The January issue of Progressive Party Europe is available to read now, packed full of great content including in-depth supplier interviews, industry news and opinions, product updates and much more.
It’s time for party suppliers, distributors and retailers to embrace 2020 and a new decade is the perfect time to put those long-awaited resolutions or changes into action.
Business changes are just as important as personal ones. A new year is the perfect time to ask what can be done differently. Are there better ways of letting buyers know what you are working on? More efficient ways of communicating with your team? January is an ideal time to put those changes into action.
The last year has been difficult for all retail businesses (see news story on page 9) and 2020 has the potential to be equally challenging. Of course there’s the minefield of Brexit to navigate (again) but this year’s real challenge will come from consumers’ reaction to the climate change emergency as many look to live more sustainably.
Our news story on page 13 outlines this in more detail, but it’s particularly interesting for the party industry. We are already seeing suppliers highlighting recyclable product and packaging, but as consumers begin to understand more about the cost of the recycling process, will that be enough? We’ve seen environmental concerns rightly diminish the popularity of balloon releases and this spring will see plastic straws banned from sale in the UK altogether – so changes are certainly being made and it will be interesting to see how the party industry responds.
With these challenges in mind, the trade fair season couldn’t have come at a better time. We have previewed both Nuremberg Toy Fair and Spring Fair in this issue, as they offer ideal opportunities to speak with suppliers about their latest releases and what they’ll be focusing on for the coming year, whether that is recyclable packaging or a new portfolio full of fresh designs.
We have also included all the regular features you have come to know and love, with new columns, product focuses (thank goodness for World Book Day) and a feedback feature summing it all up.
As ever, please drop us a line with any news, views or anything else you’d like us to look at in the future. Happy 2020!
