Bumper show issue - Gift Focus magazine

industry newsHerdy wins national awardThe Herdy Company hasreceived the Business in theCommunity’s Small Companyof the Year award.The award was presentedat a glittering awardsceremony in Londonrecently by HRH Prince ofWales as he celebratedhis 25 th anniversary asPresident of Business in theCommunity (BITC). TheHerdy Company, a Kendalbasedbranded giftwareenterprise, recognises theimportance of business as apositive influence in society.By fostering the local economy and adopting a charitable, ethically-driven philosophy, Ithas shown its commitment to corporate social responsibility. The Awards for Excellencereward businesses who demonstrate the positive impact they have had on society.Diane Hannah, director of The Herdy Company said: “It’s fantastic to be recognisedon a national level for what we’ve achieved. We took a sustained approach to corporateresponsibility and integrated it into our business strategy from the start. From the outsetwe recognised the importance of the Herdwick sheep in maintaining the Lakelandlandscape and therefore made supporting the Herdwick and upland fell farming central toour company’s mission. We love giving something back to the region which inspired theherdy brand and our customers love it too!”Schleich’s Chessington adventureVisitors to Chessington World ofAdventures’ new Safari Hotel are enjoying ataste of the world of Schleich.Children staying in one of the hotel’spremium family rooms receive a gift from Schleichas a memento of their stay and those eating in therestaurant will be entertained with Schleich competitionand activity sheets that have been specially created forthe hotel.The partnership will be piloted until the end of2010 but plans are already underway for further linksbetween the German toy company and the theme park.Gary Wilmot, head of Schleich’s UK sales force commented: “This is a fantasticbrand awareness exercise for Schleich. The synergy between the new ChessingtonSafari Hotel and our Wild Life collection could not be stronger and with the hotelaccommodating up to 100,000 visitors each year, many of whom are in the agerange for new collectors, we expect the partnership to be extremely lucrative forour retailers too.”For more details call +44 (0)1279 870 000 or email Schleich@Schleich-s.co.ukIndustry professionalsDave Brown has joinedJohn Crane Ltd ascommercial manager,overseeing the day to daybusiness. His backgroundin the automotive industrygives him a wide skill baseto bring to this newlyformed role.On the sales floorNicola Woodward joinsas sales executive, herformer roles have includedworking closely withindependent stores.Former PA, HayleyHanwell-Holland, joins as administrative coordinator,where she will be responsible for theHR of the company, plus be an integral part of thecompany’s certification procedure.Sheena Beale has been appointed as the newoffice receptionist.Great Gizmos hasappointed a new keyaccount manager, CathyLing, who joins the teamwith more than 20 years’experience across the toyand gift industry, havingpreviously worked forcompanies such as Aurora World and Smoby.Joe Davies, importersand distributors of theShudehill giftware andLeonardo collections,has appointed two newsales representativesto its field sales team.Winnie Murphy will coverCarlisle, the Borders,north east England andCentral Scotland whileKate Adams will coverthe Midlands. Both Winnieand Kate have many yearsexperience in the gift trade.8 giftfocus