UK Enterprise Awards 2021

26 | UK Enterprise Awards 2021 Apr21308 Best Party Supplies Company 2021 – Essex & Distinction Award for Crisis-Time Business Resilience 2021 Based in Dagenham, PartyBox Retail Ltd is a party shop dedicated to producing truly magical moments for all occasions. Following its richly deserved success in the UK Enterprise Awards 2021, we caught up with Donna Pike to find out more. Whether you want wedding decor for your special day, a personalised birthday banner or a special anniversary present, PartyBox Retail Ltd offers a wide range of colours and designs to suit different tastes and budgets. To start, Donna Pike, who opened PartyBox and its adjoining florist, FlowerBox, in 2011, provides a brief overview of the firm and offers more insight into its clientele. “PartyBox Retail helps people celebrate their life events by making products and services affordable and available for all. As a team of committed, positive and skilled people, we aim to be balanced, integrated and honest with our clientele. Typically, our diverse range of customers includes families wanting us to help create their perfect celebrations and corporate clients wanting us to transform their venues”. Competition remains an ongoing challenge for the firm, however as Donna goes on to explain, customer feedback plays an integral role in its attempts to improve its products and services, and thereby stay ahead of PartyBox’s competitors. “Feedback is very important to our business, particularly as its helped us to grow and change in the ways our customers want,” Donna explains. “For example, over the last 10 years we’ve been able to extend our product range and open up additional stores”. With its employees playing such an integral role in the firm’s success, PartyBox Retail Ltd provide regular training and keep them informed of any changes as Donna points out. “Training takes place on the job every three months, so it doesn’t matter which day a customer orders something from us, they still get the same level of service and leave with the perfect product. Additionally, daily communication with the team and monthly newsletters inform staff members about any plans or new products and services emerging”. Just like many other industries, the outbreak of COVID-19 has forced the firm to adapt its offerings and approach to business as Donna elaborates further. “Instead of venue decorating for parties, weddings and christenings, the pandemic has forced the party industry to focus on birthdays at home. For us, this has meant coming up with new designs which give that birthday boy or girl a wow factor for their lockdown birthday. Moreover, by transferring the business online we were able to continue trading and offer nationwide delivery which previously wasn’t the case”. Finally, Donna discusses the main benefits of being a UK based business before offering us her thoughts on the future of PartyBox Retail Ltd. “The UK following the USA in party trends and celebrations has helped. The industry 10 years ago had very few baby showers and proms and now we are helping to decorate events like these every year. It’s nice to be at the beginning of a family’s journey, from that gender reveal scan photo that only you and your team get to see first, through to helping the dad pick balloons for the birth and welcoming home their first child, the christening, first birthday and then seeing that same child come in to the shop and pick a Mother’s Day present and card. It’s such a great business to be in, following the journey with families. “Moving forward, our future will continue on the high street for the foreseeable future, but our online presence will continue to grow. Currently, we are in the process of designing a new personalised section on our website to enable customers to design their own cards and gifts”. Having weathered the Covid-19 storm with all the grit and resilience of a devoted small businessowner, Donna looks forward to a bright future for PartyBox, the beginning of which has been marked by triumph at the UK Enterprise Awards 2021. Company: PartyBox Retail Ltd Contact: Donna Pike Email: [email protected] Web: www.Partyboxuk.com Address: 153-157 Becontree Avenue, Dagenham, Essex, RM8 2UL Phone: 07525215798