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rom its headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK, Amscan has seen some huge changes over the past 18 months, since its management buyout in partnership with private equity fund, Endless. But adjusting to change is one of the key factors that Lisa Norris, commercial director, UK and Eire, attributes to Amscan’s longevity. Lisa explains: “Over the 75 years, there have been many different factors contributing to our success. One thing Amscan does very well is adapt to change; we are constantly evolving which enables us to lead the way in the industry.” Since the MBO, Amscan has hugely expanded its business. Lisa continues: “The buyout was quickly followed by two significant bolt-on acquisitions, comprising Germanybased foil balloon printing technology business Luftballon-Markt in August and Ginger Ray in October. We’ve continued that theme this year with the successful acquisition of Party King, and we look forward to seeing this evolve and the next steps in our strategic plan.” 32
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Separating from Party City has also enabled Amscan to become more independent, allowing the company to branch out and work on its own products, its sustainable credentials and more. Lisa says: “It is certainly an exciting new world for us. We’ve also celebrated by bringing everyone together, all the family of companies under one roof.
A powerhouse in the party industry, Amscan was founded in 1947 and now operates across four continents, with turnover of £300 million. PPE sat down with Lisa Norris, commercial director, UK and Eire, to find out how the company has gone from strength to strength, and what’s next on the horizon. Left: Amscan will return to Spring Fair in 2023 on stand 3H31. Below: Amscan offers all four pillars of the celebration category: Party, foil and latex balloons, and dress up.
“And of course, being a party company, we had to have a party, bringing all colleagues together to celebrate this fantastic milestone.” And as the 75th year draws to a close, the company announced a huge rebrand from Amscan to Amscan. The rebrand is a key element of the group’s continued implementation of its global strategic growth plan. Chief executive, Joe Hennigan, explains: “Our old group name didn’t reflect the dynamic, global, multi-channel, multi-product group of leading brands and businesses we are today. It also caused confusion between our group and the trading name for our wholesale business. Accompanying the news of its new name, was the announcement that the company is set to hit a revenue target of £500 million by 2026. Joe continued: “We have grown quickly since the MBO both organically and through acquisitions. “We intend to continue expanding into new and existing markets, innovating with our products and services and further growing our direct-to-consumer revenues, which currently sit at £100 million. Our £500 million revenue target by 2026 is ambitious but we believe we have the knowledge, expertise and capabilities to continue to build on our momentum and make it happen.” Key to the continued success of the company is its wide reach, Lisa says: “By being a one stop solution, we offer all four pillars of the celebration category: party
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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