Hi Julie! It was great to catch up with you at the trade shows earlier in the year. How’s business been since then?
“While conditions on the high street continue to be challenging for many, we’ve had a good first quarter with lots of interest in our new product launches.”
Of course, the biggest launch in Q1 2018 was Qualatex chrome balloons – how did retailers receive those?
“Chrome has had an amazing reception, I think because there is nothing else quite like it on the market and because it is great fun to work with. We have been inundated with customer requests and, to be frank, demand has outstripped our original forecast to date, so we’ve been working hard to catch up with customer orders. We now have more and more balloons arriving each week, so we’ve been allocating stock to as many people as possible as it comes in.”
Since then, we see you’ve launched a whole new division! Tell us about Pioneer Party and what it will mean for your business going forward?
“In reality, we first introduced our party range over a year ago, but have recently re-launched it under the new Pioneer Party branding, with a new website, new catalogue and an extended range available. The response to our Premium Party range has been great, and we look forward to many customer successes with these new lines.”
What have you got planned for the future? Have you got lots of new lines in store for the upcoming World Cup and the Royal Wedding?
“We have just announced the Qualatex Q2 new products for the summer including on-trend cactus and tropical designs – more to come on that soon – and we have been talking to our customers for a few weeks now about the amazing opportunities there are to promote the Royal Wedding and World Cup this summer. Union Jack Bubble Balloons are selling well, as are our football ranges!”
Finally, we didn’t get to join in this year, but the World Balloon Convention looked incredible! How important is it to your business and the Qualatex balloon network?
“WBC 2018 was simply amazing. I had the chance to experience it for the first time and I was blown away by the size of the event and the sheer talent evident everywhere you went. You couldn’t attend and fail to be inspired, it’s not possible. The level of creativity on display was incredible – but coupled with that there are some amazing business development lessons, and the support network you can build up is second to none!”
We’ll put the next one in our diaries. Thanks Julie!
