HALF TIME FEEDBACK
Half time reaction As we reach the halfway point in 2024, PPE catches up with key industry execs Fran Hales, head of marketing and portfolio, Rubies; Elliott Peckett, director, Smiffys; Fraser Smeaton, co-founder and ceo, Morphsuits; and Edwin Klein, key account manager, Opposuits, to find out how the year has been so far and what expectations are for the second half.
How has 2024 been so far for your company and the industry as a whole? Fran: “2024 across the industry has been a challenge, we are seeing less spending power with consumers for non-essential goods and increased financial constraints. Although the year has been challenging, we are confident of an upturn ahead, due to our investment in fulfilment services, POS solutions, along with toyetic products. We also have a very strong portfolio of licensed, generic and plush products for 365 everyday play, which we believe will drive demand.” Elliott: “We started the year with successful trade show season, followed by World Book Day. This year, schools seemed to be backing dress-up once again for Book Day and sales (and social media) reflected this. The cost of living continues to have an impact on the party
Left: Smiffys is looking forward to a strong summer with the Euros and Olympics taking place.
industry as a whole, as customers tighten their budgets on non-essential spending.” Fraser: “I think the first part of 2024 has been as good as can have been expected for the industry as whole. We are trading just ahead of last year and are pleased with that, as the first months of 2023 were very strong - driven by the first European carnival after Covid and the Coronation in the UK. We were worried that could have meant a slow first half, but that hasn’t happened.” Edwin: “We had a somewhat slow start to 2024. One of the reasons was an early Carnival this year, which meant that the sales window from Christmas to Carnival was very tight. Because of the onesies as a new product category, we were able to fill that gap a bit. It must be noted that this, of course, is compared to a very strong year after Covid.”
Bottom row: Fran Hales, head of marketing and portfolio, Rubies; Edwin Klein, key account manager, Opposuits, Elliott Peckett, director, Smiffys; and Fraser Smeaton, co-founder and ceo, Morphsuits;.
Above: Morphcostumes expects the rest of the year to be positive.
What has been your highlight of 2024 so far? Edwin: “We can without a doubt hand the crown to the introduction of our Onesie category. This became one of our instant new top items. There will be some product developments within this category, but in addition also broaden this range with strong designs and licensing. In addition, the fairs in Europe, as well as in the US, have been great for us to catch up with suppliers and customers in the industry.” Elliott: “Trade show season has been a real highlight of the year so far for us at Smiffys. Our second year back at London Toy Fair was successful – there was a great energy about the show and we made so many new connections. Spielwarenmesse was also a great show for us, with positive feedback on our new products, many successful meetings and a good old party.” Fraser: “Keeping Carnival sales flat with last year, despite our expectations that it could be lower.” Fran: “The highlight for 2024 so far would have to be World Book Day. With the introduction of our World of Walliams range, we’re pleased to report excellent sales for the first year of having
24 MAY/JUNE 2024 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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30/05/2024 14:26