Gift Focus - Jul/Aug 2019 (Issue 114)

51 COMPANY PROFILE crystal and silverware, and they are key partners for us in servicing a select group of clients. These products are generally not at retail, and the companies specialise in providing a service that has become rarer as the mainline brands only want to sell their general ranges. Our aim is never to have to say no! The other arm of the business wholesales high-end giftware, tableware and kitchenware. We work with brands like Herend, Goebel, Noritake, De Rosa, Revol, Saladini and Cmielow. Almost all of them share a history that goes back many years and still manufacture in their country of origin. They also celebrate and develop hand skills that provide a product quality that mass production cannot. What do you look for when seeking new partnerships? We believe very much in having personal contact with all our partners, and visiting the factories is a key part of starting any relationship. It is our plan to visit Uruguay, this year as that is the only factory that I have not been to yet and it is our biggest brand. In May, we went to see Saladini, our new knife supplier in Italy, and Saturno, a range we will be selling through our new mail-order business, Goviers of Sidmouth Limited. Both are fascinating operations, with admirable hand skills and delightful people. We are still looking for a few new lines that share our core values and hope to add to our ranges over the next few months. What do you look for in retailers? Most of our retailers are small specialist independents, and that is where our products sell best. We are not after huge numbers of accounts, and we try hard not to have accounts too close together. Our aim is to offer the type of service that our customers want, and we are small enough to be flexible. What values are important to GLB? We like to showcase skills and a pride and passion in the products. We try to be fair in our dealings with customers and realise that we are all in business to make money, but we can’t do that without it being a team effort. I was once criticised for having too good a relationship with my customers! When you sell something that no one actually needs, they have to want it and love it to buy it. That relationship is vital – not a weakness. Someone once asked what the difference was between Royal Crown Derby and a commodity tableware product. Louise Adams, the art director at RCD, summed it up brilliantly in one word: emotion. What are your current bestsellers? Overall, cats are our bestselling category in almost all our giftware brands. After that, owls and elephants put in a strong showing with unicorns and sheep. Trends do play a big part in what we sell, and not having young children about now, we do sometimes get surprised by strong sales in a subject. The unicorn was a prime example. How do you market your business? Are you active on social media? We are strong believers in print, whether that is advertising or printed leaflets and mailers. There is so much email marketing being binned that you can easily get lost. We are trying to embrace social media, but it has not yet proved the best way to get to our type of customer base. We will keep working at it and no doubt  “Someone once asked what the difference was between Royal Cr own Der by and a commodity tableware pr oduct. Louise Adams, the art director at RCD, summed it up bril liantly in one word: emotion.”

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