Hi Ray and Joe! How have the last few months been for Maskarade? Wasn’t there something about a wedding?
“Utterly fantastic. What a busy few months it has been! We had to amend our forecasts in April as it was clear that the demand for our royal masks was going to accelerate past initial targets, then we manufactured more stock again in May. Our independent retailers have been the real heroes here, selling through stock time and time again. (Especially Really Fab Cards in Windsor!) Harry and Meghan have rocketed to the top of our best sellers listing, but even our Corgi mask is now up at number ten!
The phones have been ringing off the hook, and we were shipping orders out the door of the Rubie’s warehouse in Liverpool right up until 5pm on the night before the wedding. Giving our customers next day delivery is vital in allowing them to react to sudden trends and supply their customers’ demands.”
That sounds utterly exhausting! Talking of perfect partnerships, you’re currently showing at greeting card exhibition PG Live. Can you tell us a little more about that?
“PG Live gives us unique access to card and gift retailers that we just don’t get at the other, less focused trade shows. This will be our sixth year exhibiting at PG Live and we are looking forward to meeting new and old customers alike. We will be taking orders on the stand, which we haven’t done for the last three shows, so we are really looking forward to that.
Our impulse-buy products are really versatile and can suit lots of different markets from high end card and gift shops like Temptation Gifts to exciting party shops like The Party Box in Saffron Walden and high footfall outlets such as Langley Mill Post Office and fantastic souvenir shops like Red Bus Shop.”
Do greeting card buyers have the same ‘favourites’ as the party trade or is there a big difference between the two sectors?
“There are a lot of similarities across both sectors. After ten years in the business we have a wealth of knowledge to give our customers an indication of what might sell well in their business and how to make them, stand out on the high street. We will be giving out our bestseller information to all our customers; this really helps retailers focus on the products people want to buy.
Obviously, our royal masks are still very popular, we expect them to top the charts for a long time, it is fun to mimic our monarchs! Our licensed lines are still popular with Star Wars, Miraculous Ladybug, Only Fools and Horses and Batman The Dark Knight topping the list. Our new party props Goggle Eyes, Chinless Wonders and Bugalugs are a fantastic addition to our range and make a fun addition to any party #Selfieanyone?!”
Sounds like it’s going to be an interesting couple of days! Is there anything new which you are showcasing specifically?
“We are excited to be releasing our Incredibles 2 character masks and well as showing our photo party props to the PG Live audience. There are lots of new celebrity masks to choose from including Kim Jong Un, Ed Sheeran, Cillian Murphy, Conor McGregor, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Diane Abbott to name a few.”
We hope it goes well for you! Finally, if you had to make one prediction about summer trends for 2018, what would you say?
“Well at the start of 2018 it was all about llamas, but for us, Donald Trump is very likely to regain his top spot this summer as he begins his first official state visit to the UK in July. We are very sure that his mask will be in demand again as we show him a warm welcome to our shores. We are also expecting lots of orders for Kim Jong Un as he is such a major player on the world stage.”
Thank you both – have a great show!
