men often plump for a comedy outfit instead. Even decorations and balloons are more elegant on New Year’s Eve, with the stylish combination of black, silver and gold taking centre stage.

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Christmas Leg Avenue’s cosy polar bear and Secret Santa costumes cover all bases. Amscan’s new additions include this Christmas scene Orbz.

Neviti’s Shimmering Snowflake napkins are part of a complete tableware range.

Traditional elves and Santas always do well for Palmer Agencies.

This Sassy Elf from Amscan is a Christmas grotto essential!

Pam’s has balloons for Winter Wonderland fans and more traditional Christmas enthusiasts.

This new snow globe design from Rasta Imposta is expected to be a big hit for 2015. On-trend designs for Christmas 2015 from the OppoSuits collection.

Brand new Christmas designs from Betallic.

It doesn’t get more angelic than this classic angel design from Fun Shack.

Perfect for nights out and parties, this Glamorous Angel from Fever comes complete with headband and wings.

Traditional and modern lines are equally popular, from Bristol Novelty.

Fun head boppers from Widmanns are great for parties.

New Year Amscan’s Happy New Year banner and decorations are perfect for ringing in the changes.

Betallic’s holographic range includes the Mighty Starburst balloon.

InCharacter offers age-appropriate flapper dresses for adults and children. Delights Direct most popular balloon in 2014 was this Sitting Elf, and he’s expected to be a hit again this year!

Pioneer’s NYE-themed balloons have the perfect classy touch.

Novelty hats and glasses from Wilbers are ideal for those reluctant to go the full Christmas monty!

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Feedback: Innovations

Inset: Fancy dress has been around ‘forever’.

FEEDBACK The party industry has been around for as long as people have enjoyed themselves (that is: forever!), and while old classics remain key there have also been some fantastic innovations and market developments. PPE asked a selection of industry stalwarts to share their thoughts on the most exciting innovation to have impacted the party market in recent years – and what the future might hold!

Exciting Innovations! Holly Forder product development, Creative Party

“A fantastic new innovation brought to the market by Creative Party in 2015 was the new Air-Filled Balloon Centrepiece Kit. Previously any air-filled Holly Forder balloon would need to be filled and heat sealed by the supplier, and the biggest drawback for this was space. Air-filled balloons take up a lot of space, making them bulky and inefficient from a freight perspective. New one-way valve technology meant an air-filled balloon could now be inflated by the customer, or even the consumer just before the party. It’s a great development for internet customers specifically, as people can now create spectacular foil balloon centrepieces in minutes. We see this as a significant development for the balloon industry and see more companies in the industry following suit.” Above: Technological advances meant Creative Party could introduce the Air-Filled Balloon Centrepiece Kit.

Sergio Battaner marketing director, Palmer Agencies “The party industry has come on in leaps and bounds from where it was 20 years ago, when it was primarily all about masks and children. Those kids are adults now though – and we have Sergio Battaner created a whole generation of people who are comfortable with dressing up and enjoy being silly and creative. People are always looking for the ‘next big thing’ and like to be the first one to wear something new. It’s all about pushing the boundaries. The animated props market has changed the most though – there are things for sale on the high street now that just couldn’t have been made a few years ago. Our challenge, in such a fast-moving market – is to make sure we lead the way and are breaking new ground all the time. Visual impact is incredibly important, and that holds as true for people looking for costumes as it does for ground-breaking new décor pieces.

The other area which has seen some incredible changes in reent years is the make-up industry. As the latex prosthetics and complicated face-paint techniques have become more achieveable, they have bought a whole new dimension to what can be achieved by the regualar party-goer. Consumers are pretty savvy though – they don’t just want new things for the sake of it – there has to be some real substance behind innovation, and that’s as true in the party industry as it is anywhere else.” Right: The Cinema Secrets range from Palmer Agencies is breaking new ground in the make-up world.

Anna Bubnova marketing communications manager, Pioneer Europe “Two years ago we launched a new category of balloons called Quick Links balloons. These innovative balloons, Anna Bubnova which tie together end-to-end, have given decorators a lot of new opportunities to create large scale decor quickly without any need for structures. Retailers and decorators love them and they’ve opened up some really interesting opportunities for clever design and construction. This year we have introduced a new product featuring the Quick Links balloons, called Balloon Party Banners. It is a great new product, designed for retailers to sell directly to consumers. The banner – which is available in various popular licensed prints – inflates to 10ft long and is a fast and easy way to decorate any party. We are always looking for ways to make the market more creative and easier for the end-consumer.” Above: Entrance arch at the BACI 2015 created with Quick Links by Didier Dvorak from Canniballoon Switzerland. Photo by Tomas Stankiewicz.

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Feedback: Innovations

Dominique Peckett head of NPD, Smiffy’s “The use of EVA in the costume industry is an innovation which has seen the variety of accessories and masks on offer come on in leaps and Dominique Peckett bounds. EVA can be used to create soft-moulded masks, accessories such as swords and pieces of armour, and can even be incorporated into costumes in the place of latex to create moulded chest pieces and similar. It is the material of choice for many fancy dress manufacturers in terms of safety too, a subject hot on the lips of everyone in the party market at the moment. Sublimation printing has also become hugely popular in creating costumes and accessories with striking visual effect. It replaces the traditional (and not to mention expensive!) latex and is set to become a staple technique in the party and costume market in coming years. Our Realistic Muscle Top uses this cutting-edge technique, so consumers can fake a six pack without spending hours in the gym! Perhaps the most significant product development for Smiffy’s in recent years was the launch Above: Realistic Muscle Top, created with a cutting-edge of our Stand Out Suits in 2013. printing technique. They are perfect for those who love to stand out and want something a little more fashion-inspired than the typical fancy dress costume, and are available in a variety of colours and styles.

Carl Taylor sales director, Pam’s “Here at Pam’s we always make sure we keep an eye out for the most exciting developments right across the party market. It’s really interesting seeing Carl Taylor new developments come onto the scene and watching how the general public take them on board. People are definitely getting more adventurous! We have recently added the Paintglow range to our numerous fancy dress lines, as this innovative face and body paint is a perfect addition to our face painting offering. Many people love the glow and UV face and body paints, whether they are out clubbing or partying at festivals, making it an extremely versatile product within the market place. Paintglow has recently added to its glow glitter paint range which we jumped at the chance to stock. It is the very first of its kind and of course everyone knows how much the party market loves a bit of glitter!”

Right: Available in

a range of colours this UV glitter gel makes a great addition to fancy dress faces.

Anton Schygiol director of latex and foil balloons, Amscan UK “Having received a Licensing Award for Innovation Award Anton Schygiol in 2013 for our Spider-Man AirWalker foil balloon; we know the AirWalker format has played a vital part in driving innovation within the foil balloon market over recent years. Filled with air or helium and weights included that are attached to the balloon; they can move around freely themselves adding a whole new dimension and play factor to the experience. On the latex side exciting new innovations include the vibrant fourcolour print balloons featuring major Disney and Marvel properties. These bring the characters to life and offer a new perspective to enhance the overall party theme. Each pack can be used to create a fantastic balloon bouquet that makes a perfect visual statement.” Right: Storm Trooper AirWalker from Amscan.

Emma Angel, director Angels Fancy Dress “OppoSuits really are different to everything else on the market and their rise in popularity over the past few years hasn’t been surprising. Unlike your more traditional fancy Emma Angel dress costumes, these suits are cool and trendy but still ‘dressing up’, so the wearer manages to look stylish and to have made an effort – the holy grail of ‘cool’ fancy dress! With the introduction of the dramatic ‘Big Mouth tattoos’ range this year, which will add that extra flare to any Halloween look, we also expect the transfer movement to get bigger and better. With tattoos like these, the wearer is instantly transformed into a gory character while saving on the time, money and effort it would take to achieve the same effect with traditional make-up. The special effect tattoos include wounds and full-face designs and make it so much easier for the everyday person to create special effects at home. New transfers featuring metallic jewellery effects also work well with everyday clothing to add some stylish and unique glamour.” Above right: Dramatic Big Mouth tattoos are a new addition to the make-up market.

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Comedy and Novelty Costumes

o S y h W

Serious?

They say humour is a great leveller, and while a GSOH is commonly cited as one of the most desirable qualities a person can have, that can mean a number of different things. PPE takes a look at the comedy and novelty costume market to see what’s tickling our funny bones in 2015.

omedy and novelty costumes are a very important part of the UK party market. Stag dos and hen nights, Christmas celebrations and themed parties – all offer an unmissable opportunity for the comedy costume to take centre stage. There are a number of reasons that some members of the public prefer to wear a silly costume when dressing up. “Many people, especially students, believe that the wackier the costume the better,” pointed out Pam’s sales director, Carl Taylor. “They tend to enjoy wearing silly costumes as a one-off for the laughter factor. We have a huge range of comedy costumes and over the last few years have expanded this sector of the market, which we think will continue to grow.” A number of party manufacturers have specialised in comedy and novelty costumes for some time, but for others, like Amscan, it’s a fairly new development. “We are expanding into comedy outfits for 2015 as part of our everyday costume collection,” explained Charlotte Cox, marketing executive. “Humorous costumes in particular are ideally suited to events such as festivals and stag nights; where the more ridiculous the outfit the better!” In the other camp, Bristol Novelty has always had plenty of depth in the comedy and novelty costumes range and has been continually adding new lines to support the growing demand for this style of costume.

“This is mainly due to the huge growth in the stag and hen industry, and specialist individual events in the UK and Europe,’ said business development manager Gary Vincent. “Customers are always looking for a more ‘out there’ costume!” On that note, Palmer Agencies is well-renowned for pushing the boundaries of taste and decency Above: Amscan’s as far as possible, and Hot Diggety Dog suit. Left: Leg Avenue’s this year is proving new cosy costumes no different. “We include this goldfish. have some amazing new costumes in the pipeline which are going to do really well in niche markets,” said marketing director Sergio Battaner. “The Pookie Jammies outfit is perfect for stag dos, not quite so suitable for children’s parties! It had a great reaction at both Birmingham and Nuremberg and there are already strong pre-sales so we are sure its going to do well.” Perhaps surprisingly, there aren’t many childrens’ comedy or novelty costumes around, as the generic costume market still focuses on the characters or animals

Left: These novelty glasses from Palmer Agencies offer great margins for retailers and offer maximum impact for minimal effort.

that children like to play dress-up with. Palmer Agencies has developed a new pixel robot monster costume that is great fun and is expected to do really well. “We’ve got an adult version too,” said Sergio, “so parents and children can mix and match!” According to Smiffys, embarrassment is the order of the day; the more cringeworthy, the better! “The consumer is constantly looking for something more risqué, more taboo, funnier and more embarrassing,” said marketing executive Grace Hutchinson, “usually to dress up an unsuspecting friend or stag, and it seems that this trend is set to stay put!” Smiffys responded to market demand in January, with a selection of new comedy lines which have been a big hit with retailers. And it’s not the only one – despite being better-known for its sexy approach to dress-up, Leg Avenue has also added some fun to its most recent collection. “The cozy costumes were a big hit,” said Joyce Mallo, marketing and communications, “so we’ve introduced more designs, and added a whole range of sizes!”

Left: With 600+ top-quality facial hair items, Mustaches’ assortment of fake facial hair cannot be beaten.

Novelty Nose Ticklers Lip hair is a comedy standard, an easy prop for having fun and being funny, and that’s never been more true in the party business than it is now. John Cleese and the Gumbys get some credit for the timeless ‘tache trend – though they would no doubt bow to Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin. If bearded ladies were once a circus highllight, today’s females sporting false facial hair are a firm party fixture. Czech Olympic snowboarding champ Eva Samkova even sported a patriotic ‘tache in her 2014 gold-medal run, later explaining: “I wanted to have fun.” JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Comedy and Novelty Costumes

Feeling Funny?

Robot pixel monster from Palmer Agencies is available in both adult and child sizes for extra family fun.

Rasta Imposta offers a wide range of novelty costumes, from the brand new Pin the Tail on the Donkey to popular classics such as the Banana.

Go wild with this new Gorilla costume available from Amscan, with jumpsuit, mask, hands and feet. The ever-popular ‘Crayola’ range from Rasta Imposta is available in sizes ranging from threeyears-old to adult in a selection of styles.

Get your thinking cap on with this hilarious Nerd jumpsuit with attached tie and belt from Amscan.

There’s no accounting for taste! Palmer Agencies’ Pookie Jammies costume is ideal for stag parties.

The Well Hung Highlander from Smiffys includes a hat with hair and beard, top, sash, kilt, sporran, socks and ‘endowment’. This mustard bottle from Amscan is sure to add some ‘heat’ to proceedings.

The cult classic Tetris game comes to life! A great costume from Pam’s – and different shapes and colours make it ideal for groups.

This new barrel costume is a great new line for this year from Bristol Novelty.

These crazy owl and roaring lion costumes from Leg Avenue are silly, fun, comfortable to wear and ideal for chilly days or evenings!

The ever-cheeky mankini has undergone a seasonal twist from Fun Shack, making it ideal for the Christmas season.

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Best sellers Antrix

We operate from a private house, two and a half miles from Maidstone town centre, with free parking directly outside. We’ve been in business 25 years.

Anne Rigby / Maidstone

CAT E G O R Y

Summer has finally arrived! June was the month of the naked bike ride, but we don’t suppose many people wanted fancy dress for that! But we had Wimbledon, festival season started and the garden parties commenced!

M A N UFACTURE RS/RANGES

COMMENT

Female Costumes

Jacqui’s Novelties, Wardrobe, Mardi Gras

Lots of themed parties this month! There was a jive party and a hen party with a 50s theme. Even though big skirts are a 50s item, it was more popular for the 60s themed parties! It was all about the bright, flowery outfits for the women.

Male Costume

Palmer Agencies, Rubies

All the men wanted to be a pimp for the 70s parties!

Accessories

Bristol Novelty, Permarcos

The Mary Quant black and white geometic style was a popular choice for the 60s parties. To complement the styles from each era – eyelashes were popular will the costumes from all decades. The blonde Abba wig and afro wigs were popular this month, for obvious reasons!

Palmer Agencies

Rubies

A Dressing Up Box CAT E G O R Y

Male Costume

Julie Stevenson / Newton Abbott

M A N UFACTURE RS/RANGES

Based on Brunel Industrial Estate. Convenient location with free parking outside the shop.

COMMENT

Smiffys (our main supplier), Magic By Freddy

We had a big 80s event locally, so 80s was our biggest seller this month. Another big local party with the Cowboys and Indians as the theme. Cowboys were more popular than Indians!

Female Costume

Smiffys

For the same party but women tended to go for the 80s dress style rather than dressing up as someone from the 80s.

Accessories

Smiffys

The 80s was all about accessorising...the brighter the better!

Anything Else?

Smiffys

Hats always sell well, and every selfrespecting cowboy needs a hat!

Smiffy’s

Magic By Freddy

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Best sellers Celebrations CAT E G O R Y

continued

Just off the main high street by a covered market. Nearby parking in broad street. Established 20 years.

Mike Richer / Oxford M A N UFACTURE RS/RANGES

COMMENT

Male Costume

Rubies, Bristol Novelty

We had lots of stag dos this month and superheroes were a popular theme. Again for the stag dos – onesies are popular for the comedy element.

Female Costumes

Smiffys

80s is another popular theme around here Madonna costumes are best sellers all year round.

Bristol Novelty

Masks

Bristol Novelty

Lots of masquerade balls in Oxford, so these are popular all year round.

Balloons

Pam’s

Angry Birds and cow balloons were popular this month, as well as large bunches of balloons for parties.

Confetti and accessories

Smiffys, Pams, Bristol Novelty

We had the ‘thrashing’ here last month to celebrate end of exams and students do like to make a mess!

Accessories

Noble – licensed Harry Potter merchandise

These are really popular with tourists and sell all year round.

Smiffy’s

Noble Collection

Falcon’s Fancy Dress CAT E G O R Y

Sally Fleet/ Southampton

M A N UFACTURE RS/RANGES

Located above an on old train station with several themed rooms – medieval, funky, fun and military. Free parking nearby. Established 15 years.

COMMENT

Accessories

Smiffys, Rubie’s

Festival season has started, so hats are always popular among festival-goers. Pirates and clowns are the most popular.

Male costume

Smiffys, Rubie’s

Mexican cactus always sell well for stag parties. Again for the stag parties – mug of beer, jagermeister and tequila are the best sellers.

Costumes

Smiffys

In preparation for Independence Day celebrations, we sold a lot of American themed items.

Masks

Smiffys

There have been a lot of masquerade balls lately, they seem to get more popular in summer. For stag dos or themed parties, Sugar Skull and pirate masks always sell well.

Rubies

Smiffy’s

JULY/AUGUST 2015 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Classifieds 26001 Up Up Balloon Courses ad_Layout 1 02/03/2

FUNNYMAN PRODUCTS LTD. JoKing since 1924

Leading suppliers of Practical Jokes

FUNNYMAN ™© Carded Jokes, Magic Conjuring Tricks, Halloween Products, Masks by GREYLAND™ and ZAGONE™ Adult Jokes and Sexy XXX Novelties.

Weight and Ribbon included

Ask for latest prices and literature! Web: www.funnymanjokes.com E-mail: fun@funnymanjokes.com Tel: 020 8554 3131 Fax: 020 8554 3133

• Fantastic designs for the UK market • Decorator approved Tel: 01274 580111 www.starfoilballoons.com

The UK No. 1 in Licensed Greetings Over 30 licenses including: Disney, Peppa Pig, Hello Kitty, Mr Men and Angry Birds t: +44 (0)1264 388400 e: enquiries@gemma-international.co.uk w: gemma-international.co.uk

CARDS • WRAP • PARTY • GIFTS

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LIMITED PLACES AVAILABLE CALL US NOW TO BOOK:

enquiries@upupandaway.co.uk

Utilising 45 years of experience Saunders displays are delighted to provide you with professional products for the balloon industry.

Unit 17, Newlands End Laindon North Ind. Est., Laindon Basildon, Essex SS15 6DU

www.upupandaway.co.uk Balloon design and photo by Tope Abulude

Letters A-Z & Numbers 0-9 available. See our website for full product details, including shipping information & prices. www.balloonframesbysaunders.co.uk

To advertise call:

0207 700 6740

BALLOONS GAS DIRECT

Gas too expensive or supplier unreliable? We offer:     

Friendly helpful service A supplier who will not let you down Competitive prices Full range of cylinder sizes Delivery service or collect locally

Tel: 01795 437 500 Fax: 01795 436 401 Email: sales@balloonsgasdirect.co.uk

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