Gift Focus - Jul/Aug 2018 (Issue 108)

giftfocus 139 Success at Meet the Buyer event The Giftware Association recently took its successful Meet the Buyer events on the road for the first time, with an exclusive and exciting event with The Tillington Group of Garden Centres. The event was held in Low Wood Bay in the heart of the Lake District and featured giftware suppliers presenting and showcasing their products to buyers from 10 Tillington garden centres. It is the second time the GA has worked with the Tillington Group, with last year’s event being held in Essex, and it was such a success that the GA was invited back to present members to key industry buyers. The event kept the usual formula, with all suppliers getting important one-on-one time with the buyers. It was by application only, and the successful attendees were carefully selected by the various Tillington buyers ahead of event. Gillian Munro from Otter Nurseries, who helped with the organisation of the event, said: “It was a great success, and the feedback was positive from the Tillington buyers and suppliers. The proof will be in the scale of new orders and accounts.” The GA team hosted all the suppliers the night before at the Low Wood Bay Resort Hotel. It was an exclusive opportunity to meet newer members and talk about the needs and wants of suppliers for the home and gift industry. Simon Wadsworth from Wraptious, one of the suppliers, said: “For me, it was really well-organised, and there was fantastic engagement frommajority of buyers. And what a great setting!” Simone Rose, business development manager at the GA said: “We want to take these types of events on the road more often, as the day was a real success. We are very happy, as these events have always generated orders from buyers and allowed them to see products that they may have never seen at a larger trade show or event. It was also a great chance to catch up with our members and hear more about what they want from the months ahead.” The Future of CE Marking meeting Using its unique position as the voice of the home and gift industry, the Giftware Association has been present at high-level government talks recently on subjects that matter to its members. This includes taking part in the Access to Finance Committee meetings, discussing the finance needs of SMEs and being invited to the prestigious Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. This was a great way to present GA members’ views to the people with the power to make the changes. GA CEO Sarah Ward was in attendance, invited by the British Toy and Hobby Association to the Future of CE Marking meeting to discuss the challenges and benefits of the CE marking and potentially moving away to a UK-only safety standard. Safety and product testing are big issues in the home and gift industry, and with it affecting so many member businesses, Sarah was once again honoured to go to the Palace of Westminster, hosted by Neil Coyle MP and staff from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to discuss the future of the safety marking after Brexit. The progress of Brexit and what it means to UK businesses has been slow, with information being drip-fed from the government, which can be worrying for a business trying to plan for the future. The Toy and Hobby Association has set up a confederation of sorts with 11 fellow associations, representing more than 3,000 businesses that will be affected by the future of safety testing and the CE mark. The Toy Retailers Association, Hasbro Toys, Tech UK and the British Standards Institute were all in attendance. The mark currently gives industry and consumer confidence to many companies and is a sign of the free trade movement that is recognised across the EU member states. The concerns from all in attendance was that after Brexit, if a new UK-only mark was to be introduced, whether this be recognised amongst other EU member states and whether the relationship between the UK and EU be strong enough for the mark to be acknowledged. Timescales were also discussed, with the government not being transparent on timelines or deadlines and a strong contingent wishing to remain with the current CE marking. There still needs to be a great deal of discussion on further steps to ensure that the most effective safety marking, CE or otherwise, is implemented. The Giftware Association will be party to further discussion and will continue to update its members and the industry at large. We bring you the very latest news from The Giftware Association Further information For The GA, log on to ga-uk.org GA news the ga

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