June 2010

• The 'If' Word
  - Editorial
• Entertainment Ready
  - The biggest change to our outdoor settings is colour
• Stimulating the Senses and Keeping it Real
  - Bath and body speak that won't leave you dizzy
• Hooked on Christmas
  - The silly season's stationery trends are wrapped up in traditional Christmas themes this year
• Feel Good this Father's Day
  - Men are notoriously hard to buy for – just ask any woman.
• Buy, Buy . . . Bye?
  - Getting ready to stock up for Christmas has a pre-festive warning for you

Feel Good this Father's Day

NIKKI BEECROFT REPORTS

Men are notoriously hard to buy for – just ask any woman. But with Father's Day right around the corner, many retailers have already begun thinking about simple and straightforward ways to make shopping for dads easier in 2010.

From novelty ties and socks to bargain-bin toolsets, dads have graciously suffered through bad gifts for years. And because most Father's Day gift shopping generally happens in the days leading up to the event, customers are looking to retailers more than ever before for help finding the right gift at the right price, fast.

So what are some of the main gift trends retailers should be looking out for this Father's Day? While Mother's Day saw a resurgence in the popularity of Father's Day NIKKI BEECROFT REPORTS Feel good this smaller, traditional items, Father's Day will be all about fun, thoughtful gifts to match a dad's personality, say our men's gift specialists. From sporting dads and professional dads, to dads who love nothing more than the simple pleasures in life, shoppers will be looking first and foremost for pressies that show they've thought about their purchase.

Calvin Green, director of Puzzles and Games Specialists NZ (PGNZ), says traditional items with a feel-good factor are the bread and butter of his business, proving popular for all occasions year in and year out, including Fathers' Day. He suggests that simple, fun family items, including games like Chess, Mahjong, Backgammon and Canasta, never go out of style because “they are the games that create family memories – they are the glue of many a happy family occasion”.

Similarly, Richard Slight, director of Gudsells, says top-quality, inexpensive gifts are their biggest sellers, and believes items such as cuffl inks, multitools and gadgets such as tide clocks will prove popular for dads again this year. “Shopping is usually pretty last minute for Father's Day,” says Slight, “and retailers like to have something in their stores that customers will see and right away think of their dad, and know it will make a great gift.” He estimates most customers will be looking to spend around the $20 to $50 mark, although “kids who are buying presents really only want to spend around $10”.

Gavin Campbell, managing director of The Limit, also believes smaller feelgood items will feature high on buyers' wishlists this Father's Day. The key is for retailers to offer their customers an array of lower price point items to choose from, he says. “The Limit has purposefully, over the last year or two, introduced lower-priced items that make up a range and tell a story. An example is our successful barbeque accessory range, especially chosen to fit the $25 and $50 retail mark.”

Campbell agrees that while tighter budgets will play a part in what people decide to buy for their dad this year, customers will be looking for thoughtful and creative gifts that are innovative, well packaged, and present value for money – as well as being well presented on the retail fl oor or shelf. “The great thing is that many people in this market are changing their approach to gift buying – they are learning and understanding the pleasure of the ‘thought' behind gift giving.”

While he believes fun gifts such as hammocks, picnic and barbeque sets, and air hockey and foosball tables always prove popular, The Limit's retrostyled Crosley Autorama three-speed record and CD players are amongst his top picks for Father's Day. “These have truly stood the test of time – they are the same-looking record players and radios as the world's best-selling Crosley models in the 1950s,” says Campbell.

As for additional Father's Day gift trends, Green believes it will be the unique, thoughtful and smaller gift packages that will remain popular right through to Christmas buying. “There are a range of gifts for all purses that will make a dad happy, like a small old-fashioned wire puzzle, or a desktop wood puzzle for him to take to work or put on the family coffee table to play between commercials.”

While Father's Day shopping might be last minute, that doesn't necessarily mean customers should have to face limited choices. And while Father's Day shoppers are undoubtedly still mindful of their budgets, Green says it's important that retailers don't fall into the trap of stocking cheaper – and perhaps poorer quality – items. “Stock the items that give you the market differentiation, because that sets you up for the long term.”

Whether you choose traditional games and puzzles or the newest gadgets and gizmos, he suggests looking to gift items that will stand the test of time, “both in their inherent qualities and also their play value. That is what good business is about. The short-term cheap sale does the customer no favours.”

Ultimately, Green says, shoppers will be looking for one thing in the week leading up to Fathers' Day this year: “A good product at the right price for the long term.”