THE SHOP & DISPLAY EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION VOTES IN NEW PRESIDENT The Shop & Display Equipment Association held its 75th Annual General Meeting in May, which saw Mark Chatterton, Managing Director of Morplan, voted as the new President of the Association and Rob Hill, Production Director of Graphica Display elected Vice President. EDEA members logged on to the Virtual AGM and heard all about the hard work that has been undertaken over the past year for SDEA members and the exciting plans in store for the year ahead, including the upcoming Creative Retail Awards in September. Mark opened his report in an optimistic frame of mind at the prospect of being at the helm of the Association and said, “As I take up the presidency of the SDEA I look forward with a degree of optimism as retailers find their feet again and look forward with confidence to the years ahead.” He spoke about the fleetness of foot of the Association and its member’s ability to support retailers who consistently look to re-imagine their customer offering, keeping themselves relevant, and above all interesting. He closed his report with a positive sentiment: “I firmly believe that this year will be a good one for our industry, and I look forward to the SDEA being the voice of our industry in as many forums as we are able to push it. I don’t think there is a better time to be a member of the Association, providing reassurance to those retailers who are leading the revival that they are dealing with credible partners as we all strive to bounce back from the last two years.” Mark had held the position of Vice President of the Association for the previous two years. Paul Smart, Business Development Director at arken P-O-P International becomes Immediate Past President. In his two years as President, Paul was instrumental in advancing the Association’s technological services including overseeing the SDEA App and Creative Virtual Showcases. BULLDOG ADDS AYKROYDS TO THE MAGIC MIXIES LINE-UP Bulldog Licensing, which manages the rights for the Magic Mixies brand in the UK, has signed specialist apparel licensee, Aykroyds TDP, to the consumer products line-up for the brand. Aykroyds TDP will be developing a range of children’s nightwear, underwear and swimwear for the brand, inspired by the toy property. Launched last Christmas, the first product in the Magic Mixies range was the Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron, which caught the attention of the nation, young and old, and quickly made it onto Christmas lists from retailers, the Toy Retailers Association, and children alike up and down the UK. Sales of Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron were so strong that the brand became the highest grossing SKU in Moose Toys’ history with stock selling through as soon as it hit shelves. The product then went on to be crowned the Creative Toy of the Year at the 2022 Toy of the Year Awards. Following the launch of Magic Mixies Magic Cauldron, Moose Toys has expanded the brand with the introduction of Magic Mixies Mixlings collectables, with a playset to follow later in the year, and will also be adding a games line designed for all ages. Vicky Hill, Licensing Director at Bulldog Licensing, commented: “The Mixies brand captured the imagination of the nation’s children in a way no other brand has in a long time. The magical nature of the toy taps into children’s love of role-play and fantasy and Moose Toys has a strong plan to inject new play patterns into the brand regularly to keep its fans engaged. “We’re thrilled to have Aykroyds TDP on board to bring the magic of Mixies into children’s wardrobes, and are looking forward to announcing new partners over the coming months.” www.bulldog-licensing.com MISS MILLY TAKES PART IN THE INAUGURAL SUSTAINABILITY BASICS COURSE During April and May, Miss Milly took part in the inaugural Sustainability Basics course offered by Small Business Britain. A six-week course run with Oxford Brookes University, Small99 and Sustainable Pathways, the programme began with an introduction to sustainability and how to calculate your carbon footprint, and then looked at different areas in more detail, such as energy and transport, supply chain and carbon offsetting. “With the interactive webinars and an engaged Facebook Group, the course was, and continues to be, a great help in our aim to be more sustainable”, says Sarah Watmore. “We had already made some changes but now have several other projects ongoing, and will be including information on what we’re doing on our new website, launching in June.” Small Business Britain will be running a second course from 6 September and Miss Milly is encouraging other businesses in the gift industry to get involved. “Sustainability is a minefield and many of the smaller wholesalers and independent retailers would struggle with B Corp certification but this course gave us lots of suggestions and advice on where we could improve and how. Every positive change you can make at work and home, no matter how small, really is worthwhile.” www.missmilly.co.uk INDUSTRY NEWS 15
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