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Hot Stuff
Spotlight On... Mugs
As the festive season kicks off, suppliers have upped the ante when it comes to their mug offering, seeing mugs as an ideal gift for Secret Santas and stocking fillers among other gifting occasions, and as a gift that spans all ages and stages. From humour and hobbies to the latest licences, there’s plenty for gift retailers to mug up on.
There’s something about mugs that makes people not only want them, but want to hold onto them, be it a sentimental attachment, a humorous caption or simply down to a size that suits a favourite hot drink. It’s why most people have bulging mug cupboards, yet always find room for one more! With Christmas fast approaching, mugs really come into their own, with many individual mugs and mugs sets coming gift boxed and ready to give. Mindful of the growth in the specialty tea market, and the increase in tea sales during the Autumn/Winter period, mug specialists Dunoon has launched a range of ten different decorated fine bone china tea infuser mugs, that come complete with a lid and a stainless steel infuser. “They’re ideal for Autumn/Winter as well as for the upcoming gift season,” comments sales director Peter Smith. KitchenCraft’s vast range of mugs come in all shapes, sizes, colours and designs
Above: Three colourful tea infuser mugs from Dunoon. Left: There are new designs in Royal Worcester’s Wrendale Design collection by Portmeirion Group. Below left: Alphabet mugs from KitchenCraft. Below: Splosh’s Design Your Own mugs, distributed by Xystos.
reflecting hobbies and passions, as well as current trends, making them great impulse purchases, say the company. “To maximise sales and make the most of impulse purchasing, the display and merchandising of mugs is paramount, along with attractive packaging which is at the fore throughout our mug collections,” comments marketing manager Katrina Lawton. “Our Alphabet mugs offer the option of mix and match, and the creation of names or motivational words for decorative kitchen shelves, which is very hip in home décor at the moment.” She adds that the company is also seeing success with the colourful new Pete Cromer collection for Maxwell & Williams. “It’s a bright, playful range that includes mugs and coasters in compatible designs, making them collectable too,” Katrina adds. Portmeirion Group meanwhile, fanfares new additions to Royal Worcester’s Wrendale Designs collection, to include a selection of coloured mugs. “As the consumer builds up their collection they build an affinity with the store of choice and this in turn builds trust between the shopper, retailer and the Royal Worcester Wrendale Designs brand,”
comments the company’s group sales and marketing director Phil Atherton, with the brand bringing out two new festive designs for Christmas. Additionally, the company is also continuing to celebrate the Arts and Crafts Movement with a new range of mugs from the Spode and Morris and Co. collaboration featuring the iconic William Morris designs Snakeshead, Compton and Marigold. As Xystos’ director Tom Sykes comments: “Mugs are one of the staples of the gift industry which is why we consider them to be an important element of our portfolio. We distribute a trio of mug ranges from our Australian partner Splosh to include
Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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