In Profile: Candlelight’s 50th Anniversary

Back To The Future Below: Candlelight’s owner and founder Mike Winch is shown in the company’s Rotherham showroom. Bottom: The re-launched amber kitchen storage jars are the centrepiece of Candlelight’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Celebrating 50 years in 2022, Candlelight - one of the biggest, best-known and most successful suppliers in the gift and homewares industry - is proud to be relaunching the company’s iconic, amber kitchen storage jars to commemorate the special milestone.

Founder Mike Winch reflects on five fascinating decades and looks forward to what the future holds.

Candlelight - a designer, importer and wholesale supplier of design-led giftware, home accessories and seasonal products - isn’t a company that is automatically aligned with the housewares industry; and yet, for most of its 50-year history, it has been at the forefront of bespoke, exclusive product, not only for major Blue chip retailers in the UK, but on a global stage too.

“Because of the exclusivity of our housewares products - which have included storage, and large dinnerware services - we’ve stayed under the radar until now, but it’s actually housewares that have been one of our strongest and most profitable product sectors over the decades,” confirms Candlelight’s founder Mike Winch. “As a company, we are extremely proactive in the housewares sector, and it is why we have chosen our iconic amber kitchen storage jars to commemorate our 50th anniversary in 2022.”

Explains Mike: “The jars, which were a phenomenal success in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, changed our businesses from a UK cottage industry to a global business that saw us selling to countries around the world. Back then, that was a huge achievement. The jars were manufactured in Yorkshire, with the gold stencilling put on by a company based just three miles down the road from our Rotherham HQ.”

In fact, Mike couldn’t be more excited to be re-launching the storage jars and is predicting another global success story for the company. There was a soft launch at Autumn Fair in September, but in February, the jars will be a commemorative centrepiece on the company’s stand at Spring Fair 2022. The show will also provide a perfect platform for Mike to thank Candlelight customers, both large and small, for their all-important support over the years. Candlelight’s 50th anniversary is, of course, not only a major milestone, but also a major achievement for the business. “As with all businesses, there have been ups and downs along the way,

With freight issues and stock shortages still dominating the headlines, the company took the decision in April last year to increase its purchasing for the back end of 2021 and early 2022, “on the basis that if you don’t have stock then you can’t sell anything,” Mike explains.

“We know from our own experience that a lot of major retailers have been hugely let down, and we are more than able to fulfil those big orders. Our warehouse is bulging with stock, so for all retailers - both big and small - we have the stock to not only fulfil immediate orders, but also to supply stock to cover January/February, when the shelves need filling again.”

but thankfully, we’ve got it right more times than we’ve got it wrong. And with so many people and companies that have come and gone over the past 50 years and, unfortunately, the likelihood of more companies falling by the wayside over the next six to nine months, I’m very proud to say that not only are we still standing, and debt-free, but that, as a company, we are stronger than ever and continuing to go from strength to strength.”

Looking ahead to the next six to 12 months, Mike says that China remains one of the biggest marketplaces for both housewares and giftware. “Opportunities are full on for us at the moment, as we have people on the ground in both China and Hong Kong. Buyers can’t go out to China as they once did, so every day is a potential opportunity for us, as we can supply the big orders and are currently in steep growth.” Nevertheless, Mike remains a realist. “The old adage, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’, rings very true. There are still some very tough challenges to negotiate, challenges that I have never experienced in my 50 years in this business.”

Back to the company’s 50th anniversary this year, Mike’s plan is to take every opportunity to enjoy each and every moment. “We will be celebrating every day, every week, every month is some way or another. It won’t just be one big 50th anniversary event. It will be many, many different things.”

As you would expect, Mike sees his staff, and their wellbeing, as paramount - even more so since the pandemic. “Going forward, we want to do even more for our employees,” Mike underlines. The company has also invested in taking more apprentices into the business, “young people across all departments, who can be trained in the way we do things,” Mike explains. “Over the past 15 months we have had some real success stories. It is playing the long game. But if you find the right people and support them, it works. It’s about ‘growing’ our own staff, rather than taking a risk based on someone’s CV.”

So where does the company go from here? “I believe 100 per cent in succession,” says Mike. “In fact, we are currently in the process of making sure that Candlelight can run successfully for another 50 years.”

By succession, Mike is talking about the next generation that have come into the business, among them his son Ben, a former stockbroker, now the company’s managing director. There is also his daughter Kate, a former regional schools vice principal, who joined two years ago and is currently in charge of marketing. Completing the trio of second generation top tier management is Tommy Bartles, (the son of Candlelight’s long serving design director Sue Mayo), who ran Candlelight subsidiary CPL Global in Hong Kong for eight years before coming back to the UK to base himself at the company’s Rotherham HQ in 2021. “I will eventually have to hand over to the people with the experience, and the years, to make it happen,” points out Mike. “But I feel confident that we have a first class team of experienced people on board. Their direction is to take advantage of the opportunities out there and to grow the business.” Reflecting on the secret of the company’s longevity and success, Mike comments: “Running a business is a long haul. It gives you time to make mistakes and also to get things right. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and not to make the same mistakes again. You can never stop working on your business. It’s relentless, and it’s at your cost. You have to re-invent and re-energise. But most importantly, to make your business a success, you have to believe in yourself.”

l With just a £20 ‘investment’, Mike Winch started Candlelight, making candles from a barn in Rotherham, during the miner’s strike in 1972. l Over five decades, the company has proudly remained in Rotherham, and currently trades from 145,000 sq ft landmark premises. l With Candlelight in steep growth, the company is looking to design and build a state-of the-art warehouse in Barnsley in 2022. l What was the best piece of business

“50 years ago, I was told that candles would be OK for the summer but that I would need to think about handkerchiefs for the winter. It was a way of saying that you need products that tick the right boxes at the right time.” l What advice would you give to

“Believe in yourself and work hard to make it happen. You can achieve anything if you want to.” l How would he describe yourself? “Energetic, creative and impatient (to get things done).”