Amscan’s Emily Duke (marketing and design) and Joe Hennigan (cfo/coo international) came together to talk to PartyWorldwide.net about how the party and balloon company has dealt with the recent Covid-19 challenges and what it expects to see happen in the future as restrictions begin to ease.
“Our wholesale and retail businesses in the UK were closed for a few weeks. We re-opened our wholesale business after a comprehensive review to ensure that we created a safe environment for our employees, which then led to our warehouse returning to a five-day operation as of 1 June, with new procedures incorporating distancing protocols as well as PPE for staff.
In the short term, the biggest unknown for the party and dress-up sector is how and when restrictions will be lifted. Looking through the balance of 2020 it is likely that Halloween will be negatively affected, which is disappointing but a reality we are facing up to. In the medium to long term we are confident that consumer demand will return relatively quickly, however it is likely that demand will return through different channels, so we will ensure we are nimble to meet the requirements of an evolving customer base, both wholesale and retail.
One of the challenges will be consumer confidence returning. Right now everyone is nervous, but hopefully as restrictions are lifted and the new normality begins to resume, there will be some partying to make up for all those missed special occasions! We’re hopeful this will continue right through to Halloween, with customers starting to look at forward planning for Q3/4 with our new extended Warner Bros. portfolio and Halloween 2020 catalogue, as well as our new DIY balloon kits for the perfect party at home.
In order to come out of this in a strong position, the party industry has to continue to evolve and develop. We need to continually ask ourselves if we are meeting the needs of our customer, whose expectations and requirements are shifting by the day. We also need to be ready; once restrictions are lifted there will be pent-up demand and we need to be ready to help the nation celebrate birthdays, weddings and other life events like never before.”
