Gift Focus - Nov/Dec 2017 (Issue 104)

giftfocus 91 There are two facts that anyone in Scotland with even a passing interest in our economy will tell you about 2017. The first is that the Isle of Skye was full to bursting at some points with gridlock on roads more familiar with cattle grids. The other, concerns the sections of the hugely popular North Coast 500 route that was, on some days, reduced to a crawl by the volume of traffic. There’s a fair amount of truth in all that and there’s no doubt that a substantially reduced value of the pound is having a massively beneficial effect on Scottish tourism, which Visit Scotland is quite rightly exploiting with some skill. The effect on the gift trade has been remarkable, at least for those supplying the tourist market, with shops running low on popular lines, production from small factories and spare bedrooms stretched to the limit and frantic phone calls being made to China. Having just pulled down the curtain on the Autumn Trade Fair in Glasgow it would appear there’s an ever-increasing gulf at the moment between the shop serving the tourist and the shop serving the local customer. However, if you’re lucky enough to benefit from both then the rewards are high. Helen Crawford of The Old School in Beauly says, “We’re on the North Coast 500 route and that means lots of independent travellers. The exchange rate has also meant that visitors from overseas have more buying power and that has impacted positively on sales. However, our modus operandi has always been towards serving our local customer. We find that, providing we stick to offering good quality products at fair prices, our local customer is more likely to make the purchase with us. This year we see that more locals are discovering us and that repeat customer purchasing has been strong.” Local trade is still tough for some, as it is all over the UK and whilst many local high streets will have grabbed their share of the tourist pound this summer, for those in areas which attract fewer visitors, the outlook is less rosy. Indeed, winkling them out to attend exhibitions is challenging and is something that all organisers in this trade are mindful of and every exhibitor continually reminds us of! We’re very aware of the pressures many shops are under and are trying to ensure our shows stay focussed on and relevant to buyers’ needs. Aside from the obvious soft benefits of building and maintaining relationships, having a visible presence and checking out what the competition are up to, it’s essentially about providing them with new products and ideas, for which their appetite is voracious and never-ending. Predicting trends is a tricky business but I’ll put my neck on the block and have a stab at next year’s hot men’s gift product, at least in Scotland. It’s called Nutdust. It’s exactly what it says it is. It has a clear benefit which everyone who wears a kilt will understand, at least if they are true Scotsman. It is well packaged, well priced and it makes people smile. Remember where you heard it first! Now we enter the final quarter and it’s all about the C word. On the upside more people are in employment, on the downside inflation is creeping up but I have done my predictions in the previous paragraph so I will leave Christmas to the experts! The PWC Retail Outlook for Christmas 2017 indicates that the formula is: “Winning retailers will be getting their house in order around operations and costs, while at the same time investing in innovation to differentiate themselves from the crowd.” There’s probably a bit more to it than that but it’s a good start. On that note I hope you all successfully navigate the pitfalls and opportunities of Q4. g Scotland in review With the current reduced value of the pound, Gift Focus asks Mark Saunders, Director of Scotland’s Trade Fairs, what business is like in Scotland For further information, visit scotlandstradefairs.co.uk scotland news