Words ‘n’ Wishes marked its 10th Birthday Bash in style, holding its Annual Sales Conference in the executive lounge at Anfield, home of Liverpool FC.
The day’s presentations (covering the wealth of new products from Words ‘n’ Wishes as well as Danilo, which it represents to indies) culminated in the announcement of the company’s Sales Person of the Year award, which this year was won by Mark Roberts, for his outstanding performance in the North West.
Everyone from Words ‘n’ Wishes’ head office joined the sales team in the evening for a fabulous celebratory meal at Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant in the stadium complex.
Reflecting on the last decade, Rod Brown, joint managing director of Words ‘n’ Wishes said: “The changes in our 10-year period have been significant. Best known for traditional verse and sentiment, the pool of retailers we initially supplied has declined significantly since we started and so, as a business, we have had to adapt to a broader customer profile, with a greater significance put on garden centres and specialist card and gift shops. Coinciding with this change in customer demographic, we have directed the studio to add a more contemporary feel to our product offering.”
As Rod highlighted the length of verses in its cards have gone from 16-20 lines when W’n’W started for its largest cards to now, where 4-8 lines of verse is more relevant.
Offering a good service has been paramount since the company started, and the company has more than doubled its sales force since its inception, which currently stands at 26 sales agents.
As to the venue choice for its 10th anniversary event, “as a northern-based company and having previously been at both Manchester stadiums we felt it was appropriate to go to Liverpool.”
Echoing the lyrics of Liverpool’s anthem, Rod added: “The words ‘You’ll never walk alone’ are appropriate for how we feel after this pandemic. They summed up the strength of team spirit and togetherness on the day that carried through to the celebration at Gino’s restaurant in the evening. We’ve all been in it together and have supported each other.”
Sharing the love with its retail customers, as well as having just launched over 200 greeting card designs, Words ‘n’ Wishes has launched a 10th Anniversary rewards voucher initiative for retailers, which will run over the next three months with additional raffle prizes based on customer’s spend with the company. Retailers spending over £500 on each everyday order (net of discount) will not receive gift cards to spend at M&S, but will also be entered into a draw with the chance of winning some great prizes.
Top: Words ‘n’ Wishes held its 10th Anniversary Sales Conference at Anfield, Liverpool FC’s stadium.
