UK party stalwart Phil Bardsley is celebrating his 25th year of dedicated service to the party industry in 2020.
Phil, who is currently helping Grabo International expand its UK operations, has the claim to fame of being the first ever Anagram sales rep in the UK, when he was employed in 1995 by Marie Gransbury, who is now managing director at Pioneer Europe.
“I stayed with Anagram for many years,” he told PartyWorldwide.net, “and then Amscan acquired Anagram and I moved across as well, selling party and balloons.”
Phil was promoted a few times during his tenure, first to regional manager and later to national sales manager. In 2007 he joined Amscan’s European team and moved to Cyprus, where he then spent seven years concentrating his efforts in mainland Europe and the Middle East.
When he returned to the UK in 2013, Phil began working at Northstar Balloons, where he looked after Europe and the Middle East until the company was taken over by Pioneer Europe in 2018.
“I was looking to continue my career in the party industry after leaving Northstar,” said Phil, “in particular the foil balloon side of the business. When I heard Grabo was looking for a person to introduce and develop their business within the UK it was a perfect fit!”
Now business development manager for the Italian foil balloon company, Phil has seen a number of dramatic changes over the last two and a half decades. How different is his work now to when he first started?
“The industry has changed tremendously over the last 25 years,” he explained. “It’s been particularly interesting working for Grabo, because they were a completely new brand to the UK market. While it was difficult at first, we really focused on establishing the wholesale and distribution network and that has been really successful.”
“Having that challenge has been so rewarding. There is still a lot to do, but two years down the line, I am loving every minute!”
