Significant show of support in drive for people to choose local and to help businesses in their communities thrive during festive period and beyond.
Sales of gift cards designed specifically to lock spending into local economies across Scotland have topped £1m for the first time.
Corporate orders - mainly rewards for staff - have made up half of the sales of Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards across the country throughout 2023. Cards can be spent with both national retailers and independent businesses.
The gift cards are an extension of the wider Scotland Loves Local initiative. the drive spearheaded by Scotland's Towns Partnership (STP) and supported by the Scottish Government.
Posted: 1 February 2024
Ethical jewellery Lily Arkwright has opened a new Birmingham showroom in the Mailbox, the UK's largest mixed use destination outside of London and an ideal landmark showroom.
Voted as one of Birmingham's best breathing spaces, Mailbox boasts unrivalled accessibility to canal side dining and some of the city's best retail and leisure amenities, providing an exclusive sense of community for Lily Arkwright's clients.
The opening of the Birmingham showroom in February 2024 marks a significant point in Lily Arkwright's expansion plans.
After years in the pipeline, Lily Arkwright is thrilled to see an instant response to this exciting next step, with appointments being booked at record rate.
Posted: 30 January 2024
Manchester-based giftware importer and distributor Joe Davies has announced that it is to become a 100 percent employee-owned business.
The shareholding of the business will be held by the Joe Davies Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) for the benefit of all employees.
The existing management team remains in place, headed up by CEO Steve Davies, it was Steve's great grandfather Joe that set up the business 105 years ago.
Davies commented; "I'm very proud to be able to say that the transition of the company to a 100 percent employee-owned business will see Joe Davies being run, and owned, by the very people that make Joe Davies what it is."
Posted: 30 January 2024
Belgian puzzles and games company Smart Toys & Games has acquired of All Jigsaw Puzzles and welcome the team to the growing Smart family.
All Jigsaw Puzzles is a puzzle manufacturer based in Devon, England with a mission to share the endless possibilities of puzzling.
With a large customer base for white label puzzles and a successful ecommerce division, the business has its own range of over 300 puzzles working with national brands such as A-Z Maps, The National Gallery, and quirky artists such as Tim Bulmer and Mike Jupp.
The acquisition by Smart furthers the growth and presence of the company in the UK after the 2022 acquisition of The Happy Puzzle Company.
Posted: 17 January 2024
Joe Davies has been appointed by Amber House as exclusive distributor for the Read My Lips brand of licensed Lip Balms.
The full collection of Read My Lips will be available from the Manchester-based importer in February. The range consists of single lip balms, multi-packs and tear & share packs; all with flavours and packaging coordinated to each brand.
John Kingham, Managing Director at Amber House commented: "Read My Lips is hugely popular and successful in the UK, and we have been looking for some time for the right distributor to take the brand forward into independent retail. With their reputation for award-winning customer service and their 'little & often' order system Joe Davies are the perfect fit for us."
Posted: 12 January 2024
Anti Copying in Design (ACID) is delighted to announce the appointment of Laura Newbold Breen as Chief Operating Officer. Laura began her new role on 4th December 2023. Having previously been Head of Legal for Magmatic Ltd, which owned the Trunki brand prior to its successful transition to new ownership earlier this year, Laura brings a wealth of relevant experience through her incredible journey on the inside track of a company which, despite its incredible success, had to battle many copycat storms along the way. What better experience could she bring to ACID than being at the coal face of what many in the UK face.
Posted: 19 December 2023
Trevor & Julia Cash, founders of Mad Beauty have been awarded Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 for East of England at The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Recognised annually as one of the most prestigious accolades in the entrepreneurial world, The Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards received over 5,000 applications this year alone.
Making the shortlist is an achievement in its own right given the calibre of competition, underlining the significance of Mad Beauty's win.
Previous winner James Watt, founder of BrewDog, said that winning was "better than winning the World Cup." Steven Bartlett has gone as far as to dub the awards as "The Grammys of Entrepreneurship," highlighting the glamour and prestige associated with the event.
Posted: 11 December 2023
A decade on from the first John Lewis How We Shop, Live and Look report, which looks back at the products and trends that shaped the year, we are a nation that has fallen out of love with DVD players and fidget spinners and gained a burgeoning obsession with air fryers and pizza ovens.
Over the last 12 months, we've seen customers return to shops, especially on Saturdays for a family day out where footfall is up 11 percent.
During the height of lockdowns, 81 percent of our sales came via the internet, this has fallen back to 57 percent with many dwelling in stores and hospitality and catering sales up 20 percent versus last year.
Posted: 1 December 2023
BAEKKE, the Danish sustainable jewellery brand, has announced a partnership with Wolf & Badger, the B Corp-certified platform curating over 2000 independent brands globally.
BAEKKE joins Wolf & Badger, known for championing skill, craftsmanship, and ethical production. BAEKKE's innovative jewellery, featuring interchangeable coloured beads, aligns seamlessly with Wolf & Badger's commitment to sustainability and ethical craftsmanship.
Founder Lene Schødt says: "Being part of Wolf & Badger is a fantastic end to our year. We've always looked to them for inspiration, and now, to be live on their platform is a real dream come true. This collaboration is a testament to our shared values of ethical production and quality design."
Posted: 30 November 2023
Anti Copying in Design (ACID), the UK's leading design and intellectual property (IP) advocacy organisation, and SnapDragon Monitoring, a renowned online brand protection and reputation management specialist, and have forged a strategic partnership aimed at safeguarding design businesses from the perils of counterfeits and IP infringements.
In today's landscape, counterfeiting poses a significant threat to all industries, as counterfeiters continually exploit genuine brand success to produce low-quality imitations of coveted products.
These counterfeit goods not only erode brand revenues and compromise IP, but also endanger consumers due to the use of toxic materials.
A recent SnapDragon survey discovered that nearly 20 percent of UK SMEs have fallen victim to counterfeit product sales, resulting in severe financial losses for 93 percent of them.
Posted: 24 November 2023
