Progressive Party Europe - March/April 2016

March/April 2016

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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

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Welcome to the Party Spring has sprung and the chickens have hatched, Easter has been and gone and sales opportunities were snatched. In the same vein that we didn’t deliberately set out to become poets, as well as your party trade magazine publisher, retailers also didn’t expect Easter to be so good for business. But the feedback suggests so, with the long weekend reportedly doing wonders for balloon sales.

Turning the page back a few weeks to World Book Day, this now infamous festival has become a new best friend to the party sector – not least if you happen to have the licence for Roald Dahl and are based in Gainsborough. Inset: Progressive Party Europe’s Retailers and suppliers once again Rob Willis and Jacqui Parr. reported positive evidence that ranges from “as good, again” to “absolutely brilliant”. We ourselves were contacted by Radio 5’s Wake Up to Money programme, keen to explore PPE’s Retail Barometer findings on the growth of World Book Day. Read more about that on page 7.

With the dust settling on a hugely busy period across January and February, we now have time to reflect on the number of shows that retailers have had the chance to attend. A handful of party suppliers took space at London’s Toy Fair, while a hall-full took up residence in Nuremberg – to much success. On home soil, retailers had opportunity to head to the NEC for The Party Show, at Spring Fair International. You can enjoy feedback to the event on pages 19 and 21. What is currently unclear is the location for our sector at Spring Fair in 2017, following an unofficial agreement between party suppliers that Hall 3 wasn’t where they felt at home. While not a unanimous or official decision of agreement, there is an underlying feeling that dress-up companies wish to shadow toy suppliers, while balloon and party suppliers feel quite happy sharing carpet with the greeting card sector. With European shows becoming more accessible to UK retailers, we hope that resolution can be forthcoming in order that we keep a strong show on our doorstep.

Much like exhibitions, we are well aware that trade press titles have to ensure we bring you the most up to date trusted information that both informs and entertains in equal measure. With this in mind we’re delighted to welcome BAPIA’s chairman, John Bowler, as a columnist to PPE. As the man in ‘the big chair’ at the Balloon and Party Industry Alliance, we’re certain that his words of wisdom will be of interest to all of you. Elsewhere in this issue we update retailers on key product sectors for Spring – from tableware to hen and stag events, with a decade or two in-between. If like us you’re still too cold to accept it’s not winter, head to page 40 to warm up with our look at the Spanish party market.

In the meantime, celebrations will be taking place closer to home as the nation comes together to celebrate The Queen’s 90th birthday. The official date is on April 21, but festivities will be taking place throughout April, May and June.

While it’s unlikely that the celebrations will be as extensive as the Diamond Jubilee back in 2012, there will still be plenty of opportunities for the savvy party retailer to make the most of the occasion.

Until next time.

Jacqui Parr – Editor @Prog_Party_Eu

Rob Willis – Publisher, Progressive Party Europe

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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The LargesT CoLLeCTion of greeting Card Publishers in The WorLd “PG Live gives us the opportunity to focus on greeting cards and opens doors to up-and-coming designers. We are a sociable industry and PG Live celebrates this in style!”

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Focus On Cards With over 250 publishers and artists to explore, free refreshments, lunch and opening night party, you’re free to focus on the cards.

Order Your Copy Of The Free Show Preview Now! Pg Live 2016 is proud to present the largest collection of greeting card publishers in the world, with thousands of original designs, fabulous new ranges and exclusive show offers. Book your tickets now at www.progressivegreetingslive.com to receive your copy of the free show preview.

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CONTENTS

What’s inside: MARCH/APRIL 2016

18

35

39

46

44 NEWS

Read all about it – it’s the round up from the last month in the party world.

NEW! BAPIA

John Bowler joins PPE to share words of wisdom.

PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS LIVE

The UK’s only dedicated greeting card show offers a whole lot to party retailers.

FEEDBACK

Retailers and suppliers give their take on Spring Fair’s The Party Show.

THE JESTER

PPE’s masked columnist tells it like it is.

NEW PRODUCTS

Shiny new things just for you.

07 17 18 21 25 27

31 33 35 39 44 46 51

EUROPEAN NEW PRODUCTS Let’s face it, Europe is fashion central.

LICENSED TO PARTY

New licensed product hitting the market.

TABLEWARE

PPE place-sets the latest on-trend designs for the best-dressed tables.

HEN & STAG

We know what you’re thinking. Willy boppers.

ESPAÑOL

PPE takes a look at the festivals and fiestas of the Spanish party retail market.

THE DECADES

Dress-up inspired by fashions from the swinging 60s to the grunge-inspired 90s.

BEST SELLERS

Retailers share what’s been keeping their tills ringing.

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NEWS PAGE

NEWS UPDATE A Spring Fling

A new layout at February's Spring Fair saw a relocated The Party Show separated from the toy and gifts hall and repositioned adjacent to the greetings hall, in Hall 3.

The largest and most important retail trade event in the country, Spring Fair serves as a crucial barometer for the economic health of the retail sector and the trade came out in force to restock their shelves and gain invaluable insight into future trends.

As the primary trade event for the UK's party and costume industry, The Party Show at Spring Fair is an essential part of the industry's trade calendar. Sadly, exhibitor numbers were down this year, with fewer suppliers taking a place on the show floor.

In Hall 3, where The Party Show shared a space with the greetings and stationery suppliers, the catwalk fashion show and seminars were once again the shining stars, driving retailers into the centre of the hall and ensuring they stuck around to browse the nearby stands.

"The 2016 edition was located alongside Greetings, Stationery & Gift in Hall 3 and Seasonal Gifts in Hall 2, which created great synergy between sectors and helped capture Halloween seasonal buyers, the fastest growth sector

in dress-up," said i2i event director Alison Graham. "The Party Show Stage is one of the most fun and popular features of Spring Fair as a whole and this year was no exception, with catwalk shows featuring dress-up items running several times a day, interspersed with great balloon demos."

Many retailers gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about their experience of Spring Fair, with party buyers reporting significant amounts of business being done on the show floor.

“It is quieter than we would have liked,” said OppoSuits founder Jelle van der Zwet, “but it's actually worked out well for us. The buyers who have come are able to get round every stand and spend some real time with us. It's made for a less busy, but more considered show this year.”

The brand spanking new catalogue for 2016 from Palmer Agencies is out now and should have been landing on doormats over the past weeks. If you haven't received yours yet, or would like to order one, please get in touch with Sergio Battaner on +44 (0) 28 9064 7199

Morrisons Opens Party Zone Family-friendly supermarket Morrisons has opened a new branch on Edgeware Road in Colindale, London, complete with its very own dedicated party zone.

The first ever Morrisons Party Zone is a distinctive innovation at the Colindale store, bringing together all party related products, including helium balloons, disposable tableware, cards, toys, cakes and sweets. The staffed in-store section also acts as an ordering point for celebration cakes, wine and even flower wrapping.

The compact and carefullydesigned area allows Morrisons to make more of its existing strengths in party as it continues to position itself as a one-stop-shop for parties.

Whether or not this will be rolled out to further Morrisons stores remains to be seen.

The 2016 Spring Fair as a whole has been praised, with exhibitors from 13 different retail sectors reporting increased sales yearon-year and a positive overall outlook for the rest of 2016.

This year's Autumn Fair 2016 is from September 4 – 7 at The NEC, while the next edition of Spring Fair will be taking place from February 5 – 9 2017. For more information visit www.springfair.com

Excitabal-loon Celebrates

Get Your Orders In!

Inset:The Party Zone launched in March.

The Party Show at Spring Fair 2016.

Pioneer Europe Expands Disney Offering Pioneer Europe has expanded its Disney product offerings across the UK as Procos, Europe’s largest manufacturer of party products, has awarded the party company distribution rights to its line of Disney tableware and other licensed properties in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Disney tableware range will complement Pioneer’s popular Disney latex and Bubble balloons, providing its customers with the essential ingredients to create magical Disney-themed Parties. This will significantly expand Pioneer’s partyware offering in the UK, and will combine the company's 100 years of experience in the balloon industry with Procos’ 60 years of experience in the partyware industry.

"We are proud to be working with Procos to expand our tableware offering,” said Marie Gransbury, managing director for Pioneer Europe. “We are fully committed to helping our UK customers succeed with this exciting partyware range. It is a great opportunity for us to expand our business with our existing customers and to open doors to new customers."

Initially, Pioneer will offer tableware and accessories featuring the core Disney properties as well as Lucasfilm and Marvel properties.

“Pioneer and Procos have many similarities in the way we do business,” said Joseph Procos, co-owner of Procos. “We share the same corporate values. We look forward to developing our partyware sales in the UK together with Pioneer."

Products are available to order now.

It's a double celebration for Excitabal-loon owner Sonia Dutton as the balloon business celebrates its second anniversary in the same month as it becomes the only balloon decorator in South Tyneside to employ staff with an internationallyrecognised qualification in balloon art, the Qualatex CBA. “We have seen a great start to 2016,” said Sonia, “and we are looking forward to helping many more people say it with balloons.”

“While we believed we already provided an excellent service to our customers, passing the exam and gaining the qualification has proven that the team at Excitaballoon have achieved the highest level of skill in balloon decoration and retail.”

Below: (l-r) Victoria Normandale, owner Sonia Dutton and Victoria Purvis-McGinn.

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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PARTY NEWS

The Rising Cost Of Kids' Parties According to recent research carried out by UK discount brand, vouchercloud, the average cost of a child's birthday now tops a fairly hefty £500!

This news comes as little surprise to those of us in the party trade, to whom it has been clear for some years that having expensive party bags, a made-to-order cake and even a professional entertainer is now the norm at most tots' parties.

Breaking the spend down further, the survey found that the average parent of a primary school-aged child spends £320.50 on a party – with the further £175.80, on average, then spent on birthday presents.

The most expensive item out of

Wake up to World Book Day Radio 5 Live’s popular Wake Up to Money programme, hosted by Adam Parsons and Louise Cooper, focused on World Book Day on the morning of 3 March, 2016.

Producers of the show had contacted Progressive Party Europe to discuss the in-depth findings of the annual Retail Barometer (published in the January issue), which had data which showed continual growth of the increasingly prolific event.

Joining the show, which aired from 5am, was Party Delights’ marketing manager, Claire Grasby. “Our year-onyear growth shows 60% in sales and indeed traffic to the website, now becoming our biggest season after Halloween,” she told the listeners.

“We definitely have certain themes that sell well every year,” Claire continued. “Harry Potter is still really big actually, Roald Dahl also – we’ve got lots of Roald Dahl costumes, which are absolutely huge at the moment. The Gruffalo is also one of our best sellers, and Star Wars has been huge too.”

When pressed on the issue of parents who might feel cajoled into spending money they had not budgeted for, Claire pointed out that; “We do have a lot of costume kits under £5, though I feel parents are probably pressured each year due to some of the big licenses.”

this budget is the entertainment (21%), followed by catering (19%), decorations (16%), party bags (14%) and finally venue hire (9%).

Planning these birthday parties can often be a thankless task for parents, with hours spent preparing food, decorating the venue and then entertaining hoards of over-excited and sugarfuelled tots, yet two thirds of the 2,000 British parents questioned said they throw parties like this for their children every year.

When asked why parents spend so much, common responses ranged from the obvious ‘my child loves parties’ (88%), the weakwilled ‘my child asks to have a party’ (44%) to the downright

Children's birthdays now cost UK parents upwards of £500 each.

materialistic ‘it means my child gets more presents’ (38%).

Parents who didn't organise a party every year said it was because it was ‘too much organisation to take on every year’ (47%) and that they ‘can’t afford the expense’ (41%).

Facematt Goes Viral If you didn't see the UK's newest craze all over social media in the run-up to Christmas then we'd have to wonder which rock you were hiding under? The wearable face mat is part-card, partmask and is fantastic fun.

The ingenious Facematt product, launched by greetings company Brainbox Candy last year, has been a huge success. Some of the more prolific online shares came from TV personalities including Peter Andre, AP Mcoy, Olly Murs, Wayne Sleep, Phillip Schofield and Francine Lewis.

“Facematt has been an incredible success since its recent launch,” said Brainbox Candy's co-founder Mark Williams. “We received tons of interest from party shop retailers at Spring Fair this

year, the majority of whom we had never met before. I guess this is due to the fact that this range is both fun but also straddles a birthday card and a party item.”

The company has also just launched a second Facematt range called Funnimals, which is aimed at a younger market.

Below: Peter Andres models a Brainbox Candy Facematt.

The Next Big Thing In a recent series published on Progressive Party Europe's online sister title LicensingSource.net, Pioneer's licensing executive Andrew Storey was asked about the licences he thinks will shine this year.

“Definitely Star Wars will be a big hit for 2016,” he said.

“We have a big selection of Bubble and latex balloons, including our very popular Death Star Double Bubble and new innovative 12” Air Bubbles, which hit retailers at the beginning of the year.”

“Finding Dory is a big hope for us for 2016. We are investing in a Bubble and new latex designs for the movie,” he continued.

Paying It Forward Saunders Displays Ceases to Trade

Above: Dahl-inspired costumes were popular in 2016.

With many families across the UK being forced to reassess their finances, there's a clear space in the market for retailers offering affordable childrens party packages and special offers.

The children won't know the difference – but the parents will!

Essex-based retail fittings supplier Saunders Displays, headed by former NABAS committee member Mark Saunders has ceased to trade. Aspect Plus Limited has been appointed to manage the insolvency.

Unique Party recently contributed 45kg (that’s over seven stone in weight!) worth of food to a local foodbank to help local adults and children in crisis.

“We asked all our employees to donate any non-perishable foods to the foodbank to help the people of Scunthorpe in the months after Christmas,” said marketing manager Sophie Robinson. “We would like to thank our employees for their generosity, which will make a real difference to others' lives.”

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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PARTY NEWS

Spielwarenmesse Full House Spielwarenmesse, home to Nuremberg’s annual Toy Fair, once again pulled a strong visitor attendance of just over 70,000 buyers, from a total of 125 countries. Hall 9 played home to a global array of suppliers from the party sector and bustled and delivered for exhibitors.

"Spielwarenmesse was once again a seriously valuable trade show for Morphsuits, allowing us to showcase our licensed and generic costume offer to both worldwide retailers, as well as striking up valuable new distribution agreements - something we rely on the show for," Fraser Smeaton, director at Morph Costume Company told PPE. “The show was great for us,” agreed Sergio Battaner, Palmer

The Times Talks Tables A profile of Claire Harris, the founder of high-end tableware company Talking Tables, appeared in The Sunday Times on 27 March.

Claire shared some background on how her passion for parties gave her the push she needed to start the company back in 1999, after quitting her job as a sales assistant at Liberty London.

Today she counts top retailers such as Selfridges and Fortum & Mason among her customers, alongside Sainsbury's and Tesco.

British retailers account for 80% of the business, with exports reaching America, Germany, France and Spain.

Her claim of pioneering posh partyware stacks up, with reported sales of £9.7m and pre-tax profits of £791,083. She hopes to hit £12m this year.

“We won't compromise on quality,” Claire told The Sunday Times. “I wouldn't sell something I didn't believe in.”

The party and carnival hall at Spielwarenmesse is growing each year.

Agencies marketing director.

“Halloween is really growing on the continent and we have a unique mix of product so we do well over there. This year's show was the week before Carnival so while that may

Joining The Party A new trade website under the brand of Party Wholesalers has been launched by Harry Rai, the brains behind Spot On Gifts and Abbey Cards. The successful launch of the website comes after two years of hard work behind the scenes.

Having successfully launched Spot On Gifts web site in 2007 the team is experienced in B2B, but wanted to be absolutely confident that its latest venture offered a website which was robust enough to provide a good customer shopping experience.

“We are really proud to announce the launch of our party wholesaler website,” said Harry. “The dynamic of retailing is changing at a great pace and frequent requests by Above:Dual-purpose trade website allows customers for a facility retailers to explore new business. to order online brought about the launch of Party Wholesalers.net” The unique dual website www.spotongifts.net and www.partywholesalers.net gives retailers the facility to order from one source via two totally different websites, allowing them to explore new business opportunities with minimal investment.

All major brands and suppliers products are available from Party Wholesalers, with next working day delivery (UK mainland) and minimum order of just £50.

Perfect Purim

Above: Claire Harris, founder, Talking Tables.

have affected trade slightly we were expecting that. It's a must-attend show for us now.”

Next year’s show date is February 1 to 6 2017, reverting to the traditional overlap with the NEC’s Spring Fair International.

Balloon Expert Launches Dedicated EPOS System All the best innovations come from meeting a real need, and that's exactly what Mike Harris, balloon artist and managing director of For Every Occasion has done. Balloon Shop Pro is a fully comprehensive EPOS solution which has been specially designed for the party and balloon retail market, putting an end to stock control issues and timeconsuming order-placing.

Mike has been running For Every Occasion in Rhyl in North Wales with his wife Sara for the last ten years and so is wellplaced to identify the unique needs of balloon retailers.

Balloon Shop Pro will create job sheets, allow you to handle advance collections, deliveries and immediate sales and part payments or instalments.

The stock control system also allows users to create shopping lists for out of stock requirements, re-order stock to preset levels and will automatically handle back orders. The system also has a customer loyalty card scheme built in to it and has been designed to work perfectly with the Qualatex Balloon Boutique.

“Sara and I made enquiries a few years ago with various companies who could offer us an EPOS system but it couldn’t do certain things that we needed,” explained Mike. “We had also seen many people on social media asking what people use and no-one had come up with a solution. With that in mind, we set about doing some research and discovered that there was absolutely nothing around that catered for the needs of a balloon shop. Well there is now!”

To find out more, visit www.balloonshoppro.com or call Mike on +44 (0) 1745 449369.

Right: Here come the Purim clowns!

Fancy dress and fun costumes are a common sight at many celebrations and street parties, but they are an essential part of Purim, the colourful Orthodox Jewish festival.

Taking place from 23 – 24 March, this year's event saw children around the world getting dressed up in elaborate costumes to celebrate. The holiday is traditionally marked with carnival-like parades where people dress up in masks and fancy dress outfits and eat traditional food.

A number of reasons are given for the dressing up; one of which is to minimise the embarrassment of the poor who go around collecting charity on this day.

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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PARTY NEWS

Orion Launches to UK Market Up-and-coming costume company Orion Costumes has now launched to the UK market, following a number of successful overseas trade show debuts.

“After our recent success at the Halloween & Party Expo and the Spielwarenmesse 2016, we have realised how much people love our products,” said Teri Chovanova, Orion sales manager.

“We are rapidly expanding our

European territory and are thrilled that our collection is now available to the UK market.”

Orion is dedicated to the production of fancy dress that is one step ahead of the next 'big thing', while also maintaining its originality.

“Thanks to more than ten years of experience in the fancy dress industry, we have identified the best sellers and

F rom The Tills...

“We had a very interesting party take place on New Year's Eve which had an 'Allo 'Allo theme. The host had spent the year sourcing items to build his very own Rene's café in his living room. Needless to say his wife was not impressed when he bolted the café walls to the existing walls! Our costumes looked great against the set though, so it was all worth it.”

Anne Rigby, Antrix Online “As a fancy dress shop owner, yes, World Book Day is the new Halloween. But as a mother, I’m in agreement with a large percentage of parents who came in to kit their children out for it, this year's Book Day hype comes after Christmas, at a time when parents - especially the parents of two or three schoolchildren can least afford it.

Some schools made it even harder for the mums by specifying a theme. We know of one school which instructed all its children to go dressed as Where's Wally. The school didn't let the local fancy dress shops know in advance, or we could have ordered Where's Wally kits in bulk at a reduced price and offered them to the school at cost, as a great community liaison gesture. So we sold our six WW kits within about eight minutes, and then fielded a barrage of requests from parents who had no concept of supply'n'demand.

Don't get me wrong, it's uplifting and rewarding to see children excited about dressing up, and we love it when Facebook mums tag us into the photos of their happy smiley children, but... I have a disconcerting discomfort about the way the Book Day phenomenom seems to be heading the same way as the High School Prom. Am I the only one out of step?”

Kate, JollyJesters

areas of popular themes and ideas,” explained Teri. “This has led to us designing, developing and manufacturing our own portfolio, which has dramatically expanded over time.”

Since day one, Orion's goal has been to produce the highest quality and most cuttingedge fancy dress available, while remaining affordable.

A wide range of costumes is in stock for immediate shipping globally. Find out more at www.orioncostumes.com

Gold Plast Enters UK Market Italian partyware specialist Gold Plast has appointed East West (Europe) to handle its UK distribution. East West showed elements of the range for the first time at Spring Fair in February, to much positive feedback. "We showed a number of Gold Plast ranges at the show, but Drink Safe was the one that really struck a chord with retailers," said Terry Taylor, director at East West. The range of drink ware is thermalplated, making it dishwasher proof and re-usable.

Below right: Terry Taylor, director at East West.

Above: (r – l) Rene, Edith and Herr Flick.

Antrix Celebrates Quarter-Century One of the most well-established names in the fancy dress and costume hire business, Antrix Online is celebrating its silver jubilee, having been in the trade for for 25 years. Its quarter-century milestone year officially kicked off in December last year. The company now has around 1700 different hire costumes and has managed to thrive despite the recent difficulties seen by the hire business as a whole.

“Customers looking to buy rather than hire is an unfortunate trend which has happened to many businesses over recent years,” said owner Anne Rigby. “There are a number of costume hirers who have decided it was time to retire as a result of this.”

“Although we don't get the same footfall as we would if we were in a shop, we do still have some very loyal customers which is one of the reasons we are still surviving,” she explained, pointing out that if they had secured retail premises, the overheads would have made it impossible to survive in the current costume climate.

Fun Shack Expands Fun Shack HQ has once again expanded its sales team. Alice Knight has joined the sales team as an account manager and will be looking after accounts in the South of England. PPE wishes Alice every success in her role.

Right: Alice Knight

Pam's Big Push Always on the lookout for new ranges, Pam's is now stocking a huge amount of brand new fancy dress costumes and accessories to compliment its current range. So far over 250 new lines have been added and are already proving extremely popular due to the high quality and low prices.

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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The BAPIA Boost

Rack Up On Retail Sales John Bowler has been part of the party industry for more years than he cares to remember! John currently runs the Balloon And Party Industry Alliance (or BAPIA) and can be contacted on info@bapiaonline.com.

Hello friends of the party industry! This is the first of what (I hope!) will be a regular feature, and I intend to focus on making this column an interesting and informative resource for your party business.

Many small businesses are so focused on ‘new business’; they often spend more money than they should on marketing and advertising initiatives. If you think you fall into this category, refocus your efforts looking closer to home for an increase in sales. Do a little research and start keeping tabs on your current customers and their spending habits. Look at things like: ■H ow many items are you selling per transaction?

■H ow much is your average sale?

■H ow often are these customers making purchases (on average)?

If you are already tracking this information, kudos. Once you know the answer to questions like these, that’s more than half the battle! Now you can start looking at ways to increase these numbers.

For example, if you are averaging something like one balloon and one weight per sale, start showcasing your balloons in bouquets of five or more attached to a weight.

You could also choose a more expensive balloon arrangement (one that can be modified for different price points) to feature each month. By showing how great your

Right: Displaying a colourful, fun bouquet is a simple way of upselling balloon stock.

designs look in larger groups, you’ll definitely see an increase in numbers.

Now, take a step back and look at your overall offering. Is there a product or service you could provide that would enhance your sales? The goal is to keep customers coming back more often and get them talking about your business. If you sell a variety of party-related goods, consider starting a blog or posting regularly on social media with tips for how to host the perfect party. Provide information that your customers would be looking for and interested in receiving.

It helps if your information is entertaining, too! Make it memorable by starting a Top Ten Tuesday, Monday Fun Day, or Fun Facts Friday. When you post regularly and give it a name, customers tend to remember the post and look for it in the future. Don’t forget to end social media posts by reminding people to ‘share’ your information!

Monthly email campaigns are a great way to make direct contact with your customers and mean you are not bombarding customer’s inboxes.

The more promotional deals and information you can provide, the more your customers will look forward to your messages!

Include email signup forms on your website and at your register.

The Balloon And Party Industry Alliance, or BAPIA as it’s more commonly known, is designed to work for the party industry to promote the benefits of using industry professionals and to bring significant benefits to our members.

BAPIA is a member of the European Balloon and Party Council (EBPC) and keeps members updated on the latest news, including the most recent initiative – the Code Of Best Practice for balloon retailers and professionals.

You can read more about this in BAPIA’s latest quarterly newsletter.

Mailed directly to members, John is happy to send a copy of the latest edition to interested parties – simply email him at info@bapiaonline.com.

Sometimes, we’re so close to the obvious solutions that we can’t see them. Next time a customer comes into your store, make sure you stop what you’re doing and focus your undivided attention on them.

Walk away from the window you’re decorating, put down the balloon inflator, stop balancing your books.

Focus on your customers and ask open-ended questions about their visit to your shop. If you learn something new - name, age of children, etc. - take notes so you get to know them and remember them the next time they visit.

These types of small changes do not have to cost extra money and can have a bigger impact on your sales than you might think. By refocusing your efforts on existing customers, and spending exactly what you need on new business, even the savings in your marketing budget will lead to an increase in profits overall.

“

M “

aking changes is essential for anyone who wants to stay competitive in the ever-changing retail business. In his first column for Progressive Party Europe, John introduces himself and suggests a few profit-boosting ideas to get those sales stacking up.

What Is BAPIA?

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PG Live 2016

Right: The bright, airy Business Design Centre in Islington

Those of us in the party business know a thing or two about product diversification – we’ve had to become experts in those ‘little extras’ over the last few years.

With that in mind, PPE finds out why party retailers should get into greetings. After all, showing up at a party empty-handed really isn’t the done thing!

The

PERFECT PARTY

Greeting L

oosely speaking, parties can be split into two types of event. A simple knees up needs little more than willing participants, while celebrating a special occasion requires more thought.

Birthdays, christenings, baby showers; attending any of these generally means taking along a card and gift to thank the host or congratulate them on their new child / life partner / degree.

Taking place from Tuesday 10 – Wednesday 11 May 2016 is PG Live 2016, a dedicated greeting card exhibition, ideal for party buyers looking to add something a little different into their product offering.

Greeting cards are a logical addon for party stores, especially when the UK greeting card market is a major success story with a value of over £1.6 billion at retail.

Held in Islington’s stunning Business Design Centre, the two-day event offers a relaxed and enjoyable opportunity for party retailers to explore the latest offerings from this increasingly essential product area.

Top Sellers

Looking back at PPE’s January retail barometer, the feedback PPE received from the party industry put greeting cards right at the top of the best-sellers chart (for non-party product), making it a key growth area right across the market.

Left: PG Live is the perfect setting for the largest collection of greeting card buyers in the world. Above: A Peppa Pig Orbz balloon from Amscan.

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In fact, more party retailers are recognising the merit of visiting the dedicated card show PG Live each year, as Sonya Haandrikman-Sibbald, co-owner of Celebrations Card And Party explained. “PG Live gives us the opportunity to focus on greeting cards and opens doors to up-and-coming

Book Your Free Tickets Now! If you’re looking for fantastic greeting cards and original design to complement your party offering, there’s only one place to be during 10 – 11 May 2016.

Register now at www.progressivegreetingslive.com Twitter @PGLiveLondon Tel +44 (0) 1635 297070

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05/04/2016 11:28

PG Live 2016

Funny Faces The Mask-arade stand (stand 439) will be showing its official Star Wars, Disney Frozen and Minions masks.

This year also promises to be another big year for the Royal Family, as The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations capture the imagination of the nation.

Right: Star Wars is a key license for Mask-arade.

designers. We are a sociable industry and PG Live celebrates this in style!”

So what’s in store for party buyers planning to attend the eighth annual PG Live? Simply; cards. Lots and lots of cards, with cutting-edge, funky designs on one hand and traditional, high-quality imagery on the other.

Funny cards, children’s cards, clever cards, budget cards – in fact, with over 250 of the top publishers, artists and designers from around the globe showcasing their latest lines, it will be nigh on impossible to find a type of card that isn’t represented at the show.

The Party Gang

Amscan International (stand 428) will be returning to PG Live this year and is set to display an exciting variety of new products including its versatile Party Essentials collection which includes core items for any party. Visitors can also expect to see an assortment of new licensed party and balloon ranges from an extensive portfolio including; Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig,

Who’s There?

Publishers of all sizes – from major names and leading brands to boutique publishers and brand new designers – are making the most of the opportunity to showcase their newest ranges and latest promotions. A number of party suppliers will also be at the show, with Amscan, Creative Party, Gemma, Mask-arade and Pioneer Europe all making the most of the natural synergy between the two industries.

This year’s show is the biggest ever and is officially a complete sell-out, with over 250 fabulous publishers, artists and designers showcasing their latest collections.

Over 100 of these are exclusive to PG Live for 2016, making it the only chance to see the latest collections from UK Greetings, Gemma, Emotional Rescue, Cardmix, Paperlink and Icon Arts.

The list of new and emerging publishers is equally impressive, with over 120 ‘Springboarders’ coming together to showcase the very best upand-coming names in the industry.

Plenty of groundbreaking design-led publishers like Janie Wilson, Lagom, Stop the Clock, U Studios and Really Good are joining the exhibitor line-up 2016 (either for the first time or returning to the show) to complete the star-studded line-up.

“We’re delighted with the support which has been shown to PG Live 2016,” said Warren Lomax, joint show director. “And we are incredibly excited about this year’s show. We have more publishers exhibiting than ever before, and they have ensured there will be fabulous offers, key launches and more than a few surprises in store!”

Marvel, Angry Birds and many more.

“It’s a great opportunity for party buyers to see new ranges launching towards the end of 2016 and into 2017; particularly for licensed product,” enthused marketing manager Charlotte Cox. “Also on display will be a selection of eye-catching new themed foil balloons for all occasions from birthdays, to weddings and special messages featuring the latest innovations.”

Also making its mark at the greetingfocused show will be Creative Party (stand 237), which offers quality party products that sit well alongside greeting ranges and – crucially – can be sold at higher price points. Creative Party is one of the UK’s leading Party Goods and Foil balloon manufacturers, designers and suppliers.

Wrap It Up As a leader in licensed greetings, Gemma (stand 400) is delighted to be showcasing its fabulous new product across cards and wrap at PG Live. With co-ordinated party and greetings lines across many of its licenses, such as Ben & Holly and In The Night Garden, Gemma shows how the party and greeting worlds can work together.

“The show is a great opportunity to see our planograms and product up close,” said marketing manager Holly Forder, “and we will be showing a mix of merchandising solutions that make product selection and display easy.”

Perhaps the most exciting product at the Creative Party stand will be the new augmented reality foil balloons – making their debut on the UK market. “Be sure to bring your smart phone with you to our stand, where we will be demonstrating this exciting new product that brings helium foil balloons to life,” Holly laughed.

“All will be revealed at the show!”

Balloon experts Pioneer Europe (stand 229) will be presenting Clockwise (l to r): A a new partyware range co-ordinated affair from Pioneer Europe. Visitors which comes in both enjoy a friendly, businesslike generic and licensed atmosphere while exploring designs, such as Disney, the vibrant greeting card industry. PG Live makes sure Marvel and Lucas. everyone has the opportunity “We are proud to be to get involved, make great business contacts, presenting at the show and – most importantly of our extended range of all – enjoy themselves. stunning partyware products that co-ordinate with our best-selling Qualatex balloons,” said managing director Marie Gransbury.

Pioneer will also be holding inspirational product demonstrations throughout the day, helping interested retailers learn how to add value to their greeting offering with balloons.

The demos will focus on two main themes; ‘How to make the most of Milestone Birthdays at retail’ and ‘Bringing Disney Partyware to life with Qualatex balloons’. Exclusive show discounts and competitions should also draw an impressive crowd.

A Very Special Show

Plans are already in place for whole host of attention-grabbing initiatives which will be running at this year’s show, with a whole host of special offers and competitions and a number of key industry celebrations taking place, from Carte Blanche’s 21st anniversary of its Me to You brand to Abacus Cards reaching its quarter-century. And of course there’s no way the Queen’s 90th birthday would go unmarked by the greeting card industry’s most important trade show!

The famous PG Live hospitality remains as important as ever, and the fabulous free refreshments, delicious lunch and all-important opening night party mean that visitors are free to focus on the cards.

Renowned for its relaxed atmosphere, PG Live is the ideal place to uncover all of the most exciting new greeting card collections – it’s all there, just waiting to be explored.

Left: Licensed cards are Gemma’s speciality.

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Feedback

Inset: The Party Show at Spring Fair 2016 was as colourful as ever.

The

SPRING FAIR

FEEDBACK REPORT As the UK’s premier place for party suppliers to showcase their latest collections and retailers to source new product and hunt out exciting trends, Birmingham’s Spring Fair is an essential stop-off for party people from right across Europe. PPE caught up with a few of them to find out the highlights of the 2016 show.

Simon and Angela Billenness Party People, Blackpool “We’ve come down from Blackpool for two days to see what’s about.

We’ve been trading online for the last four years, but this is the first time we’ve visited Spring Fair, as we’re opening a bricks and mortar shop later this year so we’re able to branch out a little and extend our offering – we are quite looking forward to being less reliant on choosing stock on the basis of whether or not we can fit it into a large envelope!

We have a lots of masks, cut outs, badges and various customised items, so we’ve been looking at lines which will complement those instore. Coming down to Spring Fair has been really helpful – two days isn’t enough really, as we don’t just stay in the party hall.

We spent time with Mask-arade and Star Cutouts, and were really impressed with the Rubie’s range. A product highlight for us though was a lazer t-shirt we came across in one of the other halls, that was really unusual and attention-grabbing.

As far as trends go, we’ve noticed that there’s a lot of elves and fairies around - whether that’s something that will translate into our business we’re not sure of yet! If we do venture into kids’ party once the shop is open then we’ll carry balloons and partyware as well – we think that carrying a complete range is important for parents looking for a simple shopping experience.”

Samantha Selby managing director, Fancy-me.co.uk “This is my third year at Spring Fair and I really love the show.

Party and dress up is smaller this year but there’s still plenty to see.

The catwalk show was fantastic Samantha Selby and there is plenty to go away and think about. Rubie’s costumes always stand out, especially the Marvel lines.

We came here looking for new suppliers really, but there’s no new companies here this year. Although having said that, Mustaches are really good quality and are a great new addition to the party market. There are some really special items out there, and coming here is definitely the best way to see them.”

Inset: The PaintGlow

robot made an impact!

Angela and Simon Billenness

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Balloons for all reasons and seasons Discover the BELBAL retail products!

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05/04/2016 11:41 8.3.2016 23:03:26

Feedback

Tim Peters ceo, BBS UK “For us, as a new exhibitor, it was a very interesting show in a number of different ways. It was interesting to see people’s reactions to us - everyone was Sergio Battaner really positive, which was great, of course! It was also very interesting because our stand was so different to everything else in the hall. We went with a clean, minimalist look which is very unusual for the party trade and it certainly made us stand out!

We made a deliberate decision not to feature a huge amount of product; we were focusing on announcing BBS UK and attended the show to use it as a launchpad for the new company. We had a great response to our launch, with a number of party retailers showing a real interest in our typically non-party product which would still work alongside their more traditional offering.”

Phillip and Julie Clark The Party Shop, Glasgow “The show does feel like it’s deteriorated a bit this year – it certainly feels much smaller and quieter compared to last year, and quite a few big names are missing. It’s Phillip and Julie Clark a shame. Having said that, there’s lots of new product to look at, which is the whole point.

We have been around since 2008 and have recently changed the product mix instore, focusing less on costumes and more on balloons, décor and partyware. We offer balloon décor as part of the business, but we don’t normally bother to go to any of the seminars - they’re more for people just starting out, and we’ve got quite a few courses under our belt!

We are here for two days, and are mainly here looking for new ideas that we can use to drive the business. Photo-personalised balloons seem to be very popular this year and they look really good. It will be interesting to see how quickly they filter through to the public.”

Jelle van der Zwet founder, OppoSuits “We’ve just come from Nuremberg, so it’s been a busy few weeks, but we’ve had a good show.

There aren’t as many costume companies exhibiting as there have been the last few years, but – looking on the bright side – that Jelle van der Zwet just means that people will definitely come and see us! We’ve been pushing the SuitMeister range at this show – it’s perfect for the UK independents, as it’s such a competitive market here, price-wise.

The SuitMeister can be marketed in a completely different way to the classic OppoSuit, which means we’ve got something to offer both sides of the industry. There has definitely been a shift taking place between people looking for a good quality suit and those looking for a one-use novelty outfit, and now we can cater for both of those customers.

People we’ve seen here have been overwhelmingly positive about the new lines - particularly the Christmas designs. Footfall has only really been ok, but we’ve had some great meetings and met with some new customers. I’m glad we came!”

Below: The Stage proved to be a popular draw.

Lee Dobinson managing director, PaintGlow “This is our second year at Spring Fair and it’s gone really well for us.

It’s been nice and busy and there has Lee Dobson been a lot of traffic – we’ve already rebooked for next year! We’re doing well at the moment because we’re offering something a bit different. Because everything is developed here in the UK retailers know it’s safe and effective, so we’ve been able to help clean the market up in that sense.

Around 40 new product lines have been released over the last few months and the new UV fake blood is doing particularly well both here and in Europe. About 50% of our business is international export and we already work with a number of different distributors - despite this, we’ve still picked up lots of new leads at the show. When high street names like River Island and Topshop show an interest then you know you’re doing something right!”

Sergio Battaner marketing director, Palmer Agencies “This year was the best Spring Fair ever for us, from a business point of view. We bought a great mix of product to market this year, and that was reflected in the amount of Sergio Battaner business we did.

The stars of our show were the animated props; they were a massive success and we had some really significant orders shipping to all over Europe. We sell out of these every year, and we had retailers putting in orders triple the size of what they placed in 2015.

Accessories and masks did very well too, especially our Trick or Treat Studio lines. They’re not cheap, but the licensed lines in particular saw a fantastic response.

As a show, something needs to be done about The Party Show. The new location doesn’t really work and being next to cards and gifts isn’t particularly appropriate for us. Having said that, The Stage was good and having costumes as part of the catwalk show was very effective.”

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The Jester Says

THE JESTER SAYS

The Party Must Go On 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...

“I

t is with loving concern that I must inform my fellow readers of this magazine about the worrying change in a great friend of mine. I have known and visited this friend once a year for the last 20 years. You all know them, and probably visit them as well. I am, of course, taking about the party hall at Spring Fair.

I know a lot of you will say; ‘but I visited it this year and it looked fine to me!’ Well that may be true, but I also think it’s true that we need to make it livelier. The pulse is there, but we need our great national health service to inject something lively, and sharpish, to get us back to our former glory.

Last year The Party Show was nicely nursed between the toy and greeting card halls and had a real buzz about it. It used to take me three days to cover the show, see all my suppliers and walk miles. This year I could cover it in considerably less time.

Would I rather be busy and rushed?

Actually yes, if a job’s worth doing...

I was a little sad at how many suppliers weren’t present, and I am pretty sure that footfall will suffer as a result - though the suppliers I saw did say the quality was good. Once I had to book appointments weeks before the show to make sure I could get a meeting with the reps. Now I can walk onto most stands and get time with my contacts. In fairness that can be said of a few shows these days. I know a lot of suppliers say that they communicate with their customers letting them know about new lines by email, but there is something nice about seeing Below: Will confetti crackers be the next big (messy) thing?

the product in the flesh and talking to suppliers. I implore them to get back to exhibitions - even if they take a smaller stand. I’m there, other buyers are there - why aren’t you?

My concern extends to The Stage, previously one of the highlights of the show. Although the models are enthusiastic, it’s becoming a little stale with same suppliers showing the same costumes. What if every exhibitor showed 6 costumes what a show that would be?

I know that the Spring Fair management is driving a huge ship and doing a great job in doing so, but maybe they need to review their prices for the party industry and fashion show? I know it’s radical but a small drop in prices may inject new life into this massive industry.

With accessories being nearly as important to retailers, why is the industry not making a bigger deal of this? Make-up and special FX are already boosting our Halloween sales, so why not put on a workshop or some demos showing how to create these effects so we can pass them on to our customers or offer a make-up service in-house? Also, as a plus-size buyer, maybe a few plussize models on the catwalk showing

Above: The Party Show at Spring Fair 2016 was as colourful as ever, despite a shrinking footprint.

everyday generic costumes would be a nice change. These ideas rely on investment from exhibitors, I’m sure the organisers would welcome it.

There were of course chinks of light at the end of the tunnel though, and I did notice some exciting things.

Firstly, it was interesting that Bristol Novelty still came across as a great independent supplier, even though they were acquired by Rubie’s last year. On the product front, Grass Hopper was selling personalised bunting which was so good that even I am tempted to consider ribbon printing. It was a great idea, being able to personalise hen party or baby shower banners and balloon ribbon. The outlay was under £1,000 which included everything that you would need.

Another good idea I liked were confetti popping crackers. While we sell a few Christmas crackers I have always thought that birthday crackers would sell all year round. UV blood from Paint Glow was another little gem, offering something different for the coming Halloween. Unique Party showed another great range of co-ordinated party products as did Amscan. Last but not least Premier Halloween put on a great show Hope you had a good show and, ‘til next time, keep on laughing!

“

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oh

Baby!

Adorable new ranges including gender reveal accessories & party games!

See the full collection online

Gender Reveal

Welcome Boy

Welcome Girl

Woodland Welcome

Party Games

TEL: +44 (0)1908 288 500 E-MAIL: sales@amscan-uk.co.uk WEB: www.amscan.co.uk ©Amscan 2016, ©Anagram 2016 All rights reserved

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Fright Night

This spooktacular Halloween range is available to pre-order from Fun Shack now. From scary fairies and circus of terror acts to traditional witches and vampires there’s something for everyone.The children’s Halloween range for 2016 has also expanded, with costumes such as scary circus clown boy and zombie pirate.

New products don’t come much better than this...

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■ ■

What’s New?

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With hundreds of new lines officially launched at Spring Fair, Amscan has added many new products across its entire party, balloon and dress-up offering for 2016. A versatile new range of co-ordinated key party items includes badges, banners, candles, confetti and latex balloons in a whole range of milestone ages.

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■

oing The D Double

With a whole host of national sporting events taking place in 2016 – as well as the Queen’s 90th birthday – ITI (UK), has introduced the bi-colour balloon.

This brand new and unique concept is a 12” white balloon that is half dipped in an alternative colour, creating a distinct and exciting impact ideal for all sorts of themed celebrations.

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Spell It Out

Life just got easier with Betallic’s newest self-sealing valved 14” Megaloon Juniors! The brand new valved letter and number foil balloons come in silver or gold and are refillable, self-sealing and super easy to hang thanks to clever little tabs. They come either flat or packaged, making them an ideal choice for both retail and decorating.

■

Wigging Out

Sometimes traditional wigs just don’t quite cut the mustard, and that’s where these fantastic new additions to the Rasta Imposta portfolio come in to play.

Customers can add the finishing touch to their costumes with these fabulous foam wigs. Choose from blonde beehive, brunette afro or purple bouffant.

■

Baby Love

The latest addition to the Sweet Baby collection from Qualatex features a sophisticated colour combination of yellow and neutral grey features, as well as trendy polka dots and chevron prints. New designs and shapes featuring woodland creatures are also suitable for baby showers and birthday parties for young children.

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Leading world-wide balloon printing technology Best quality printing machines.

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Balloons printing machines for large and small quantities.

automatic feeder

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n y counter

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This machine can print latex balloons in more colors 4 sides in one time.

It can print from 9” to 14” and punchballs. Production speed 2000 pcs per hour. The machine is available in 2 or 3 colors printing model.

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With some accessories it can print also punchballs and 5” . It is available in 3 models according the production speed. According the model it can print 1000,1500,1800 pcs per hour.

It can print 1 color on 2 sides simultaneously + different prints on 2 different latex balloons (duplex printing process). It can print from 9” to 14” and hearts. With some accessories it can print also punchballs and 5” .

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This machine can print latex balloons one or two colors first side and one color second side with a very good print log. It can print from 10” to 14”.

Production speed 1200-1500 pcs per hour.

This machine can print latex balloons one color two sides or two colors two sides simultaneously with a very good print log. It can print from 10” to 14” and hearts. With special accessories it can print also punchballs and 5”. Production speed 1200-1500 pcs per hour.

This machine can print from 1 to 4 colors one side latex balloons with a very good print log. Good to print on latex balloons color photos.

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With this machine you can print semiautomatically latex balloons deflated up to 4 colors with a perfect register! You can print also foil and PVC balloons and other objects!

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Adding some accessories to this machine, will make it possible to print other objects like pens, t-shirts and mylar balloons.

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This machine is well-appreciated for its handiness.

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■ ■

Think Pink

Flaminguy is an upcoming product from OppoSuits that is expected to be a big hit this summer. The tropical theme of this suit makes it ideal for holidays, BBQs and pool parties and it will be available in both a normal version and a summer edition. The suit will be available across Europe from May.

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■

Stop Traffic

This fun traffic sign assortment from Folat is a big hit and sells well throughout Europe. The easily recognisable designs are ideal for milestone celebrations and the wide range of traffic sign party products includes décor and accessories, making it a strong offering.

Balloon Boost

This new retail line from Belbal launched in Nuremberg 2016 and is already shipping to more than ten countries. Ideal for toy stores and mass retail the Party Balloon line is an attractive and quality alternative, offering balloons for all reasons and seasons. The range offers a combination of air- and helium-filled designs and an assortment of colours at 25% lower than the classic Belbal retail line.

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80s Style

After launching hundreds of new trends at Nuremberg, this year has seen an impressive selection of new costumes and accessories being added into Widmann party fashion range. This fantastic shell suit is ideal for 80s parties, while over 30 new neon products have also been added to the ever-growing portfolio.

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A Fishy Tale

As ever, Leg Avenue’s new costume collection is at the cutting edge of every trend, and the recent hype around mermaids is no different. A number of different versions offer a perfect seafaring solution for everyone.

Available at the end of summer, preorders are being taken now.

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Wedding Bells

An extended line of wedding supplies from Folat includes tableware (name cards, plates, party fountains and table diamonds) and décor, including garlands, honeycombs and banners. Foils and latex balloons are also available, as are assorted cake toppers. All products are in stock and ready for shipping.

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■ Winky Face With an incredibly wide reach across all demographics and nationalities, the official Emoji brand is particularly hot right now. The current global success story has seen Unique Party release the official Emoji partyware collection; complete with full tableware and accessory range.

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■ Super Style A wide range of new and updated licensed costumes has been launched by Rubie’s for 2016. With a television series currently showing and a blockbuster movise scheduled for 2017, these retro Power Rangers 2nd Skin body suits are bang on trend. They are available now in time for the summer and are perfect for ‘80s group dress-up fun!

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This summer will see the release of the highly anticipated movie Finding Dory, reuniting everyone’s favourite forgetful blue tang fish Dory with her friends Nemo and Marlin. Amscan has partnered with Disney Pixar to create an exciting new range collection of party accessories and balloons available in time for the film launch in UK cinemas in July this year.

■ Retro Gaming Pac-Man is one of the worlds most recognised and loved video games and OppoSuits has brought the 80s classic back to life as a result of a worldwide licensing collaboration with Bandai Namco. The cool black design on this fabulous suit is globally recognisable, featuring the iconic characters from the best-selling arcade game of all time.

Licensed to Party Spring Fair

Progressive Party rounds up the latest licensed releases.

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■ A Dragon’s Tale Party supplier Delights Direct has added a new range of partyware for the popular How To Train Your Dragon movie franchise – the third movie is slated for release in 2018. Ideal for children’s birthdays, the collection features an assortment of tableware items, hats, masks, favours and decorations. Essential for all young Viking celebrations.

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■ Eh Oh! With the new Teletubbies television programme proving to be as successful as its 90s predecessor, Amscan has developed a new collection of Teletubbies partyware and foil balloons. A variety of core party items including co-ordinating plates, cups and paper napkins will be available late summer.

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Talking About Tableware

Covering everything from colourful kid’s birthdays to sophisticated garden parties, PPE takes a look at latest trends and newest lines in the essential – but often overlooked – party tableware market.

Inset: Amscan has added six adorable new Baby Shower ensembles including this pretty pastel Baby Brights range.

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hat do baby showers, BBQs, Christmas parties and kids’ birthday bashes all have in common? (Apart from being a great excuse for a celebration, that is.) It’s not a trick question – they are all likely to involve disposable party tableware, in one form or another. In fact, paper plates, cups and other essentials are one of the most fundamental elements of any party, regardless of the occasion.

growth of adult milestone ages.”

These milestone designs make a strong choice at retail and often involve big celebrations. Amscan is launching a new line this year; Sparkling Celebration is available in both pink and gold colour schemes. Other new lines include Woodland Princess and Little Pirate, both reflecting particularly favourable choices for children’s parties.

“When looking for new themes to introduce some inspiration comes from which new ranges are selling well in the US,” explained Graham. “The range is then adapted for the UK market.

Inspiration is also taken from trends that are beginning to appear in similar markets such as gifts and toys.”

Tableware experts Creative Party have identified similarly key themes for the coming year.

Above: The Modus Vivendi collection from BBS is durable, reusable, microwavable, dishwasher proof and comes in a range of 11 vibrant colours. Right: Colourful new tableware lines from Bristol Novelty add a new dimension to the company’s offering.

Amscan’s tableware collection is testament to that, covering as it does everything from generic and licensed ensembles to solid colours, themed parties to seasonal events and baby showers to religious celebrations.

“A good design is vital to get the consumers’ interest first,” explained Graham Heeley, Amscan party product manager. “For children’s designs the decision comes from a small person who is not worried about the cost anyway!

We expect Paw Patrol and Teletubbies to be strong sellers for the children’s market this year, while for grown ups we expect to see the continued

Above: This new knight line from Folat includes shaped plates, cups and other tableware products.

manager Holly Forder, “and although it’s early days this looks like it could be our number one design for 2016.”

Creative Party operates in the mid to upper areas of the tableware marketplace and so firmly believes that design is more important than cost. “The industry needs to be very careful about the race to the bottom with regard to tableware pricing,” Holly explained. “I know this is an old chestnut but it’s folly for the independent sector to try and compete

Marking A Milestone “Milestone ages are probably our most popular non-licensed tableware theme. We have concentrated on having a real wealth of fresh new product for this area in 2016 and there are some really great new designs available. The fabulous ‘Sparkling Celebrations’ range has designs for both men and women and the huge selection features tableware, decorations, balloons and more.”

Stuart Wheeler, account manager, Delights Direct

The company’s best-selling tableware range is adult milestone birthday, followed by first birthday and then the usual children’s ranges.

“With regard to new product launches the sell in for our new black and gold adult milestone range has been phenomenal,” said marketing Right: Sparkling Celebration is available from Delights Direct in a strong pink colour scheme.

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New Hen Night

range for 2016 Over 50 fabulous new items including sashes, games & wearable accessories!

TEL: +44 (0)1908 288 500 E-MAIL: sales@amscan-uk.co.uk WEB: www.amscan.co.uk ©Amscan 2016, ©Anagram 2016 All rights reserved

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Talking About Tableware

with major supermarkets and discounters on price. We believe that having superior designs at premium prices is the best strategy for independent retailers.”

Creative Party designs and creates new ranges by looking for gaps in the market and trying to do something different.

“We looked at adult milestone birthday for example,” Holly elaborated. “Does the industry really need more pink and blue ranges? We launched black and gold to stand out from the crowd.”

Design is also important to Folat, whose dedicated in-house design studio is based in the Netherlands. “We work with a dedicated team of designers who keep up with the latest trends and developments in the market,” explained marketing and sales director Greg de Jong. “We look at other industries as well, like fashion, toys and the changing retail landscape.”

“A great design can create great value,” Greg continued. “But we have to be realistic because we are selling low-priced products.

Our customers expect a great design for a reasonable price.

That is the challenge.”

Folat’s offering spans a huge range of occasions, but its overall bestseller is the football party line. “We try to make our products different – for example, by using a plate in the shape of a football stadium, which looks really nice.

Grouping products together by age or theme, instead of by product type, creates a shelf that delivers more sales.”

The team at Pam’s is also keen to make its tableware offering as different as possible, explained sales director Carl Taylor. “Our buyers are always on the look out for new designs and styles of tableware for all occasions including birthday and milestone events.”

Pam’s takes a pro-active approach with its tableware choices, keeping up with the latest film and TV releases and talking to customers to ensure it is stocking the correct ranges. “We are currently looking at our 2016 ranges and will be adding more styles to our already considerable offering,” Carl said. “We realise the importance of showcasing the full range of tableware designs including matching decorations and balloons.

Our new Life Occasions flyer is jampacked with party supplies from baby shower through to anniversaries.”

Bristol Novelty’s new partnership with Forum Novelties in the US has opened up plenty of exciting new product opportunities, and party tableware is just one area that it has introduced to the company’s portfolio.

Above: Creative Party’s black and gold milestone collection. Above right: Equally suitable for both children and adults, Carnival from Neviti is perfect for everything from christenings and garden parties to birthday celebrations and anniversaries. Below: Unique Party’s new tea party range is perfect for Mad Hatter-style tea parties. Bottom: Pam’s keeps up with the latest film releases and popular TV characters such as Disney Pixar’s Inside Out.

“Our entrance into the party tableware range certainly drew some interesting feedback at this year’s Spring Fair,” laughed business development manager Gary Vincent. “We had great feedback from lots of our customers, who were saying they hadn’t seen anything as new and initiative as this before from us, and wanting to know who our new supplier was!”

A number of new collections from Neviti were also launched at Spring Fair, with a number of versatile everyday lines sitting alongside bespoke baby shower and wedding designs in fresh colours (no pink or blue!) and on-trend prints.

The new Carnival collection can be used for a wide variety of festivities as it is completely unisex, featuring mix and match items which are suitable for all ages and occasions, from children’s birthday parties to grown-up celebrations.

“Tapping into the trend for mismatched decoration, Carnival features three design options – wave, polka dot and star – which allows customers to mix up colours and designs, creating a cool but cohesive look for their celebration,” explained marketing manager Cathy Crawford. “The range answers a need for truly unisex party items that can be used for all sorts of occasions – a great way to re-use any unused party pieces for future celebrations.”

It’s clear then, that party tableware is an essential product for any discerning party retailer, and with hundreds of different designs available it’s easy to offer something different to the mass market.

Customers might be looking to pick up a few extra plates for an impromptu BBQ or going all-out for a special occasion – but you can be sure there’s something out there that’s perfect for them. Now all you have to do is stock it!

Cool Characters “As a leader in the licensed greetings market, Gemma focuses heavily on the preschool market. Peppa Pig has been a dependable license for us for many years now, she has such a huge following.

Our research tells us that parents are willing to pay that little bit more for character tableware, to make sure their little one’s party is extra special. We aim to keep our prices as cost-effective as possible while still delivering a high quality product.

We are launching two new ranges for In The Night Garden and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom this year, both of which have been very well received by buyers. But the one to watch is definitely Shopkins. The popularity of the collectible toys is driving sales in our market, so we are expecting great things from our party range!”

Louise Ellison, marketing executive, Gemma International Left: The Shopkins phenomenon is going from strength to strength and the partyware range has already exceeded Gemma’s initial expectations.

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Hen and Stag

THE FINAL FLING

Left: This Cinderfella dress from Rasta Imposta is ideal for a fairytale stag.

Stereotypically raucous affairs, in reality there are many different types of hen and stag parties, ranging from spa breaks and high-octane activity weekends to the classic Big Night Out. Whichever your customer is planning to attend, PPE takes a look at the latest lines designed to ensure a last night to remember.

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lucrative market, the hen and stag industry is reported to be worth anywhere between £300m and £500m a year, depending on the report you choose to believe. Regardless of the true figure, it’s clear that the last night (or weekend) of freedom is an occasion where people are willing to spend money.

While the fashion for overseas trips and other short breaks might be driving costs up, the days of the future bride and groom grabbing a few drinks at the local pub are not behind us, with many still choosing to have something more ‘traditional’. Whatever shape the celebrations take, there is a party collection to suit, from classic rude games and bright pink ‘Ladies Night’ accessories to comedy outfits and drinking games.

According to Pam’s sales director Carl Taylor, the hen and stag season usually begins March/April time. “Novelty games and cards are one of the must-haves for any big night out,” he said, “while for fancy dress, we have found that superheros are still one of the most popular choices for the stags, with the novelty Morphsuits and 2nd Skin costumes ranges increasing every month.”

“The women still love to wear hen night sashes, badges and headboppers,” he continued.

“Saucy headwear still remains one of our best sellers.”

Amscan has given its hen party collection an exciting refresh for 2016 with a fabulous collection of over fifty new items; including a great variety of sashes, games, accessories and more. Wearable accessories remain firm favourites, as they add a fun touch to any outfit and are easy for customers to buy in bulk.

“Our new collection of hen night-themed apparel inclues hoodies, tank tops and tutus,” said marketing manager Charlotte Cox. “Dressing up is still a big part of hen and stag celebrations.

For stags in particular, it’s the sillier the better, so our new Party Jackass outfit including shot glasses is ideal!”

According to Emma Angel, director at Angels Fancy Dress, there’s definitely still a place for fancy dress at both hen and stag

parties. “After all,” she said, “these parties offer an excuse to dress up in a way that most other celebrations do not, so we say it’s best to embrace the fun and enjoy it!”

From the hilarious hoopsters to fabulous drag dresses, new tongue-incheek costumes from Rasta Imposta are guaranteed to turn heads at all the best hen and stag parties this year.

Emma also suggests a few ideas for retailers looking to maximise business, such as offering package deals for group fancy dress. “If you are dealing with larger groups, this can be a really good way to leverage better sales overall. For stag dos, don’t shy away from novelty and rude fancy dress, even if it isn’t really your cup of tea – these costumes are incredibly popular for a reason!”

While it is less likely that the stag will be made to look silly against his will these days, there is still a tendency to want to dress up as a group and OppoSuits offer a great opportunity to do this.

“The stag market is a key market for us with many stag groups wanting to look cool rather than ridiculous and our product helps them achieve that at an affordable price point,” explained founder Jelle van der Zwet.

“For groups on a tight budget, we have developed the lower price point Suitmeister range so that we have something to offer to different audiences.”

The stag and hen market is also very important to Orion Costumes, as Teri Chovanova, sales manager attested. “The UK market is all about dressing up, and it is very rare to see a hen or stag party Above: Pretty in pink – these Qualatex balloons are ideal for decorating a venue. Left: These cute pink mini glitter hats from Amscan add a fun touch to any hen party.

Below: OppoSuits are perfect for stag dos, with groups of young men opting for the colourful suits and sharing their co-ordinated look on social media.

Going Wild “I’m constantly thinking of more bizarre and crazy ideas to provide stag goers with each year. I often think that maybe we are pushing the boundaries of controversy but it is remarkable how much these concepts sell. The more absurd the costume the better!”

Abigail Buckle, production manager, Orion Costumes without fun fancy dress outfits. Stags dress up in anything silly and the bigger the group, the better the result! Our novelty and controversial categories are our best sellers for stags, with character costumes and uniforms following very close behind.”

She continued; “Traditionally in Europe people don’t dress up as much for hen and stag parties, but we can definitely see an increasing interest and sales in European countries such as Germany, Netherlands and Sweden.”

So regardless of how elaborate the actual party is, offering a wide selection of party product – and having enough in stock to cater for the whole group – is essential. And there’s one thing you can be sure of – they’ll create some great photo opportunities!

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Hen and Stag

THE FINAL FLING The bestselling hen night product range from Creative Party is this capsule range of banners, bunting and latex balloons. The paper flag bunting is particularly successful.

Pioneer now has a collection of four latex and five foil designs for the growing hen party market. This Celebrate pink bubbly wine bottle has especially been popular as it can be personalised.

With names like Sleeping Boozy, Cinderfella and Bro White, Rasta Imposta’s new drag dresses are a fun take on the fairytale theme, and are perfect for stag dos.

Both hen and stag nights usually contain something to help make the party go with a bang, so a range of fun acessories – like these photo props from Alandra – is essential.

A stag group in England get co-ordinated with a collection of novelty cosumes with a touch of Orion originality.

This Party Jackass outfit from Amscan includes a hoodie, mask, belt and shot glasses and is ideal for stag celebrations.

The range of Morphsuits at Pam’s is increasing on a regular basis and this Spiderman suit is one of the many Morph superhero costumes selling well for stag nights.

Pink continues to be a main colour theme for hen party celebrations, as this glittery banner from Amscan shows.

The hens can make a statement with these ‘Team Bride’ tank tops from Amscan, available in sizes small/medium and large/extra-large.

Creative Conceptions party games and rude novelties are always a big hit for the hen and stag market.

Pam’s is always looking to improve the prices on costume accessories and these new red heart boppers are the ideal hen night accessory. Prices start from just 51p.

This brand new Cheers! beer mug balloon is a great new addition to the Qualatex collection. It can be used for many different occasions, such as stag dos, and is perfect for personalisation.

The affordable Suitmeister range from OppoSuits is ideal for stag dos that are likely to get a little messy!

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Country Focus: Spain

Inset: Carnival remains a national favourite, falling before Easter each year.

In the first of PPE’s dedicated country focuses we head to Spain where we find out about the biggest party seasons, the rise of Halloween and the ongoing fight against the cheap imports threatening to undervalue the market.Viva Espana!

Tiempo de Fiesta!

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iestas, carnivals and festivals; the Spanish party market has much to be proud of. An enduring party heritage and a much-deserved reputation for colourful, inclusive celebrations has put Spain at the top of the party league for some time now.

Cultural national and local events dot the calendar throughout the year while the market for personal celebrations such as birthdays and weddings is as healthy as ever and shows no sign of slowing down.

Most interesting is the rapid growth of the Halloween market which is going from strength-to-strength, even eclipsing traditional Carnival and local festival celebrations in some cities.

PPE caught up with Laura Lozano

Left and below: Partyland retail stores offer a colourful reception and has some 20 franchised stores across the Spanish region.

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Palacios CBA, master franchisee at one of Spain’s most prolific party retailers, Partyland, who owns stores in both Madrid and Malaga, to find out more.

In some cities Carnival is still king,” said Laura, “although it depends on the location and how traditional the setting is. But in many major cities, including Madrid, Halloween really now is a larger celebration, and therefore offers a larger turnover for retail stores.”

Partyland itself is Spain’s

We will ensure we keep “ working to retail top quality

costumes, at reasonable prices, and not give in to a price-war.

Laura Lozano Palacios, CBA

”

most recognised retail franchise for the costume, balloon and partyware market. Boasting some 20 stores in key locations across the country, the franchise enjoys relative stability in what is, happily, a steadily growing market.

However, even this success is not without some internationally recognised issues with cheap - or ‘cost effective’ - product hitting shelves, at often damagingly low prices.

The news of unlicensed and often unsafe product hitting retail stores comes as no surprise to many of us, as it has been a bone of contention for some time now. Crucially, this problem isn’t specific to the UK market, and is proving to be a bone of contention

Left: Licensed product is popular in Spain, with Star Wars being a ‘sure bet’.

right across Europe as the rise of cheap imports has been threatening to seriously damage the party industry.

“Sales of cheap Chinese costumes have been affecting the market a great deal and has increased gradually over the last seven years,” Laura continued.

“They affect sales here, particularly during key seasons such as Carnival and Halloween, where we’re now having to make a huge effort to differentiate between the quality of the costumes.”

This is the root of the problem with grey-market, copycat costumes and highlights where they have started to affect local trade. While these cheaper costumes aren’t as quick to reach market, the timescales are starting to close up, as Laura explained. “Before, we would see popular good quality costumes being hit by cheaper versions within six

Spain Loves…

■ C arnival, local and traditional festivals, Halloween.

■ C hildren gravitate to superheroes and TV Stars.

■ Adults love traditional dress up.

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Country Focus: Spain

About Partyland…

■ 2 0 stores cover the entire Spanish party market.

■ T he franchise has been trading since 2005.

■ S taff are trained in balloon art and each stores offers a complete party service. months. That timescale is changing now, and these damaging grey-imports are starting to hit shelves much sooner.”

Typically, the opportunity to turn down incremental sales from fast-moving product is too hard to resist for some. Spanish party retailers are now seeing more department stores, gift shops, and even grocery stores engaging with what they feel will be an easy extra few Euros – but this is to the detriment of both the traditional party retailer, as well as

those manufacturers and licensing firms who invest heavily to ensure product meets all the necessary safety and quality tests.

Sergio Battaner is perhaps the party industry’s best-known Spaniard. Currently residing as sales and marketing director for Palmer Agencies, he agreed with Laura’s assertions whole-heartedly.

“It’s an entry-level, very bargainbasement product which is causing the damage,” he outlined. “There are massive places North of Madrid – including one massive estate I can think of – where production is taking place. Any good retailer should be avoiding these products.

They offer a low margin product that will barely provide a profit. If it’s quality design, it’s the right thing to do. The race to be the cheapest is not a good race.”

Unfortunately, the Spanish consumer has already become accustomed to these cheaper, lower-quality products. “People used to buy from specialised costume shops but the mind-set of Spanish people has changed, regardless of their economic situation,” Laura explained.

“They now choose the pop-up import shops first just because of the price.”

“There have always been ‘dollar shops’ in Spain,” she continued, “but the difference now is that the people from the Far East are willing to live and work in conditions which mean

Right: Sergio Battaner, Palmer Agencies.

Below right: Laura Lozano Palacios CBA

they have fewer overheads and can charge less for their product. “We can’t compete with that as we are simply not operating on a level playing field.”

This problem is a difficult one to solve, but Laura is quite certain that a resolution needs to be found. “If not, we may face losing the industry altogether,” she said.

“We used to be able to sell costumes at a range of prices, from low-end to high.

Now people are less willing to pay for the quality and design. They just want cheap. It’s a sad situation, but we have resolved to keep fighting against it. We will ensure we keep working to retail top quality costumes, at reasonable prices, and not give in to a price-war.”

This aside, the Spanish party and costume market is thriving, and PPE was excited to discover what makes things tick on the continent. As we have already touched upon, Halloween is continuing to increase throughout Spain and is becoming more and more popular each year.

With social media continuing to roll out and evolve, retailers are seeing a number Above and left: A of strong trends. counterfeit copy of product Children want to be from a major supplier. superheroes, princesses, and other globally recognised characters, while Spanish adults remain true to traditional, local dress up although with a modern twist, often inspired

Festivals And Fiestas ■ J anuary - Three Kings Day (nationwide) ■ February – Carnival (nationwide) ■ March – Fallas Festival (Valencia) ■ April – Holy Week (nationwide) ■ May – San Isidro (Madrid) ■ June – La Tomatina Tomato Festival (Valencia) ■ July – Running Of The Bulls (Pamploma) ■ August – Semana Grande Bilbao (Bilbao) ■ September – Festes de la Merce (Barcelona) ■ October – Halloween (nationwide) ■ November – All Saints Day (nationwide) ■ December – Christmas (nationwide)

by design-led media platforms, such as Pinterest and Instagram.

Licensed merchandise is, as in most nations, increasing with the massive output from global studios. It’s a tough draw for Spain, which holds dear its traditional costumes and festivals, but must also accept that children’s huge exposure to mass media will fuel the desire to be Superman.

“Everyone wants to become a character from Star Wars this year,” laughed Laura. “These are the ‘sure bets’ that we embrace and enjoy. At the same time, design-led birthday parties are increasing, with consumers taking time to research and plan beautiful birthday parties – they come armed with colours and trends they wish to enjoy.”

Sergio was keen to add his local, historical knowledge, pointing out that: “Group costumes are big, with carnival being the biggest season, certainly in my mind. Halloween is indeed growing, because it is before November 1st which is a bank holiday – All Saints Day. Kids don’t have school the next day, so trick or treating is expanding, plus the adults are also not at work either – meaning bigger parties lasting long into the night!”

But for Sergio, Carnival is still the king. “it’s a community effort – with 20 or 30 people in a community dressing up together, some costumes made completely by themselves from just the raw materials upward. Places such as Cadiz in the South of Spain dress up but also make up songs, and create local festivals. People judge the songs which are often sattire and address world events, and literally there are theatres which fill up just to see these groups perform. That’s Carnival, it’s fantastic!”

With talk of a fixed date for Easter, which would then provide a fixed date for Carnival (which traditionally begins 40 days before Easter), it’s certainly an area to which, invest in, and grow with.

It seems that Halloween might yet be scared into submission… in Spain at least.

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Doing The Decades

Fashion might well be circular, with trends coming back into fashion every couple of generations, but in the world of fancy dress those same trends have never even gone out of style. PPE looks at the enduring appeal of retro fashion as a fancy dress staple.

Goi n g Retro T he Decades – the 60s, 70s, 80s and even the 90s – have always been a popular option for fancy dress parties, with a plethora of outlandish outfits and accessories to choose from, but they are becoming increasingly popular as people want to reminisce and celebrate their favourite decades.

Perhaps one of the fundamental reasons that past fashions are such fair game for themed parties is that garments which were once perfectly at home on the high street can now form the basis for a fabulous costume.

This makes costumes easy to source and allows even the most reluctant costume-wearer to give a nod to the theme without going overboard.

Below left: Amscan’s Awesome 80s line includes some fabulous punk-themed items including a rainbow neon tutu, black lace skirt and pink fishnet leggings. Middle: Fun Shack has a wide range of quality adult and children’s costumes at affordable prices.

Right: The power of purple! Bristol Novelty goes all-out.

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Above: Disco is Folat’s biggest fancy dress theme within the decades dress-up market. Left: Accessories are an important add-on and this bag from Bristol Novelty is a nice touch. Right: Groovy, man. Rubie’s goes peace and love for a real 60s look.

“Decade-themed parties will continue to be a popular choice for fancy dress parties in 2016,” predicted Pam’s sales director Carl Taylor. “We have found that party hosts like to give their guests a theme for their costumes and choosing the decade their birth year falls in seems to be the way fancy dress is heading.”

Lots of 40th birthday celebrations in recent years have been 1980s themed and 80s costumes and party decorations have been some of Pam’s bestsellers of the year so far.

“We stock a full range of costumes and accessories from all the decades, from the swinging sixties through to the more recent 1990s,” continued Carl. “Our current range includes full costumes of TV and pop stars from the eras as well as the all-important accessories to complete the look. We regularly add new lines from new suppliers and we feel that 2016 is going to be a great year for decade-themed parties and events.”

Gary Vincent, Bristol Novelty’s business development manager agrees, pointing out that the UK fancy-dress industry has an enduring love affair with dressing up through the decades and the themes are considered to be core lines for most suppliers, outside of the busy Halloween period.

“I think most people love to reminisce about the good old days, when life was easy,” he said.

“And of course let’s not forget about the great music and fashions of those times! People simply love to dress up inspired by those classic ironic decades.”

For Bristol Novelty the 1970s is an important era to focus on and it will continue refreshing both classic and new lines across this decade.

“We have a number of stylish costumes and accessories that are definitely ‘far out and groovy!’,” laughed Gary.

Taking a more philosophical approach to the market is Palmer Agencies’

Fashion-Forward “Past decades are always a strong theme, and choosing the decade you were born for a birthday party is something we’ve seen grow in popularity. The 1970s has had a resurgence in recent months, with denim, flower print, larger than life hair styles and corduroy all featuring in fashion media and even in London Fashion Week this year.”

Emma Angel, director, Angels Fancy Dress marketing director Sergio Battaner.

“Everyone was young once,” he explained. “and there is always a personal connection to a decade. The decades fancy dress market is a big market for us.”

Sergio believes that these costumes remain so popular with the consumer because they work well as a group theme while also celebrating individuality, as every person can still adopt a favourite style or character associated with that decade.

“We are constantly looking at new takes on classic ideas,” Sergio continued, “and among a number of new accessories and make up products, we have launched

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Doing The Decades

Right: This year Leg Avenue added four new hippie costumes and five 80s-inspired costumes.

Middle: This Motown Boy Band costume from Palmer Agencies includes jacket, t-shirt and trousers. Far right: There’s nothing more 70s than clashing patterns – as this Pam’s line proves.

I Love The...

to market a new female costume for the funkiest and craziest of decades, the 80s!”

A number of decade lines were chosen to take the limelight on The Stage at Spring Fair’s catwalk show. “We received some great feedback!,” Sergio enthused, “especially on our Motown Boy Band line!”

Decades dress-up is a fairly new theme for Amscan which has introduced Groovy 60s, Disco 70s and Awesome 80s collections for 2016. A collection of wearable accessories make great impulse purchases that can be easily mixed and matched to create the preferred look.

The Groovy 60s collection includes festival-inspired Left: Rubie’s loves the 80s!

“Our ‘I love the 80’s T-shirt has been a good seller and thanks to this we introduced two new ‘I love the 90s’ and ‘I love the 70s’ t-shirts last year which will suit the festival season coming up, especially now that the 90’s are back in fashion!

These themes remain popular as they suit so many occasions with a retro tinge, like festivals, birthdays and themed parties.”

Struan Robertson, trade marketing & digital manager, Rubie’s

favourites, while the Disco 70s focuses on funky shirts, wigs and bodysuits; sure to get people in the mood to head to the dancefloor!

Decades is also a favourite theme for Sancto International and Widmann, where the 60s, 70s and 80s are as popular as ever with more customers choosing to dress up and boogie the night away as they revisit the past.

A brilliant selection of new lines has been added into the Widmann range for 2016, including 80s shell suits, funky hippie costumes and over 30

brilliant new neon products, perfect for recreating some of that 80s style.

“Decade-themed costumes have always been a big hit in the fancy dress market,” concluded Leg Avenue’s marketing manager Joyce Mallo, “There are certain themes that will always stick around, and this is one of them as it makes a very easy theme for generic celebrations.”

As such, fancy dress suppliers (and reailers!) are able to take stock of changing fashions and choose refreshed lines each year. It’s important to keep these collections up-to-date at all times – after all, who knows which of today’s fashions will make it into the dressing-up boxes of the future?

GOING RETRO

A modern take on a classic 60s shift dress from Rubie’s.

Get festival ready hippy style with this colourful tie dye dress, floppy hat and hippy beads from Amscan.

Two very different 80s pop star-themed looks from Fun Shack.

This chest hair and jazzy disco shirt from Amscan will see customers ready to hit the dancefloor 70s style!

Plaid shirt, big boots and cut off denims – it must be the 90s, Rubie’s-style!

Peace out! This psychedelic suit from Fun Shack is a larger-thanlife take on the 60s theme.

MARCH/APRIL2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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Doing The Decades

GOING RETRO

Stock up on Pam’s affordable hippy costume accessories, ideal for add-on sales for those Woodstock and hippy fancy dress costumes. Prices start from just 80p and are in stock now.

Bristol Novelty has been busy introducing more Forum Novelties lines, such as a huge range of stylish 70s accessories.

Feel the disco fever with Fun Shack’s matching 70s outfits, perfect for couples.

This refreshed hippy mod dress is now for 2016 from Bristol Novelty.

One of Pam’s 80s bestsellers are these iconic neon leg warmers. As well as tutus, gloves and PaintGlow neon face paints these brightly coloured accessories are a must-have.

Nothing says the 80s more than fishnet and neon as seen on this Widmann costume.

A 70s-style groovy discojumpsuit is just one of the many decade themed costumes and accessories to be found at Delights Direct.

A perfect flower child outfit from Leg Avenue – festival chic doesn’t come much better than this!

A classic 60s look from Widmann, complete with fringing and peace sign accessories.

This floral print dress from Palmer Agencies comes with attached fringed suede vest with embroidered peace sign and flower; matching headband and boot covers.

Add the finishing touch to 60s fancy dress with this fabulous beehive foam wig from Rasta Imposta.

Perfect for the rockin’ 80s, this costume for Palmer Agencies includes a dress with attached denim style jacket and lace sleeves, fingerless lace gloves and headband with matching lace bow.

Offer your customers the classic hippy look from Pam’s, Ideal for couples and complete with stoner attitude!

MARCH/APRIL2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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CARNIVAL, PARTY & HALLOWEEN

2016

Catalogue

OUT NOW  +44 (0) 28 9064 7119

 sales@palmeragencies.com  50_PPE_March April 2016.indd 1

+44 (0) 28 9064 5655 palmeragencies.com @palmeragencies 05/04/2016 11:45

Best sellers CAT E G O R Y

M A N UFACTURE RS / RANGES

Masks

A local fancy dress retailer who also specialise in theatrical product supply.

Dragon/ Brighton

Bristol Novelty

COMMENT

Overhead masks have given great sales recently, especially animal masks – they’re popular with foreign students, plus some theatrical partners.

Bristol Novelty excel with these.

Costumes

Smiffys

Sales have been quite slow. Cave Man and Cave Woman lines from Smiffy’s have actually been very popular this year, we even had a substantial group order recently.

Kids Costumes

Bristol Novelty, Smiffys

Book week was amazing, we all but sold out of classic fairy-tale dress-up product from Bristol Novelty and Roald Dahl lines from Smiffys.

Licensed Product

Rubie’s

We’ve been getting enquiries about children’s Star Wars costumes, which is something we are considering a larger stock level of.

Accessories

Mesmereyez

White lenses from Mesmereyez have continued to be popular with our local customer base.

“

CAT E G O R Y

Mesmereyez

Talbot Imports has been interesting for us recently, with lines of accessories we might not see from traditional party wholesalers.

Well known specialist in a busy high street location.

Gary Wakefield/ Liverpool M A N UFACTURE RS / RANGES

COMMENT

Costumes

Smiffys

Book week has been huge as expected, Smiffys Roald Dahl costumes win the day on this one. It seemed to be more classical this year. Schools were giving themes and I’m pleased to say that they were nice and traditional. Dorothy, Wizard of Oz, Matilda – all popular.

Balloons

Qualatex

Really busy balloon trading for St Valentine’s day, busier than usual. We’ve been selling a lot of Deco Bubbles, using our cameo printer for personalisation.

Accessories

Alandra

Hen night is creeping in a bit now, and we’re doing well with photo props from Alandra. We knew from the amazing stand at the NEC that it would be a company to work with this year.

Licensed Product

Rubie’s

Star Wars and Deadpool have both been good, plus Batman vs Superman. So our business with Rubie’s has been fantastic.

Anything Else?

Unique Party

Badges and banners from Unique. Their design helps these types of items to remain popular.

“

Balance Best are always a strong support for us. For a niche distributor, their range is actually really wide, with great service too.

Alandra Qualatex

“

Lili Bizarre

Smiffys

“

Revamp Fancy Dress

As retailers head into the second quarter of 2016, PPE wanted to find out what had kept the tills ringing since Christmas, and which local wholesalers were proving their worth.

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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only from

Multi-sided foil shapes bring a whole new dimension to the world of balloons!

Contact your local distributor or call...1-800 -325-0185 email: sales@betallic.com www.betallic.com

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Best sellers

continued

CAT E G O R Y

Family-run independent retailer in a small market town.

Emma Thompson/ Stony Stratford M A N UFACTURE RS/RA NGES

COMMENT

Costumes

Smiffys

Book Week characters were of course a huge hit – with local schools all highlighting classic characters such as Willy Wonka, and Roald Dahl character costumes from Smiffy’s.

Accessories

Smiffys

Pirates and traditional themes have been surprisingly good. Also the desire for neon seems to be up and coming – Smiffys makeup FX range is proving a big hit.

Balloons

Amscan

Anything age-related is flying out the door at the moment. Amscan has performed very well for us in this area.

Traditional

GO International

The Queen’s 90th celebrations have seen a lot of requests for associated product. We’re currently reviewing our ranges for this, though already we’re seeing lines such as bunting (supplied by GO International) being sold through.

Anything Else?

Own Brand

T-shirt printing – this is our own service, it’s helping us to make some great sales to hen and stag companies, local businesses, pubs, and more.

“ Altered Images Fancy Dress

Amscan

GO International

Budget Greeting Cards (BGC) newest brand in Dunstable has been superb. Amazing service and a faultless product selection – it’s been brilliant for our business.

Adult Costumes

M A N UFACTURE RS / RANGES

Rubie’s

A specialist local retailer and hire service, with ‘by appointment’ service.

COMMENT

Strong demand for 60s and 70s themes, which is a nice traditional. Conversely Rubie’s superheroes are a constantly strong performer. Star Wars gave us a nice boost of new and repeat business – I should have stocked more, though it’s tapered off now.

Kids Costumes

Smiffys

Book Week – could you guess? Roald Dahl was demanded by everyone, with most of the local schools theming from the literary classic. I have Smiffy’s to thank.

Balloons

Qualatex, Amscan

I source from two wholesalers – GO International and Up Up & Away. All our stock comes through them, with number balloons from Qualatex and Amscan both good. Amscan’s Floato is also helping sales.

Accessories

Bristol Novelty

Wigs from Bristol Novelty. In fact the whole accessories and masks range from them is seriously popular.

Anything Else?

Bristol Novelty

The 1920s – we’re getting continual enquiries for wigs, gloves, vintage accessories – head dresses and more. Again, we rely on Bristol Novelty for these.

“

I depend on Up Up and Away quite a lot, their prices just recently look to be really competitive too, which makes a big difference!

Rubie’s

Bristol Novelty

“

CAT E G O R Y

Tina Fisher/ St Albans

“

Party Mad

MARCH/APRIL 2016 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE

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