Gift Focus - Nov/Dec 2018 (Issue 110)

8 giftfocus SUZANNE CHAPMAN CONSULTANCY OPENS ITS DOORS Industry expert and professional buyer Suzanne Chapman has unveiled her new venture: consulting with small businesses on their buying needs and decisions. Based in Edinburgh, Suzanne is looking forward to working with a range of SMEs in her new role. She comments: “Not all businesses want or require a full-time in-house buyer. This service means that retailers can tailor projects to provide as much or as little support in the buying process that is needed, whether it is sourcing and developing, buying, sales and negotiating – or the complete package. Having established a strong base of supplier contacts, both in the UK and around the world, I’m looking forward to combining my two passions - people and products - to help support the commercial growth of the retail industry.” With 15 years of buying experience, Suzanne’s business aims to build industry relationships based on the value of treating others how you want to be treated. Her ethos is to put the customer at the heart of everything, seeing that as the key to success. In addition to her consultancy, Suzanne offers a website building service – an essential tool for any brand or retailer looking to broaden its customer base. For more information, visit suzannechapman.co.uk WIDDOP AND CO. WIN CHOICE MARKETING’S TOP GIFTWARE SUPPLIER PRIZE Widdop and Co. claimed the 2018 Gift Supplier of the Year Award at October’s Choice Marketing Conference held in Hinckley. Presented by group CEO Michelle de Lavis-Trafford and voted for by Choice Marketing member garden centres, the award recognises Widdop and Co. for its customer service. On receiving the award, Widdop sales director Andrew Illingworth said: “We are absolutely delighted. It’s a testament to Widdop’s tireless effort to make sure we look after our customers. We are extremely grateful to Choice Marketing and each one of its individual members for their vote of confidence in both our product and our team.” Choice Marketing is a not-for-profit buying and marketing group, representing a collection of independent garden centres across the UK, from Aberdeen to Chelmsford. The annual conference brings together a select group of preferred suppliers from the gardening, gift and homeware sectors to showcase their products and services to Choice members. industry news LEGO IDEAS 10 TH ANNIVERSARY AND NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH LEGO Ideas recently celebrated its 10 th anniversary. To mark the occasion, LEGO Ideas released a new classic fairytale set, The Pop- Up Book. Rendered in brick for the first time, the set brings classic scenes from Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk to life. The new addition features 859 bricks and lets fans build the famous scene of grandmother’s cottage or swap the cottage for the giant’s castle atop the beanstalk. The imaginative new toy features a simple mechanism that pops up when the book opens and folds the story away when the book is closed. It includes four new Minifigures: Little Red Riding Hood, Grandmother, the Wolf and the Giant and a new Microfigure of Jack. The set comes with a booklet with a short history of pop-up books, a condensed history of each fairytale and information about the designers. LEGO Ideas is a platform for fans to create their own ideas for products and submit them to the LEGO Group to be in with a chance of having their idea become an official set. Members submit copy, photos and mock-ups of their builds. Sets that receive 10,000 or more votes on the community pages are considered by LEGO designers to join their product portfolio. As of April 2018 the site has 944,000 registered members. Around 25 products reach 10,000 supporters each year, with an average of four joining the LEGO Ideas collection. From concept to market, the process takes two years. LEGO Ideas has released 24 products via the platform and looks forward to many more to come. For more information, visit ideas.LEGO.com Widdop’s Andrew Illingworth (centre right) and Susan Grant (centre left) accept the award from Choice Marketing CEO Michelle de Lavis-Trafford (left) and Mike Cook