SECTOR FOCUS
GET THIS PARTY STARTED
Above: Unicorns are among the popular preschool themes for Pioneer Europe and Qualatex.
With over a years’ worth of postponed events, the children’s party and dressup sector is hopeful that summer and beyond will be filled with celebrations. PPS catches up with a number of suppliers in the sector to find out their plans for the rest of 2021.
W
ith parties and celebrations of all types either scaled down or cancelled throughout 2020, the children’s party and dress-up category - buoyed by the arrival of the good weather – has been busy making up for lost time. For preschoolers, dress-up has long been seen as playing an instrumental part in the development of their imagination. For retailers, too, they offer multiple opportunities for promotion all year-round. “With the re-introduction of gatherings following past events, we have seen an uptake in retail accounts as people are starting to throw children’s birthday parties again where it is common to dress up,” says Fran Hales, head of content and marketing at Rubies Masquerade.
The company has been enjoying success with The Child (or Grogu) for preschoolers, while it also has high hopes for its new Sesame Street costumes based on Elmo and Cookie Monster. Oddbods will also play a big part in the expansion of Rubies’ preschool range, while Fran also expects Disney to remain strong through the summer. He continues: “We believe that over the past 18 months, consumers overall have re-evaluated their lives and finances and where they spend their money, not only to make it last longer but also to get the most for it. It is looking likely that consumers, parents in particular, will spend more now on higher quality pieces to last rather than the fast fashion trend of previous years and we are proud that our costumes stand up to this test of time.” VERSATILITY IS KEY For Amscan, the company’s head of marketing and design, Jennifer Wilson believes that consumers are certainly splashing out on occasions more, not only to make up for time missed in 2020, but also to focus on the here and now. The company is continuing to see a major uplift in balloon sales, while its summer ranged items Left: The Child has been a strong seller for preschool ages at Rubies.
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