Gift Focus - May/Jun 2019 (Issue 113)

31 COMPANY PROFILE Pulling strings We spoke to Peter Lockey, founder and director of The Puppet Company, about growing a cottage industry into a multi-national company When was The Puppet Company started, and what were the reasons for setting up the business? When we started in 1999, we were called The Table Top Theatre Company. As the name suggests, we designed and produced puppet theatres. It was a real cottage industry, with me making the theatres in the garage and Sue painting them on the kitchen table. They sold well, and our customers started contacting us for puppets to go with their new theatres. To meet the demand, we started to import puppets from the U.S. and Europe. Then we decided that we should start designing our own. So, we re- mortgaged our house and went to China to find manufacturers to make puppets based on our own ideas. The Puppet Company was founded in 2003, and we moved into our first warehouse in 2004. How has the company developed since then? My father and I built offices on the first floor, which allowed us to start recruiting staff to help us develop and grow the business. Our favourite saying is the art of good business is recognising what you’re bad at – not what you’re good at. Then you can recruit the right person with the skill set you are missing. We now employ 25 people at our head offices in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, and 12 agents covering the UK and Ireland. In the U.S., we have 55 agents covering the whole country, with offices in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. Were the rest of the family involved from the start? My parents have been hugely supportive from the very beginning, helping at shows and looking after our growing family. We have four children and they have all worked in the business at various times. Our two sons now work with us full time, as do my brother and cousin. What was your background before you started The Puppet Company? Sue and I met at teacher training college in 1974. I went on to teach ceramics and sculpture in North London for seven years, and Sue taught early-years children for 24 years. After leaving teaching because I was not earning enough to support our four children, I joined my father’s business selling handbags and luggage via a chain of 18 retail shops. The group was sold for just £3 in the first recession of the late 1990s. The sale price reflected the level of debt caused by the slowing down of sales and the greed of landlords. I vowed if ever we started our own business, we would buy our own premises. Tell us about your product offering. Our business hero is Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop. She took one product and developed it into a multitude of “Our favourite saying is the art of good business is recognising what you’re bad at – not what you’re good at. Then you can recruit the right person with the skil l set you are missing.” 