Founder of Really Good and Soul recognised at The Greats Awards
David Hicks, founder of Really Good and Soul – which this year celebrate their 30th and 20th anniversaries respectively – has been honoured for his contribution to the retail gift sector at The Greats gift retailer awards – at a glitzy awards ceremony last Thursday (4 May) at London’s Grosvenor House, organised by PG’s sister magazine Progressive Gifts & Home.
Announcing the GA-sponsored Honorary Achievement Award at The Greats, Jakki Brown, editor of Progressive Greetings and friend of David’s for 30 years said: “Having come into the trade 30 years ago as an almost entrepreneur, David’s maverick approach has been balanced by an innate nous for product, understanding of consumer taste and the pulse of the high street as well as having total respect for his strong team. There are so many retailers who have been stockists of his products for many years, ever grateful for the stream of best sellers he has created. Nowadays Really Good products are prominent all over the world, the company and its reputation has grown massively, yet David remains the same, his commitment to product design has never faltered.”
David started the Really Good Card Company (as it was known) in 1987 with £200 and a stack of black and white postcards, travelling around the country and selling cards from the boot of his car! In the 90s, when the company was hit by the demise of a major customer, the company shone its spotlight into gifts, as reflected in the shortening of its name to Really Good. By this time the company had established itself as a leading supplier of fun and humorous cards and gifts, always offering something a little different from everyone else. In 1997 David launched Soul, which has earned a strong reputation of a design-led, contemporary giftware range.
Commenting, shortly after receiving his award, David confessed to PGBuzz: “I was utterly gobsmacked to be honest. I didn’t really listen to the first part of the introductory speech, but then I slowly thought how interesting it was that someone else in the room had a similar background! I was making a mental note to chat to whoever it was, when it slowly slowly dawned on me. I actually feel humbled.”
The Greats were attended by both retailers and suppliers, including several well known faces from the greeting card trade, reflecting the importance of cards to giftshops as well as the importance of giftshops to card publishers.
Soul is exhibiting at PG Live (June 6 and June 7) at London’s Business Design Centre.
Pictured at top: Host of the Greats, Charlie Baker, David Hicks and Henri Davis, chairman of the GA, sponsor of the Honorary Achievement Award.
A few more photos from the awards
