75 PROFILE HOT TOMATO T: +44 (0)1225 422 188 www.hot-tom.com My own feeling is that recent, dramatic changes to the face of our High Street, while devastating for those that worked there, have proved beneficial for the Independents. Generally, the indies can turn on a sixpence if necessary and being able to react swiftly to an ever-changing environment is key. As a company we have certainly grown within the gap that has been created by the High Street fall-out. We are also in a sector that is, by its very nature tactile – I think most of what our customers offer falls into this category, back that up with good customer service at the coal-face and I believe we will all continue to thrive. Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? No, not anymore – we did have a Facebook representation, but we didn’t manage it on a regular basis and in my opinion that’s worse than not being represented at all. We trade business to business and choose not to deal direct – this is important to us, it helps support our life-blood which is the independent sector. At our core is the belief that our customers helped us build this business, we couldn’t have done it without them, why would we then set up in competition with them? We do keep in touch with our customers through e-shots but we don’t like to bombard them and only connect when we have something to say / shout about – a new launch or a trade show for example. Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of gifts? Don’t be impatient, not to run before you can walk and be nice to people. This industry is built on relationships – it’s a friendly, non-corporate space where how you treat people counts. Build your reputation alongside your business – it will stand you in good stead. What can we expect in the future from the company? All the usual launches will continue – keeping us as fresh and interesting as ever. I do confess that I am always having ideas – it’s actually amazing that we’ve not branched out beyond our fashion accessory remit before, certainly, latterly I have felt the urge to explore new categories with a view to adding them to our offering. As you can probably guess my ideas aren’t fully formed as yet so I will keep them under my hat for now but watch this space!
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