Like many of our retail customers, we approach the end of the summer season with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. We are all keeping our fingers (and toes!) crossed that footfall and sales will pick up a bit as they traditionally do at this time of year – but none of us is holding our breath!
Even in these depressed times it is comforting to be working with a couple of astute retailers who are investing in mini Wiemann studios – one revamping an existing display; another opening a new store. Both should be up and running by late autumn, in time for the key selling season. We’re grateful for their display of faith in the saleability of our products and happy to support their faith in us, because we know that if anyone can make a success of it, they can!
Sunny is all white!
More exciting news: we’ve got a new promotional package for the autumn. I may have been rather desk- bound in the past couple of months but I still talk to a lot of retailers and I was definitely getting the message that a promotional white range would go down well. So – hey presto! We give you Sunny in all white (plus a few mirrors)! Our four piece bundles comprise a four-door hinged robe, with or without two centre mirrors and a passe partout frame, two three drawer bedside tables and a four drawer chest – and all that could easily retail for as little as £799.
It’s show time!
We hope to see lots of you – new and old customers – either at the Branded Furniture Show in Solihull on September 30-October 1 (
www.thebrandedfurnitureshow.co.uk) or the South West show Solihull in Somerset from 2-4 October (full details at a href=”http://swfmarf.sharepoint.com/Pages/SouthWestFurnitureShow.aspx”>http://swfmarf.sharepoint.com/Pages/SouthWestFurnitureShow.aspx). We’ll have 12 ranges on display at the BFS and about eight at the SW show, (that’s four times as many as last year – thanks to the persuasive charms of our SW agent, Andy Birkett – who did really last year so we’re happy to support him, honest!)
Pick of the pops for 2013
I’ll also be off to Germany at the end of September to the big German trade event M.O.W. This is the show where all the German manufacturers (more than 400 exhibit!) unveil their prototypes of new products for next year – with a view to launching officially at Cologne in January. So I’ll be making my pick of winners for 2013 to launch at Interiors in January. I can’t wait to see what Wiemann have up its sleeve.
And finally…the wheels on the bike go round and round!
I’m pleased to report the training for my marathon cycle ride in aid of Help for Heroes is going well. I’ve started on hills now and even lost a couple of pounds (although I keep putting them on again enjoying myself over the weekends!). If you haven’t already and would like to sponsor my efforts (we cross Central America through Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica In November) please go to my page on www.justgiving.com/pghewitt. All the money donated will go direct to Help for Heroes (I’m paying the costs myself!)