Bumper show issue - Gift Focus magazine

news round upAll the latest from The Giftware AssociationVAT briefing sheet forGA membersThe Giftware Associationis drawing up a briefingsheet for members aheadof the VAT rise from17.5% to 20% plannedfor 4 th January 2011.Chief executiveIsabel Martinson says:“Retailers will need to start thinking nowabout how they are going to deal with theincrease – certainly before they start orderingmore stock for Christmas and into next year.”The GA’s suggestions and points to considerwill be available in August, to give memberstime to reflect before they attend autumntrade shows.Isabel has been in discussion with suppliersand retailers about the VAT rise. She adds:“While many retailers can’t afford to bear thisincrease, it doesn’t seem likely that suppliers –who have been on the wrong end of exchangerates and faced increased labour and freightcharges – will be able to absorb it either.“So where does that leave price points of, say,£4.99 and £9.99? It’s something that needs tobe addressed now. Margins need to be workedout – hopefully to the satisfaction of bothsuppliers and retailers.”Gift of the Yearwinners upbeatat Home & GiftThe GA’s MichaelSweeney andIsabel Martinsonpresented InterplayUK representativeswith their Giftof the Year 2010 awards during Home &Gift, Harrogate. The company’s London 4DCityscape jigsaw puzzle not only took theCollect It category prize, but also The Judges’Choice Award for being the outstandingwinner in all categories.Mark Collinson (pictured below right) said:“I am absolutely delighted. We have alreadypassed on the information about the awards toall our customers and potential customers. Weare rolling out the product worldwide and arealready working with distributors in Europe.The awards are great, great news for us.“We are putting it on our website andworking with customers who have the spaceto put special displays in their windows – andwhere we have shelf space we will make surethe product is bannered up. We have alreadystickered the product with Overall Winner ofGift of the Year and every product that leavesour Hong Kong operation will carry Gift ofthe Year for the UK on it.”Culinary Concepts won the PremiumLuxury category for its shot cartridge casewith eight stirrup cups – its first success inthe competition in three years. Managingdirector James Denton, who collected theaward, announced that as a result of seeingthe product on the stand in Harrogate, Italiangun-maker Baretta was planning to produce alimited edition of 500 pieces, which would notonly go on sale in its Italian store, but also inLondon, Paris and New York.Isabel and Michael riding highThe GA’s chairman Michael Sweeney and chiefexecutive Isabel Martinson are undertakinga 350-mile bike ride around Belgium andHolland in aid of Help for Heroes, whichsupports servicemen and women woundedin the current conflicts. The fund raisingevent has already attracted nearly half ofthe sponsorship target of £10,000 and Isabeland Michael are still keen for individuals tosupport them. There are also sponsorshipopportunities for companies to have theirbranding worn by the riders – as well as aseparate sponsorship package which givescompanies publicity on both the Help forHeroes and The GA websites as they continuetheir journey. Details are available fromIsabel on 0121 237 1103 or send an emailto isabel.martinson@ga-uk.org.The ride begins on September 13 th 2010.Pushpa’s babyPushpa Patel, long-serving member of TheGiftware Association, has given birth to adaughter, Maya, who weighed in at 7lb 2oz.Mother and baby are doing well. gFurther informationFor the GA log onto www.ga-uk.orgInterplay 4Dcityscape puzzle26 giftfocus