New U.S. Holidays Ahead?

Around the retail market, there's some serious talk about creating a National “Children's Day.” This would be great for children — and would be wonderful for the gift business, as well.

The good news is that there already is a “Children's Day,” and all we have to do is give it a little push to get it into the mainstream. The day is better known as “El Dia del Ninos” (“Children's Day” in English), and is celebrated all across Central and South America.

The U.S. has a large and rapidly growing Hispanic population. (For more, see “Se Habla Latino?” In the November issue of Gifts & Decorative Accessories.) How large? According to the U.S. Census bureau, fully one-third of California's population considers itself Hispanic. According to the Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce, there are over half a million Hispanic citizens living in Georgia alone. That's a 995 percent growth rate between 1980 and 2000. This kind of Hispanic population growth is taking place all across the United States.

Honoring this holiday would acknowledge the presence of the Hispanic population as a driving force in the American culture and economy. As an industry, we already market to Jewish and African-American citizens by honoring Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Recognizing such holidays helps minorities feel a part of the U.S. mainstream, and — not coincidentally — creates extra revenue for manufacturers and retailers.

In fact, when it comes to the marketing of Children's Day, the best questions may be: “What's taking so long?” And “Why is it taking so long?”

So, how can the gift industry help make “Children's Day” a mainstream American holiday? We can achieve it together as an industry as well as individually as retailers and manufacturers by creating displays, ads, promotions and events that tie in with the holiday.

Marketing to our Hispanic fellow citizens and assisting in the inevitable expansion of their holidays into the broader U.S. mainstream will mean showing sensitivity in creating packaging and displays that are, if not bilingual, certainly bi-cultural.

Here are some ideas on how the manufacturing, sales and retail communities can go about moving these two holidays into the American mainstream:

• Retailers can create features and promotions that anticipate these holidays with ads and in-store promotions. Most importantly, they can let the manufacturing and selling communities know their plans well in advance.
• Manufacturers can contact retailers in California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois (five states representing 37 percent of the country's population and have high concentrations of Hispanic residents) to see how they currently treat these holidays. Using this information, they can develop marketing campaigns for these festivals.
• Sales representatives can take the lead in contacting retailers to ask their buyers about their marketing plans for these holidays, and then sell against those plans.
• We can all take the time to learn more about these holidays and our Hispanic fellow citizens.

But manufacturers and retailers shouldn't stop with “Children's Day.” While we're considering new gift-giving holidays, they can also consider “Three King's Day.” Celebrated on January 6 in Mexico, Three King's Day is actually the 12th day of Christmas (as in the song). In fact, many people in Mexico receive the majority of their gifts on this holiday rather than on Christmas.

This gift- giving holiday fits neatly with the latest sales data released by Port Washington, NY-based NPD Group, a retail research company. NPD reports that 2 percent of last year's gift sales volume moved from December into January. It is believed that this was due to those receiving gift cards redeeming them after the first of the year. So, if there is already movement towards shopping in January, why not take advantage of it by getting behind “Three Kings Day” with displays, promotions, and ads?

We can add badly needed revenue and at the same time make our Hispanic citizens feel a stronger part of the American fabric by celebrating their special holidays so that their fiestas become our fiestas.

Viva “El Dia del Ninos!” Viva the gift industry!