Company Profile - Wonder

A Wonder-ful world

In November 2022, the global celebrations group Amscan International announced that it would be replacing its umbrella group name with Wonder, a move it says better reflects who it is, creates a clear delineation between group and trading brands, and will help the businesses within the group to ‘thrive under a common purpose’. Here, Wonder chief executive Joe Hennigan tells Toy World readers how the rebrand is just a small part of a much bigger, more wondrous picture.

Why did you feel the Wonder rebrand was necessary, and what kind of reaction have you had to the news?

Our business has been moving at a great pace and put simply, our old group brand no longer fit our purpose. As a dynamic, global, multi-channel, multiproduct group of businesses, Wonder aims to both capture this sense of joy and express the brilliance of the creative minds in our exceptional teams.

The reaction has been very positive overall. People understand the reasons behind the change and what it means both internally and externally. Externally, this new umbrella name clearly distinguishes our group and trading brands and positions the group well for further growth and development. Similarly, the response internally has been very positive, and will be brought to life by a common group purpose and values. Wonder better reflects who we are today and sets an exciting marker for the future.

As part of the rebrand, you unveiled a new purpose statement – Create Unforgettable. Even though Amscan International has always helped people celebrate special moments, do you feel this purpose has become more important in recent years?

Absolutely. During the pandemic, when people couldn’t celebrate and spend time with loved ones, creating unforgettable moments and memories became even more relevant and makes our purpose much more significant today. With so many challenges being faced globally, such as the cost-of-living crisis, our group can act as a tangible positive force in people’s lives and continue to lift moods, bring joy and inspire people to get creative.

The company acquired Ginger Ray in 2021, and Party King in September 2022: are further acquisitions part of the plan moving forward?

In addition to Ginger Ray and Party King, we’ve also completed 10 other acquisitions – in fact, 12 in total over the last 11 years. There is lots in the pipeline which we’d love to share with you immediately, but unfortunately, we can’t do so right now.

What we can say is that these are exciting times, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our senior management team as we progress our strategic plan. We believe that our vertically integrated business model and ambitious plans mean there are more opportunities to continue with acquisitions. We have an exceptional team at Wonder, and we are all excited for what the future holds as we further expand the business. We have a clear strategic growth plan and hope to make additional investments to accelerate this plan.

What about future global expansion - are there currently untapped regions where you envision Wonder having a strong presence?

Every continent, country and culture on Earth has its own rich, colourful traditions and celebrations. In turn, our products and services are central to these celebrations - often the focal point, sometimes the backdrop - but always there. We see ample opportunity in both existing and new markets for our territories. We have every capability, covering every product category and every route to market, within the celebrations industry. That’s how we’ve designed our business model, and with that diversification comes opportunity.

What does the rebrand mean for your retail customers and how will it benefit them?

Until now, Amscan has meant two things. Firstly, Amscan International was the umbrella name used for our group of businesses once we’d separated from Party City. However, they will all now be part of the Wonder family of companies. Secondly, Amscan is the name for our market-leading wholesale business. This will remain the same and continue to mean everything it does today.

All our brands/trading names will continue to operate as before but will now be unified by a common purpose. Wider visibility of our capabilities and brands will mean we’re able to offer more solutions to our customers and continue our exceptional commitment to the standards of product, service, and operations for which we’ve become known.

Will the brands in your portfolio remain separate and distinct, or will there be any kind of consolidation at that level?

Our group has been growing at pace. A series of acquisitions have extended our capabilities, scale, customer base and geographical reach. All our brands will remain as they are today but as our group evolves, the different brands and teams will work together more and more to provide better, and more complete, solutions to our customers. Wonder unifies the incredible businesses and brands within our group and adds further clarity and meaning to our global offering.

Wonder has set an impressive revenue target of £500m by 2026. Beyond this figure, what else does the company want to achieve in the coming years?

First and foremost, we want to ensure that Wonder’s purpose and values are embedded within our group in a way that ensures our business, our customers and our partners will benefit. We are committed to developing our talented team, so that each member enjoys a raft of opportunities as we continue to invest in one of our most valuable assets - our people.

Wonder brands will continue to innovate and are committed to being at the forefront of sustainability, with this important factor front of mind for everything we do: sustainability is actually one of our key strategic pillars. Wonder will maintain its growth trajectory by being laser focused on consumer needs and habits and providing solutions to both B2C and B2B customers. Wonder will also continue to invest in its facilities, people, processes and systems, making the business easier to operate and conduct business with.

Our work allows people to express themselves - to show they care, to bring people together, and to create unforgettable moments that are shared the world over. We truly see a world full of Wonder ahead.