Hi Jim, hope you’re having a great summer! How’s business going?
“Hi Jacqui – we’re having an excellent summer thanks! A convergence of a number of elements are helping to contribute to this too – our terrific and unseasonal great weather (for the UK, which is normally a two-week spell in July), the relatively buoyant economy despite the uncertainty of Brexit and possibly the excellent showing at the World Cup, from all nations, not just England! I think that this ‘coming together’ has helped lift the whole nation, and has indeed boosted our category at the same time!”
It has been an exciting couple of weeks! We see that Unique Party has launched a number of smaller ‘new release’ catalogues this year – are these a useful way of communicating new ranges for seasonal occasions?
“That’s correct – we always release our main annual catalogue prior to Christmas, and our two seasonal catalogues well in advance – Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. This year we were extremely delighted to release our mid-year supplemental catalogue, purely due to the expansive offering of new lines that we’ve recently announced – from our exciting new ranges of party favours and latex balloons, to one of the most highly anticipated, sought after new licences around – LOL Surprise! Customers prefer to have a physical medium, i.e. an actual catalogue, so we find that this is the most effective way to directly market our new lines. Obviously we also work with you guys in conjunction with large-scale launches – for example the March/April LOL Surprise front cover of Progressive Party helped us communicate this significant franchise to our customers.”
A very lovely cover it was too! How was the specific spring/summer catalogue received? Is there any one stand-out hero range that really caught the attention of retailers?
“You know what Jacqui, our catalogues and designs continue to blow us away, which is a huge credit to our creative team! I actually can’t identify one single line alone, I literally have to acknowledge our entire, impressive offering! Direct customer feedback is a vital and invaluable tool to every single business, period, and customers are continually telling us that our offering has evolved and improved year-on-year, which is extremely flattering and tells us everything we need to know! We’re incredibly close to our customers and this helps to shape and deliver future lines.”
Will you be launching any other specific catalogues this year as we approach Halloween and Christmas?
“Absolutely and emphatically yes! We released our Autumn/Winter 2018 catalogue earlier in the year, and we’ve just launched our fabulous new Spring/Summer 2019 catalogue. Our catalogues aren’t merely a product listing, they’re also a style guide, using imagery that helps customers to visualise their special occasions. We also release our catalogues early on, which enables our customers to plan their seasons well in advance – this is absolutely essential! At the moment, customers placing their Spring/Summer 2019 orders with us will also receive an additional ‘early buy’ discount – it’s a terrific opportunity, so anyone interested should call our Customer Care team on 01724 281113 for more details.”
Talking of new orders, we were excited to see you have a great new emoji Christmas range. Can you let us know a little about that? Are there plans for other emoji seasonal collections in the future?
“emoji is one of the most iconic brands of all time, fitting into our category perfectly, and lending itself to any occasion! Of course, we will continue to develop many more new emoji designs, both general and seasonal, long into the future – a truly special iconic brand indeed!”
In other news, Unique Party launched a blog back in May – if people haven’t found it yet, why should they sign up to follow it and what can they expect to find there?
“Our blog delivers right up to the minute news about our company and our products – it’s the perfect medium to keep absolutely up to date with everything going on in party! Our blog is uber-informative, and provides an extra level of detail to anyone wanting to coordinate and maximise their special occasion – covering the latest fashions and crazes, from party tableware, to coordinating accessories, colour themes, and even ideas of how to dress any event. So for any budding Mermaid or Unicorn party fan, just click on the blog link on our website at www.favors.com for more details.”
Thanks for your time Jim – have a great week!
“Thanks Jacqui – you too, have a great one!”
