Whatever you might think of 2017, there is no doubt that it was a challenging year and the last 12 months certainly kept the retail industry on its toes. PWW spoke to Mark Brett, UK agent for Boland Party, to find out how the last year has shaped up for the party supplier…
A Perfect Storm
“The last year has been tough both for retailers and online retailers for different reasons. Apart from cost increases, margin decreases, and cautious consumers (quite a combination) there are the unknowns and I don’t mean Brexit or whether to buy your balloon bouquet in Bitcoins. The market dynamic combining the consumer, technology, pricing and societal changes are a perfect storm and nobody quite seems to know what direction to take.”
Room For Growth
“I still believe the party market is growing in the UK and in the rest of Europe. The issue lies with the fact that there are so many strands and influences so that the growth is not being felt by any one player. Of course that is a generalisation,as there are the odd players doing well and achieving growth but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Within the UK we have a Royal Wedding, while the World Cup will give the whole of Europe a boost.”
The Latex Hero
“Our highlights over the past year have been the continuing increase in customer base and huge influx of new product. Our hero product has been the humble latex balloon. Whatever the climate latex balloons consistently perform!”
The party industry in three words: Just gets better!
