24-25_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 21/05/2025 12:54 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
Inset: JP Pozzi and Bijou’s David Robertson (centre) collected the trophy for The Greats Independent Gift Retailer of the Year – Scotland from Jak Kelly-O'Donnell sales manager of Scotland’s Trade Fairs, sponsor of the award category. Above: It was a big tick in The Gift Awards’ finalists brochure for Bijou.
Commerciality Breeds Contempt
May tends to be a bit of a funny month in business, it feels as though we are all waiting for the proper summer months to kick in. This year though, it has gone in a bit of a blur… VE Day celebrations, visits to two of the best garden centres in Scotland (Raemoir and The Drum), Liberty and Selfridges, a chat with Louis Theroux, an evening at The Gift Awards and some vibrant discussions about what makes a truly award-worthy product and why commerciality is sometimes under-rated. I am of course biased and do feel our stores are great, but that does not mean I think we will win an award for them! So, I was honestly taken aback to be presented with the The Greats Best Independent Gift Retailer – Scotland award in The Gift Awards recently. I was delighted for our team to be recognised and the reaction from our own staff and also on social media to the news was so uplifting. Over 1,000 likes and hundreds of comments all praising service, choice and the store itself was almost as exciting as being presented with the trophy. My mum deserves a great deal of the credit for the stores. With her 81st birthday fast approaching her desire to find new, different product to sit alongside the tried and tested favourites is perhaps unmatched and in addition, she always knows how to mix different companies’ products, whether it be cards or gifts to get the absolute maximum from her displays. This can be clearly seen in store at 24 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
the moment with a beautiful display mixing Talking Tables’ Mediterranean tableware and the Tuscan range from Joe Davies. Alongside these products we have gift books to create a table that screams summer BBQ. Our giftwrap range in store is also a hybrid of Belly Button, Deva, Partisan, Ricco Design, UKG and Glick, straddling all price points and looks. All of these companies reflect trends and colour palettes that are in fashion right now and give the customer the current on-trend packaging Below: The special Alljoy Design card for David’s shops. Right: A JP Pozzi window to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Above: The Greats trophy is bedding in at Bijou.
which in turn gives us those extra sales. Another great example of Mum’s choices is a sea-themed local window featuring coral and sea items from Shoeless Joe, waterproof jewellery from Zelly, 3D seathemed cards from Alljoy and other great sea/tourism type gifts from Love Your Nation, Emma Ball and others. We have also recently completed working on a bespoke card for our Buckie store with Alljoy which features local landmarks of the Bow Fiddle Rock and Buckie Harbour. The end result is stunning and the process of working with the company has been such fun. For mum and I this will hopefully be a perfect example of a unique product that will have mass appeal to locals and visitors alike. With this thirst for new product, it works so well that The Greats awards