FEEDBACK LOOKING BACK
Below: Goodbye 2017! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
Whatever you might think of 2017, there is no doubt that it was an challenging year and the last 12 months have certainly kept the retail industry on its toes. With Brexit still proving controversial and consumers continuing to tighten the purse strings, it looks like 2018 is going to be equally interesting... KATE MOORE, owner, JollyJesters “An alarming number of longestablished party shops closed down in 2017, mainly due to competition from poundshops, chainstores, and cheap online Chinese imports, so still being here on 31 December was our business highlight of 2017! When we started this business in 1990 it was fun, but for a few years recently the fun was starting to get sapped out of it, due to the unrealistic expectations of customers and the competition from cheap imports. At first we tried to compete with that online market, but it made no sense to chop prices and work at a loss – so these days our customer base is people who appreciate the advice, knowledge and service we can offer after 28 years. We noticed over Christmas and New Year how grateful people seemed and I can truly say that this was the first Christmas for quite a while which actually seemed fun again. We hope that 2018 will see Amazon sellers stop displaying ridiculously inflated RRPs which trick customers into thinking they’re getting a bargain. It would also be nice if all Chinese imports (not just party items) became subject to a huge supertax to break consumers out of the mindset of buying imported rubbish. We expect more bricks ‘n’ mortar shops will close though. Every day is someone’s birthday or wedding anniversary or school history project day... so, our plan for 2018 is just to carry on being here when people need us. ” The party industry in three words: Cheap Chinese imports.
MARK BRETT, UK agent, Boland Party “The last year has been tough both for retailers and online retailers for different reasons. Apart from cost increases, margin decreases, and cautious consumers (quite a combination) there are the unknowns and I don’t mean Brexit or whether to buy your balloon bouquet in Bitcoins. The market dynamic combining the consumer, technology, pricing and societal changes are a perfect storm and nobody quite seems to know what direction to take. I still believe the party market is growing in the UK and the rest of Europe. The issue lies with the fact that there are so many strands and influences so that the growth is not being felt by any one
player. Of course that is a generalisation, as there are the odd players doing well and achieving growth but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Within the UK we have a Royal Wedding, while the World Cup will give the whole of Europe a boost. Our highlights over the past year have been the continuing increase in customer base and huge influx of new product and our hero product has been the humble latex balloon. Whatever the climate latex balloons consistently perform! ” The party industry in three words: Just gets better!
SUSIE PATTEN, owner, Fancy Dress Hut “The last year has been interesting, as a retail shop we have seen a 10% growth overall. May and September were our worst months, with September especially considerably down on last year. I think due mainly to political uncertainty and the elections. We had a good Halloween and surprisingly bumper Xmas and New Year with the whole range of Santa costumes selling very well. For New Year’s Eve our strong sellers were mainly 20s, 70s Above: Jollyjesters, Derbyshire and 80s costumes and accessories. In 2017 we definitely saw a significant increase in sales of Oktoberfest costumes and Accessories and for us Mexican Day of the Dead Lines were our bestsellers for Halloween. For World Book Day I sold out of Harry Potter kits very early on and we were unable to replenish, otherwise we could have sold ten times what we did. Lesson learned for this year! Another positive for us was the new contract with Rubie’s which has prevented some less desirable retailers from being able to stock and sell Rubie’s products. Their anti-counterfeit team appear to be doing a great job in stopping the market being saturated with fakes. For 2018 I believe that Halloween will continue to grow and that Amazon continues to be our biggest threat. Household finances are tight but people do still want to party, shop in real life and receive great customer service. As long as we continue to offer great value and a good a wide range of products I think we will be ok for 2018. ”
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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