Company Profile - Posh Paws

Paws for thought

As plush supplier Posh Paws celebrates its 15th anniversary, Sam Giltrow catches up with marketing and brand director Lauren Shipman to find out how the company has changed and where it is heading.

Lauren Shipman

How has Posh Paws has changed and developed as a company over the past 15 years?

Posh Paws has continued to grow and evolve with the changing retail landscape over the past 15 years, including looking at new ways to present our ranges during the pandemic when customers could rarely touch and feel our products, and consumers were switching their buying habits to online purchases.

We started out in 2007 as a predominantly nonbranded plush supplier, and within a couple of years were making significant leaps into the licensing world by securing new and exciting licensed brands from Universal and Disney. For many years we focused on TV and movie character licences, which we still recognise as an important part of our business. However, we have also expanded our portfolio into non-character brands, such as our Swizzels project, which has really moved Posh Paws into the gift space over the past three years and continues to deliver great numbers for us.

In terms of people, our biggest investment has been with our in-house design team, where we are now seeing success with own brand ranges. We are committed to building this side of our portfolio, coming up with new and exciting products that consumers want to pick up. We are also focused on price points that ensure the customers get quality at an affordable price.

Whilst there have been many changes over the years, one thing that has not changed is our dedication to deliver plush products into the market that have a superior quality, with support from an excellent customer services team.

How has the plush market evolved over the years?

The plush market has had to diversify, just as other categories have. Changing purchasing habits, with the move into online, coupled with economic shifts, means that the category has seen some peaks and troughs. We are pleased though that the licensed plush category is seeing increased sales (as per NPD) and is in great position to capitalise on this heightened demand.

For the UK in particular, the cost of living is going to have an impact in the immediate future, so we are consciously looking at retail price points and working on products that will be affordable in the months to come. The Plush category is resilient and has the ability to stand the test of the time, as well as be a leading and trending category. It is up to us to now stay ahead of those trends but also deliver products that are suitable for tomorrow’s consumer.

What do you look for when adding new licences to your portfolio?

Our approach to licences has changed over the last few years. We have widened our approach as trends have evolved - you have to move forward otherwise you will be left behind. We now look at much broader licensed categories and have adopted a design-led approach with brands that may not at first appear to be a natural fit for plush. The wider approach allows us to have a more diverse portfolio that encapsulates a broader demographic than we previously had. We look at everything from TV and film to gaming, household brands, sport and celebrity.

How has 2022 been so far for Posh Paws and what can we expect for the rest of 2022?

We are enjoying a fantastic year this year with some major movie and TV launches including Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru. We have more licensed properties launching later this year with the likes of Gabby’s Dollhouse, ET and new product in our Jurassic World franchise range. In addition, we have some big launches from our own brand portfolio, which we have great distribution for across UK and within Europe, in the lead up to Christmas. It’s shaping up to be a very busy year for us and we are really excited about what we’ve got coming up as we head into 2023.

How do you think Posh Paws will evolve in the next few years – what changes will we see?

Sustainability is a hot topic. We have already committed to include recycled PET stuffing in all our product, not only across Posh Paws but in our sister company Whitehouse Leisure; this is across the whole portfolio and will easily add up to millions of plushies making this shift. We continue our commitment to reducing packaging waste and ensuring little or no plastics are used for the packaging on our goods. We are also making strides to move our own brand products to 100% recycled PET outer and inner materials, and we hope to be in a position to make this a reality across as many of our ranges as possible over the next few years.