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SPOTLIGHT ON . . . GA AGM
Talking Heads
Inset: From left to right: The GA’s ceo Sarah Ward; new chair Mark Jones and vice chair Stephen Illingworth. Below left: Langs’ joint managing director Keith Edmonson. Below centre: James Arnold, founder of Birchstone Markets.
The GA’s AGM on 8 May featured a line-up of insightful speakers, as well as a lively panel discussion covering everything from doing business in China to omnichannel retailing and the importance of LinkedIn. PG&H was in the audience, pen poised.
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ith a new chair and vice chair of the GA’s National Committee appointed at May’s AGM - Mark Jones, commercial director of Gisela Graham, and Stephen Illingworth, co-owner and ceo of Widdop & Co respectively - the next chapter for the Giftware Association began with a line-up of speakers who shared their individual journeys and what they’ve learned. Among them was Lang’s Keith Edmondson,
who took delegates through his career at the company, where he started out as a temp in the warehouse, prior to going to university, (a place he
subsequently didn’t take up), to becoming joint managing director of the company, following a management buy-out (MBO) three weeks before lockdown in 2020. He said that what he’s learned over the years is that understanding people and their situations is half the battle. “Also, you have to accept that you can’t do everything,” he pointed out. Highlighting people was also a key focus for James Arnold, founder of award winning financial services company Birchstone Markets. “In a commoditised world, service and quality of people are two very important factors in financial services when delivering FX risk management, cash deposits and commercial finance,” he stated. “The way people operate, and their values, are the most important thing and are our number one asset,” he emphasised. The morning session ended with Retail100’s co-director Anna Berry, a former buyer at the John Lewis Partnership for over 33 years, talking about her career trajectory with the department store, and how it’s evolved since PROGRESSIVE
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setting up consultancy Retail100 with three former JLP colleagues. “We have great skill sets in business and now work collaboratively with various companies. Between us we covered every department store category and are very open and honest about what we can do for businesses.” A break for lunch – affording an opportunity for attendees to network with industry colleagues - was followed by an afternoon panel session, facilitated by The Giftware Association’s ceo Sarah Ward. The line-up included Mark Jones, Stephen Illingworth and Sebnini’s co-founder and managing director Gert Schyberg, alongside the GA’s marketing and PR manager Chris Workman, new business development manager Alina Masood Aziz and head of membership Victoria Louise. Having received the King’s Award For Enterprise: International Trade in 2023, Gert Schyberg took attendees through the company’s journey, offering advice to other businesses thinking about applying. He also offered expert advice to brands looking to branch out into private label, something Sebnini did in 2010. Meanwhile, Mark Jones was asked how brands can derive value from omnichannel retailing. “Omnichannel gives a company scalability, an opportunity to extend its reach,”