Gift Focus - May/Jun 2018 (Issue 107)

The Giftware Association takes your voice to the House of Lords Sarah Ward, Chief Executive of The Giftware Association, attended the House of Lords on 27 th March, 2018, after an exclusive invite to present the home and gift industry’s views at a Genesis Initiative meeting. The views were gathered through a survey sent out to the wider home and gift industry about their experiences in getting access to finance either through bursaries and grants or normal lending from their business banks. Sarah is no stranger to the Genesis Initiative. However, this is the first time she’s had the incredible opportunity to take the results to the House of Lords and a discussion focussing on getting access to Finance. The Genesis Initiative is a senate set up to consult with business throughout the UK and feed its results back to government in an effort to guide policy that favours SMEs. Sarah Ward said, “I’m incredibly honoured to have been invited to such an exclusive event and be able to present, with various MP’s, Lenders and Association’s, our industry’s views on how they have accessed finance in the past, whether there have been barriers to it, or if there needs to be an education around it.” She continues, “It’s massively important that The GA has been invited to this event as we’re the voice of the industry we serve and we can take your views and hopefully shape government policies with it and have come away with a lot of positive views.” The results that Sarah presented highlighted a need for further education around the process of accessing finance and where to look for it, with a large proportion of the survey respondents aware of some finance options, but not all, that would be suitable for them and an overarching theme of a lack of trust In the UK’s economy and banks. Some of the conversations and discussions had will create further projects amongst the Genesis Initiative about helping promote the UK lending market and to ensure every business has the right to finance dependent on their needs. Adam Tyler, The Genesis Initiative Director, said, “We now need to consider the next phase and that will be to bring in the opinions of the Genesis Members, totalling around 1.2 million. The most straightforward way to get this started will be to ask a number of suitable questions to each audience.” The central question the meeting was based around was: How can we make a change to ensure that the overall UK economy benefits from today’s positive business lending landscape? With the outcome being that SME’s need help with moving forward, and questions need to be asked to a wider audience to learn about SME’s needs and wants regarding finance, watch this space as we hear more about how the Genesis Initiative is committed to helping the business world. Following on from Sarah Ward’s visit to the House of Lords finance committee, she’s been invited to attend an exclusive Fringe Summit on the afternoon of 18 th April, 2018. Held at the House of Lords, the event will cover the all-important subject of SME finance, the various platforms of funding, industry trends and emerging opportunities. During the next 15 months and beyond, small businesses across the UK will be presented with new challenges and opportunities, particularly post Brexit. Investment, and indeed the right investment channel, will be a key factor to success. This is to be part of the exclusive Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. For the first time in more than 20 years, the UK will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this year so we’re very excited for The Giftware Association to be part of this event and to present the views of its members about our industry. During the week commencing 16 th April, at various locations in London, and across the country, leaders from business, politics, academia and culture will showcase the Commonwealth’s diverse network, exploring the prospects for collaboration and opportunities for trade among the 53 commonwealth countries. As only two representatives from the previous Genesis Initiative meeting have been invited, The GA is especially delighted to attend this important event. NY NOW When: 12 th - 15 th August, 2018 Where: Javits Centre, New York Website: nynow.com Formex When: 21 st - 24 th August, 2018 Where: Stockholmsmassan, Sweden Website: formex.se Autumn Fair When: 2 nd - 5 th September, 2018 Where: The NEC, Birmingham Website: autumnfair.com IJL When: 2 nd - 4 th September, 2018 Where: Olympia, London Website: jewellerylondon.com Top Drawer When: 9 th - 11 th September, 2018 Where: Olympia, London Website: topdrawer.co.uk (all dates are subject to change. Contact organisers for more information before making arrangements) For further in depth show previews and reports turn to: p68 Pulse p78 Tendence p81 PG Live p87 Exclusively Housewares P90 Manchester Furniture Show P93 NY NOW Looking ahead 12 giftfocus on with the show