With physical trade shows unable to take place, GiftsandHome.net has been catching up with suppliers to find out more about their new launches for Spring/Summer.
Simon Grigg, managing director of Nobile glass and giftware, talks about how the company – whose handmade, hand painted, mouth blown glass products capture the beauty of nature – has been powering through, and why he believes that retailers who haven’t done so already must invest in an eCommerce site.
But first, he shares his views ahead of today’s Budget.
With Rishi Sunak unveiling his Budget today (March 3), what would you like him to do for business?
“The Chancellor has kept a cool head throughout the pandemic and I’d like to see more of the same. I think he’s done well with the furlough scheme and business grants, and I’d like to see the furlough period extended as not everyone will come out of this successfully. Also, with so many retail job losses, I think it would be good for businesses to be encouraged to take on apprentices which could be a way to help people get some sort of work.”
How has Nobile fared during the pandemic?
“In the period from July to December we did pretty well, significantly up by 20% in August and up by 70% in September. We were about level in October, and were on target to be level in November, then lockdown happened and took the shine off things, although we were level again in December.”
What’s been the best decision you’ve taken during the past year?
“Thankfully, during the first week of the November lockdown, I took the decision to keep producing product, on the basis that the factories will have been experiencing the same problems as us. So while the momentum was there, I took every bit of stock I could,because I could see that January, February and March would be difficult with Europe – we import from Eastern bloc countries such as Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia in addition to China – and I wanted to avoid the chaos. I believe that fortune favours the brave, and all my new stock is arriving this week.”
Can you tell us about your new launches for Spring/Summer.
“The focus of our products is on nature, which has tapped into a trend generated by the pandemic, in that people who are at home want to connect to nature indoors as well as outdoors. So we have been building on the hand decoration aspect of what we do, taking it to another level, and are unique in what we do. We have five areas of product, and for Spring/Summer, we have launched a new collection of vases and gift items that include Bees & Blooms, one of ten new ranges this year. Other collections feature Bees & Poppies, a Ladybird collection, a Scottish Thistle collection – which is also very popular with retailers in the South of England – and a Rhapsody collection based on the trend colours for 2021. We’ve also re-imagined our Fantasia range and introduced new shapes in our Ruby, Gold and Silver mosaic collections. Plus, we have also launched fused glass characters with country themes, such as badgers and squirrels, and have added in tea lights and candlesinto our Flower collection. Glass is a unique medium, and is B in its manufacturing process, which makes it fascinating in itself.”
What advice would you give to retailers in today’s environment?
“I do feel that the onus is on retailers to invest time into an eCommerce site. With the technology available today it’s not difficult to set up a website, even if it’s only a website for the local community. I know some independents who have invested in a website have done well during the past year. Consumers want to shop locally, and it’s surprising how much business retailers can pick up, but they do need to promote that their products are available online. Sadly, there are still a lot of retailers who haven’t got a website. As a company, we’ve invested in an eCommerce site and in photographic materials. The mood shots are all high quality, and easy to access for our customers who can download them onto their websites.”
Are you happy with the PM’s roadmap for taking us out of lockdown?
“It’s difficult for the government to take decisions that fit all. Personally, I’ve got the feelgood factor and think that once we come out of lockdown we’ll see a nice bounce back. People need to try to stay positive, say positive things and keep smiling!”
Top: Simon Grigg, managing director of Nobile.
