The October issue of Progressive Party Europe is available to read now, packed full of great content including in-depth supplier interviews, industry news and opinions, product updates and much more.
It’s official: the UK has gone Halloween-crazy. It might be falling on a Thursday this year, but Halloween is still big business in 2019, with scare zones and gruesome scenes being meticulously planned by party planners up and down the country.
Of course, our primary concern is always going to be how that translates into consumers spending at retail, which can often be another matter entirely. Independent party retailers have to remember that – especially in the current political climate – they need to give consumers a good reason to spend their hard-earned cash. Making the most of suppliers’ 2019 lines or highlighting products which can be linked to local Halloween events is an unmissable opportunity to encourage consumers to either update their costumes or buy something new. Or even better – both!
Luckily, PPE has been busy finding out what’s already been selling well and which new lines have been introduced since our main Halloween feature back in May. It turns out that quite a lot can happen in a few months! From updated catalogues with thousands of new lines (Widmann) through to some impressive new licences (we’re looking at you, Smiffys’ brand new The Addams Family collection) there’s a lot of new product out there to be getting to grips with.
Of course it’s not all about Halloween in this issue, we’ve also got features on themed décor, a licensing update for the second half of the year and an in-depth look at the essential birthday market. As one of the most lucrative core markets for the party retailer, the constantly ongoing nature of birthday celebrations means they remain crucial to business throughout the year. It also means that suppliers are constantly updating their ranges to remain current, particularly for the trend-led children’s market.
We have also included all the regular features you have come to know and love as well, with a Brexit-related Word on the Street column ensuring that we’re as up-to-date with that particuarly thorny issue as any bi-monthly print publication can be. At the time of going to press we are no clearer as to what will actually happen on Thursday 31 October, or indeed in the days, weeks and months that will follow. So for now, we’re going to keep one eye on the rolling news feeds while we look forward to Halloween and try to enjoy ourselves.
As ever, please drop us a line with any news, views or anything else you’d like us to look at in the future. Happy Halloween!
