Sports Balls and Dolls Houses and……….

For those who have asked me this month, I thought I would update where we are on some new projects, since they seem to interest people.

If you follow the blog you will know that we have given people free rein to launch in to new areas, where they have an interest or expertise.

Stuart, as a Sports fan has launched Sports Ball Shop, a retailer of Sports Balls, which is going well, and has taken over Stuarts role. this seems a real winner and expect to see some very real developments on this project in the next few months.

Our latest new Sector, dolls houses, run by Hannah has also done well, with a good christmas sales period behind us, some new suppliers discovered and much learnt in our first season. Hannah is also using the off-season to put lots of hard work in to making sure next season is a real sales contributor.

Dolls Houses

Sports Bras, our other sports project has also made a healthy start, with much learnt about the market and the products, but already making real sales.

Some other projects either did not make it, or were cut adrift before they failed. Fireworks, Firewood and Christmas Trees all come in to this category. I suppose 3 successful projects and 3 dead ones is good enough? Internally here we have been comparing one of the projects to Virgin Atlantic, where the new business overtook the original one and completely redefined the company. I will let you decide which one is causing the buzz. It’s not Christmas Trees.

Economic Green Shoots

It’s nearly Spring, and we can see the bulbs coming up a little more every day. The Snowdrops are out, and the Crocus next, followed by the Daffodils. But, are we also seeing green shoots for the economy?

The January Retail Sales figures were a ‘surprise’ the experts say, better than expected. But not for us. As a seller of slow-moving consumer goods, we see exaggerated falls in the downs and egagerated ups in the upturns. And since Christmas, we have seen an improved picture.

Green shoots for the economy?

We have seen sales improve. January was the first month with a year on year increase since last May. And February is good too. And our customers are all talking positively about the season to come.

So, having seen a dip, as we bounced out of recession, it is my considered view that we are on an upward trend, which as it builds could be the end of the recession, and a move to more normal times.

Of course there is much that could end it too. the Greeks, the Spanish, the Italians, al-Qaeda, the exchange rate, the weather and Banks to name just a few, but if things remain stable, then good news builds on good news and by the end of 2012, the crisis of the last 4 years could feel as if it’s all in the past.

Of course this is all entirely normal, and follows the patterns of all previous recessions, even the increasing unemployment rate, which should still increase for the best part of a year. But what happens is that people dust themselves down, start a business or get a new job and the economy is re-invigorated with new energy, then we start to create new jobs, and everything recovers.

So, tell your friends, you read it here first, the green shoots are showing. Lets hope there are no surprise frosts to kill them off, and they flourish.

Girls Favourite Trampoline

Our garden is like an Outdoor Toy display site, and our little girl has the opportunity to try every new toy, every new accessory and even the ones that only make it to prototype stage.

Yesterday, despite the cold, we were out in the garden and I asked her for the favourite thing she had ever played in the garden, and the winner was the Pink Trampoline.

With such an enormous range of products to choose from, it surprised me a little, but when you consider that she has a pink bedroom, thinks we should paint the outside of the house pink, and given the choice would only wear pink clothes, maybe it should not have done so.

Why the obsession with Pink? I’m not sure, but it’s not from us that’s for sure. She is very clear about being female, and is proud of women’s achievements. When we were watching the news and the three leaders were on she asked me about the government, and asked if there were ladies in the government. When I told here that yes, lots, and we had also had a prime minister who was female, she said that she wanted to be Prime Minister and would make it the law to eat chocolate.

So, I think she associates Pink with being female and is proud of being female, hence an ownership of the Pink colour, and somehow, the Pink Trampoline is more for her than the standard ones. And she actually has a green one in the garden at the moment too.

See pink trampolines here:

http://www.trampolinesshop.co.uk/acatalog/8ft_Fun_Pink_Trampoline.html