With Valentine’s becoming a bigger than ever occasion on the gifting side, this year’s ‘day of love’ didn’t disappoint.
“Valentine’s Day was great for us, although very late as usual,” said Caroline Boydell, owner of Hugs & Kisses in Tettenhall. “Our boxes of Belgian chocolates were by far the winner for us this year. I bought in a much bigger range of various chocolate hearts, we prepacked lots of boxes, and as fast as we were making them they were selling out!”
Adds Caroline: “Jellycat was another strong seller for us. People absolutely loved their cute little hearts and bunnies with hearts. Plus, Crumble & Core’s sterling silver earring cards were also very popular. We had specific Valentine’s designs in these, and also some ‘I love you’ designs. As always, we also had a variety of non-specific Valentine gifts – mugs, candles and keyrings just saying ‘I love you’, as well as some heart design scarves.”
At Lovely Libby’s in Rayleigh, owner Libby Holden commented: “Valentines was the usual slow build up, and with a mad rush the day before and on the 14th itself. As always, lots of men came in at the last minute! We did well with our little packets of sweets from CandyHouse, and our bracelets in a box from Life Charms, which were a firm favourite. We also sold a lot more cards this year.”
Also seeing a last minute dash to the shops was Lark, whose retail portfolio spans 19 stores in South and West London and Surrey.
“Valentine’s Day was as last minute as ever,” stated co-owner Priya Aurora-Crowe. “People were buying small self-care treats and anything cosy they could get their hands on.”
Top: Gift shops did well with Valentine’s gifting this week.
