Hi Mark, hope you’re well! How’s business going in the run-up to Christmas?
“For me it’s not bad, as we speak there is little negativity about Christmas.”
That’s good to hear! What sort of thing are people asking for at the moment?
“Not the slightest idea, or rather nobody is actually asking me anything. They seem to know what they want. I hadn’t realised that until just now. I suppose it says a lot more about me than them!”
How long do you expect Christmas orders to be coming in for?
“I could be very flippant but I won’t. Seriously, Christmas, in my opinion, is not that big of a deal with most party retailers, unless they sell a lot of cards. New Year is more important.”
Does that reflect the way business has been throughout 2018 in general? Have retailers been proactive in placing orders and sourcing new stock?
“Sort of. While they will look at new product for Christmas, retailers do tend to be very cautious – but that’s more to do with their attitude towards Christmas rather than what has happened during the year.”
And what about next year – how far into 2019 have you been planning so far? And what’s in store for retailers?
“There will be a huge load of new stuff for 2019. In so far as planning is concerned, I don’t want to state the obvious, but I will! Absolutely anything can happen next year and there is an heck of a lot in store for retailers, aside from new product, but nobody knows that is. However, I am gratified by the fact that most retailers seem to be talking about 2019 without worrying too much about 29 March until it happens.”
Sounds like there’s lots going on. Thanks for your time Mark – have a great Christmas!
