Q1: Spring Events
GETTING IN TO
As consumers continue to look for any excuse to have a good time, PPE takes a look at the miniseasons which keep party retailers busy for the first few months of the year.
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tarting a new year is never easy – it’s cold, everyone’s broke and half your customers are doing Dry January. Luckily, this doesn’t last for too long because there’s plenty to keep the party industry ticking over and the Q1 micro-seasons – primarily St. Patricks’ Day, Mother’s Day and Easter – are now increasingly important to the party sector. By investing in these smaller occasions and driving the sector forward, the party industry is ensuring customers come back each year, helping to cementing the occasion as an ‘event’ and increasing both consumer loyalty and total spend in doing do. St. Patrick’s Day has always been a great excuse to have a good craic and suppliers are continuing to add to their ranges wherever possible. Mother’s Day and Easter are also both seeing plenty of fresh product in bright, modern colours and styles. According to Mark Brett, UK agent for Boland Party, these events are becoming increasingly important to party suppliers, with the extended carnival season still leading the way, with events and parades taking places right up to Easter itself. “St Patrick’s Day is becoming increasingly popular throughout Europe,”
Doing It All “The ‘sub-seasons’ at the start of the year provide a great boost when things might otherwise be a little quiet. Easter is a later date in 2019 which helps to space the events out a bit and should help to maximise activity as consumers have a bit more breathing space between celebrations!” Stuart Wheeler, accounts manager, Delights Direct
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Right: Fun Shack has a wide range of St Patrick’s Day dress-up options available.
says Mark. “There are few large towns in the world that don’t have an Irish pub or two and they all want to join in. The night of the week on which it falls has a big impact on its success – it’s a Sunday this year so we expect to see some sore heads on Monday!” Fun Shack’s marketing manager Alice Knight agrees that most popular of these sub-seasons is St Patrick’s Day. “We have seen a huge demand for our Leprechauns year-on-year,” she states. “These are a classic line for us and part of our core collection. They do sell all year round but there’s no getting away from the fact that the bulk of their success is focused on the celebrations being held during the first few months of the year.” Alice also sings the praises of classic animal lines, with bunny, chick and duck often proving to be popular choices for toddlers and other young children around Easter and Spring time. Also focusing heavily on its Easter offering is Davies Products, which has a wide range of Spring Season lines suitable for a whole range of Easter festivities. “Easter celebrations are proving more popular each year,” says Gemma Davies, who has the final word. “And there’s a lovely long run up to take advantage of in 2019 as Easter Sunday is not until 21 April, so there’s lots of time to maximise those sales!”
The Fun Factor “Customers may not have considered dressing up for these mini-events so it’s important to make sure that the costumes you might want to push for these events are displayed prominently so that consumers can be inspired. Ensure that each separate event has a dedicated area with an attractive, well-stocked display. Carnival is the most popular event for us around this time of year and sales have been increasing significantly yearon-year and again, the emphasis is on fun, colourful, over the top costumes. We always see an increase in sales around St Patrick’s Day. It’s a big night out and customers really get into the party spirit. Leprechaun costumes are always a good seller, as are comedy accessories – anything that helps people get into the party spirit for their big night out. ” Emma Angel, director, Angels Fancy Dress
Top: Get the St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans underway with this handy decorating kit from Amscan containing a great mix of decorations. Above: This cute Mother’s Day Cactus Anagram balloon is available from Amscan.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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