Having started life as a china, glass and collectables importer in 1971, Lesser & Pavey has gone on to become among the biggest, best known and most successful suppliers in the gift and homewares industry, currently boasting over 5,000 products. So how is the company celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary, how has the business evolved over the past five decades and what’s new for Spring/ Summer 2021?
These were some of the question GiftsandHome.net put to Lesser & Pavey’s Julian Hunt, who joined the business in 1993, becoming managing director in 2000.
Congratulations on Lesser & Pavey’s 50th anniversary Julian! How are you making the most of the company’s 50 years heritage?
“There’s a striking, proud new ‘50 years’ logo, and, of course, we had all sorts of celebrations planned for February’s Spring Fair had the show been able to go ahead, but hopefully, at sometime in the not too distant future, there will still be the opportunity to celebrate with customers and industry friends.”
Can you take us right back to the beginning please, and tell us how the company first started out?
“It was founded in 1971 by our chairman Ronnie Pavey. In the early years, Lesser & Pavey was very much a china and glass importer with Ronnie sourcing the company’s products from Europe. By the mid ‘70’s, Ronnie had established The Leonardo Collection, a brand synonymous with Lesser & Pavey that has become a household name that’s renowned worldwide.”
What were the key products in the early days and where were they sourced?
“At that time, products were very traditional, sourced from many different European countries: Italy, Portugal, Romania and Poland to mention just a few. And in addition to sourcing from Europe, there were also regular trips to source products from the Far East– initially from Japan, Korea and Taiwan – but before long, directly from China, where Ronnie was undoubtedly a leading pioneer. However, while sourcing from the Far East was inevitably a game changer, it was also a pivotal moment for the company in other ways. From the very first trips strong relationships were forged with factories who began developing exclusive product for Lesser & Pavey.”
Are the relationships with those factories still ongoing?
“Yes. In fact, having such strong relationships with our factories has certainly helped us during the pandemic. We were able to work closely with our suppliers to keep shipments flowing and supply on time to meet the very significant volumes of products we have sold. It also helped us with developing new products for the second half of the year and early 2021. Without doubt we have sold and developed even more new items than in a normal year, all of which have been welcomed by existing and new customers alike, at a time when many other suppliers have not had good supplies or new products to offer.”
What are the new launches for Spring/Summer?
“Our home fragrancing products were fantastic sellers before and during the lockdowns, and we have therefore added hundreds of new products to our Desire Aroma range for 2021. In addition to soy candles, reed diffusers and aroma lamps, there are also tea light wax and oil warmers. We have also added to our homeware ranges – the William Morris inspired Strawberry Thief and Pimpernel – plus we are introducing a new colourway in Golden Lily and, brand new to Lesser & Pavey, the Blackthorn range. We also have stunning new ranges for Spring – Butterfly Garden, Garden Birds and Woodland Wildlife. In the children’s category, our hugely successful Little Stars collection sees the addition of colourful feeding sets for children, where a wide selection of products featuring Unicorns, Dinosaurs, Vehicles, Fairy Tale and Spaceman are among the best sellers.”
You’ve always been well known for your gift packaging. Do you think this gives the company an edge?
“As always, there continues to be a big emphasis on attractive quality gift packaging to ensure everything is very giftable. In turn, this adds to the perceived value of the products. We have always been innovators when it comes to gift packaging and Ronnie was the first importer to introduce this. This is something we will continue to develop, as eye-catching packaging helps our customers promote and sell more of our products which we all benefit from.”
Can you tell us more about your exclusive products.
“Although we continue to source from the Far East, exclusive product remains a major cornerstone of the business. Over the past two decades we have established our own in-house art department, with a creative team that develops exclusive products driven by the ever growing appetite of customers for new innovative quality products. We have produced many of our most successful products in-house, some of which uses artwork we have exclusively developed with well known artists.”
What else is driving your success as a business?
“In recent years, there has also been a young vibe across the company in all departments. It’s been another pivotal move for us and evolved naturally, as we expanded our team and recruited younger, highly talented staff which has definitely helped us to stay ahead of the game. Jonny Greves, who joined Lesser & Pavey in April 2015, heads up the new, younger Lesser & Pavey team, and in recognition of his contribution and leading role in the company he was made a director 18 months ago.”
What’s your view of the gift industry in the short term?
“The gift trade is changing faster than ever and we continue to change with it. We listen to customers’ feedback, move with the times and evolve, adapting however we need to, to remain successful. Undoubtedly the gift industry in the short term will continue to face challenges created by both political and economic uncertainty, to some degree caused by Brexit, but there’s always creativity and innovation, and, importantly, there are always new customers both at home and internationally.”
And in the longer term?
“It’s always exciting to see the number of new businesses opening and young talent coming into our industry. We remain ever optimistic and see our 50th year as a very exciting one for the company, and hopefully, with Covid vaccines now on stream, it will help life and business return to normal. We therefore look forward to seeing our many customers in the very near future and thanking them in person for their continued loyalty and support.”
What plans are in the pipeline for the rest of the year?
“We will continue to keep up with the trends, as well as continuing to build on all the products, both gifts and homewares, that we are so well known for, appealing to the mass market and ensuring that the business continues to go from strength to strength.”
And finally, what have been Lesser & Pavey’s five best sellers over the past five decades?
“The Leonardo Collection’s Little Nook: original, collectable animal figures; The Leonardo Collection/Alberon porcelain dolls; William Morris tableware; Desire home fragrancing and aroma lamps and Christmas.”
Read the full article in the January/February issue of Progressive Gifts & Home.
Top: Julian Hunt, managing director of Lesser & Pavey.
