Anniversary milestones

When did you start up and why? Enesco Ltd is part of a global company. The company started back in 1994 when Enesco, based in the US, bought two significant names in the world of collectibles Lilliput Lane situated in Penrith, Cumbria and Border Fine Arts in Langholm in the Scottish Borders. With the city of Carlisle being of almost equal distance between both locations, this was the obvious choice for the home of the new HQ for Enesco Ltd., Customer Services and Distribution Centre. 2024 sees the 30th Anniversary of Enesco Ltd.

What challenges have you overcome since the company's launch? There have been many challenges along our 30-year journey. Including the everchanging face of retail, consumer tastes and demand meaning we have had to diversify significantly. The pandemic and all the challenges that created, and more recently the cost of living crisis.

Tell us about your product offering. We have a breadth of giftware to offer our retailers from figurines, home fragrance, baby, Christmas and home, and the more recent and ever more popular Fandom. 95 percent of our offering is licensed including household names such as Disney, Beatrix Potter, Harry Potter, Yankee Candle and Willow Tree.

What are your most popular products? Our most successful popular brands continue to be Willow Tree, Disney Traditions and, more recently, Yankee Candle, which we have been distributing to independent retail in the UK since March of this year.

Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? I wouldn't say surprised as everything we bring to market, we truly believe in. However, our Licensed Facets have been more successful than we may have imagined. Licensed Facets is a range of beautiful figurines of superb quality, light reflective, and multi-faceted high-grade acrylic. With characters from Disney, The Grinch and Peanuts it has captured the imagination of consumers through the UK.

How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends? Yes, to a certain extent we do our research into trends of colour and design. But more importantly for us we talk and listen to our customers and consumers for their wants and needs.

What sets you apart from your competitors? We offer a breadth of offering and price points, allowing flexibility when ordering exclusive licensed product, not available from any other sources. We have generous payment plans and promotions with consistently high returns, excellent, award-winning customer support ensuring strong product availability and fast delivery. We have a comprehensive B2B website, available 24/7 with free of charge image library.

How are you finding the current climate in the UK? Is it affecting business? There is no doubt that the economic climate is tough at the moment and will continue to be in the foreseeable future. However, we are pleased with our performance and believe our household licences have been a real winner for us as consumers are attracted to brands they can trust such as Disney, Beatrix Potter and Woodwick – all part of our current portfolio.

How do you view the future of independent retail? Enesco actively supports independent retail with a fully employed, exclusive sales team, merchandising solutions, promotions, marketing activities to help them to create a shopping experience which cannot be replicated online. It will be tough, but if we all work together the great British high street will continue to be a great environment attracting shoppers, as however challenging, people still want and need to buy gifts.

Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? Yes, we are very active on social media. It is a very important marketing channel for us which cannot be ignored informing consumers of products with exciting and engaging content, in turn converting to a purchase.

Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of gifts? Enjoy it! The giftware industry is a fabulous industry and should be fun. It's tough, but listen to your customers, suppliers, the market and, of course, tune into trade magazines, they are full of advice and inspiration. Don't stand still, it's all about what's next to meet the ever-changing demands and tastes of the consumer.

What can we expect in the future from the company? At Enesco we are constantly asking what's next? Innovation and creativity are key to our success, so we are always striving to bring 'new' to the market. Our product development team pays regular visits to our suppliers to research new formats and materials for future launches. Not forgetting of course, that we are recognised as a leading licensee, developing such brands as Disney, Beatrix Potter and Scion Living with our UK team, as well as always looking for that new and exciting long-term licensing partnership. 2024 sees our 30th anniversary, which is very exciting. At Enesco we think of ourselves as storytellers, telling stories through our product. Our 30th anniversary is the perfect opportunity to tell our story, sharing our rich heritage and the many successes from the world of gifts and collectibles over the past 30 years. 

ENESCO
T: +44 (0)1228 404 022
E: uksales@enesco.co.uk
www.enesco.co.uk