“Consumers’ mindsets are changing”: The Giftware Association’s Chris Workman on how the sector is evolving

Chris, thanks for making time to chat. Firstly, can you give us some insight into the purpose and role of The Giftware Association?
The Giftware Association is an industry trade body supporting brands in the home and gift sector, and has been around for over 70 years supporting our great industry. We are membership association not-for-profit, which means that all our revenue goes back into helping our members – whether that’s through special projects like Meet The Buyers and Yearbooks, events or resources.

Great. And how do companies benefit by being a member?
We offer our members help and support for any of their business activities. We like to say that we are that 20% of their business that you can turn to if you need any help or advice. We will either have this amongst out team, or through our carefully selected service providers who can offer members expert advice on legal, HR, IP and everything in-between – there is no question too large or too small. There is also no subject that is off-topic. We will always strive to find the answers within our vast professional network that we work with.

Over the year we have evolved our services and benefits to service our members’ needs. That means introducing more digital marketing service providers, a growing resource library for brands to learn and grow their teams’ knowledge, as well as increasing our members’ profiles online with member spotlights. We also host live events to help them network and meet retailers at various social events around trade shows. The GA also runs one of the largest awards in the home and gift world – the Gift of the Year awards.

A lot going on. Now, this is a big question I know, but how do you think gifting has changed since the Association first started?
Gifting has changed a lot since the inception of the Association. It was set up shortly after the war, where you had a lot of skilled people coming back from the war creating their own businesses. They used to sell their products out of hotel rooms and there needed to be some support to each individual business, thus The GA was born. The types of products created were all handmade and highly skilled, but over time it has moved away from these traditionally made gifts and more sourced gifts from China and the East.

“Gifting has become an act where you want to give quality gifts that will last and be remembered.”

I also think consumers’ mindsets are changing… They want to buy something that will last. Someone said to me the other day: “The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the joy of a low price.” I think that’s true. Gifting has become an act where you want to give quality gifts that will last and be remembered. The act of gift giving is centuries old and is very selfless – and anything can be a gift. We have members who create anything from mugs, to textiles, to food and drink gifts… It’s great to see.

Would you include a move towards sustainability as part of that mind-set shift?
Absolutely. In the last 10 years, businesses are becoming greener and embrace having green credentials, like being a B Corp for example. Consumers think more actively about where products come from and their history, as well as how staff are treated at large corporations. Ethical and sustainable products have been on a rise. We don’t like to call it a trend as we see it as the future and should be ingrained in every business.

You mentioned Gift of the Year earlier. What is the thought-process behind the awards?
The awards have been running for 45 years now. They were created to celebrate the very best in the giftware world and give them the tools to mark this, which in turn helps trade buyers know what a good gift is. The awards have always been judged by trade buyers and industry experts; they know what makes a good gift.

Over the years we have added in more categories to encompass all of gift and the trends that we spot. In its first inception there were 60 entries and three categories. Today we receive up to and over 1000 entries across up to 20 categories. This allows for a wide remit of products and brands, from starts ups through to SMEs and multinationals.

Are the finalists and winners usually well-received?
I think the industry loves the awards. We get so many passionate brands that enter; one of my hardest jobs is announcing the shortlist and finalist list as it’s hard to let anyone down… They are all winners in our eyes! Through each stage we celebrate the companies by giving them POS to use and share and celebrate where they have got to, which is above and beyond what many other awards do. And by entering, you are guaranteed to get your products in-front of keen buyers who we know use the competition as a buying platform.

Have you noticed any changes in the approach to product design in the gift sector?
Design Led gifts have always been part of the competition, and it’s great to see more and more these get entered. Brands like WITH Creative, Gingko and CONCRETE and WAX have produced beautiful gifts in the past and there is always a market for them. Consumers these days want to buy a quality gift that will last. More often than not, that means the design has to be carefully thought out too.

Every year the competition continues to wow me with how design has come on, with solutions for really well-designed products that serve a purpose – and look beautiful in your home. Home Fragrance is one of most popular categories and although the scents change over the years, the way the candles are designed and boxed has evolved to attract the attention of buyers and consumers.

Another category in the awards is Food and Drink. Food gifting seems to be a growing category…
We see it growing and we have to compete with the pure food awards here like The Great Taste Awards and The Farm Shop and Deli Awards, who both have fantastic awards programmes… But we are looking for the food and produce which makes great gifts too – or have gifting options like make your own kits or spice kits. Being a big foodie, I love visiting the food shows and seeing what’s on offer, as well as local delis and farmers markets to see if I can spot a brand that would be suitable for the awards. It’s also good to see the traditional trade shows have a food gifting sector, which I can only see growing.

Thinking about the retail sector, are gifts being sold differently these days?
We don’t like to talk about the death of the high street, rather the evolution of it… But times are tough and people will naturally spend less on gifts, but it hasn’t slowed down to a level that is damaging. It has made suppliers think about how they can ensure their product stands out above the crowd. And shops are diversifying and offering more… Doing more than one thing is key to surviving these tough times.

It’s also good to see bigger retailers embrace pop ups for suppliers to showcase their own gifts. These kinds of experiences are a great way to bring in customers. More stores offer promotional days, as well as celebrating attractions with window displays that draw in customers. Paper Tiger in Edinburgh does this very well.

Chris, this has been great. Last question: if you had the chance to run your own gift company, what would you focus on and why?
Wow, what a question! As mentioned before, I’m a foodie, so it would be something food-related… Maybe a café with a shop option that also sold design-led gifts. I love the stuff that WITH Creative produce… So I think a nice shop that also has a café selling really high quality food produce.

Good answer! Thanks again.