Industry news GREETING CARD ASSOCIATION AWAITS GOVERNMENT RESPONSE AS ITS ROYAL MAIL PETITION SURPASSES 10,000 SIGNATURES The Greeting Card Association’s campaign to keep the Royal Mail service reliable, national and affordable, has received a significant boost as its parliamentary petition reached 10,000 signatures. Despite Royal Mail’s claims that it should be allowed to reduce second class postal deliveries to as few as two days per week and cut Saturday deliveries altogether, over 10,000 UK voters have now joined the GCA’s call for proper parliamentary scrutiny of any proposed changes. This petition, which also calls on MPs to regulate the price of first-class mail and mandate the Royal Mail meet existing delivery targets before changing the Universal Service Obligation (USO), must now receive a formal response from the government. The posts highlight the concern caused by the current uncertainty over Royal Mail’s ownership and the threat to the price and reliability of the postal service if they are allowed to dilute the service. Royal Mail has failed to meet delivery commitments outlined in the current USO since 2022 but has consistently raised prices. A first-class stamp is now 75 per cent more expensive than three years ago offsetting the £15m-plus fines levied by Ofcom on Royal Mail for missed delivery targets. The cost of a first-class stamp price is up a staggering 170 per cent over the last decade, and the price rise that took effect on 7th April when the price rose to £1.70, was the sixth in under three years. GCA members believe the proposed weaking of the USO will lead small businesses and consumers to rely on an increasingly unaffordable, uncapped and unregulated firstclass service to ensure cards and important letters are delivered on time. The GCA, which represents over 500 publishers, retailers, agents, specialist suppliers and distributors that make up an industry worth over £1.5bn to the UK economy now awaits the government’s official response to its petition. Amanda Fergusson, chief executive of the GCA said: “Our members are deeply concerned that they’re being railroaded into accepting reforms that will make the Royal Mail service they depend on, less reliable and affordable. “We now look forward to receiving a formal government response to their petition. We know a postal service that’s a mere shadow of the service Royal Mail should be delivering, will cause real damage to small businesses, consumers, high streets and communities.” Catch up on all the latest in our news round up GIFT OF THE YEAR 2025 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED The Giftware Association has unveiled the finalists for the Gift of the Year 2025 awards! After months of anticipation, hundreds of incredible entries, and two rigorous rounds of judging by an esteemed panel of over 120 industry experts, the very best products from the home and gift industry have been selected to move forward in the competition. The Gift of the Year awards celebrate the most exciting, innovative, and commercially successful products across 20 categories covering Home Fragrance, Home and Kitchen and Games and Puzzles as well as introducing new categories’ such at the Made in The UK Category for this year. This year’s competition has been one of the most competitive yet, with judges from leading retailers, trade press, and industry professionals struggling to select their top choices from a truly outstanding pool of over 900 entries. The second round of judging took place at Spring Fair which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and saw hundreds of visitors across the week to view the shortlist, take away a shortlist brochure and see the best new products to be released this year. Chris Workman, PR & Marketing Manager of The Giftware Association, shared his excitement about this year’s finalists: “Each year, we are blown away by the level of talent and creativity, within the home and gift industry, and 2025 has been no exception. It’s nice for me to set up the display and finally see the products in the real life. The Home Fragrance category, along with all the others, but in particular this year has amazed me with its increased innovation, new design led vessels for the candles as well and brilliant new fragrances and box designs really pushing innovation within this sector. The judging panel faced an incredibly tough decision, with so many outstanding products and brands. Congratulations to all the finalists - it’s a huge achievement to be selected, and we can’t wait to reveal the winners At The Gift Awards in May” What’s next? The ultimate winners will be announced at the highly anticipated The Gift Awards. This prestigious event will be held at the Royal Lancaster London, in collaboration with The Greats Gift Retailer Awards, bringing together the biggest names in the industry for a night of celebration. The full list of Gift of the Year 2025 finalists is now available to view at: www.giftoftheyear.co.uk if you click on the finalist tab. The People’s Choice But it’s still not over for the shortlisted brands as they can now push for The People’s Choice Award, which is voted on by the general public, brands audiences and everyone in between. To vote is easy – find your favourite product or category and choose ‘cast my vote’ and it will be taken automatically. Votes for The Peoples Choice will close on 16th May. 8
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