Caroline Kennedy

Not Just Blarney
May 19, 2007

Getting back to the Ireland Show that I talked about at the beginning of the week…

I’ve been to Showcase Ireland, the Irish gift trade show that is held once a year in January in Dublin. This is a gem of a show and really presents a wonderful variety of both traditional and stylish, fashion-forward gifts, apparel, jewelry and home décor products. The Irish vendors blend the best of their traditions and what works for today and appeals to today’s customers. It’s not all shamrocks, leprechauns and Guinness novelties.

What surprises me is how little of that good more contemporary Irish design doesn’t make it to this “side of the pond.” The majority of the merchandise exhibited at Ireland Show was very traditional. There were parian china with shamrock or Irish rose designs, leprechaun novelties, Claddagh and Celtic knot jewelry, beautiful tweeds, knits and linens, imported Irish foods, and the like – all high quality things that you would typically find in an Irish-American specialty gift shop or Irish souvenir shop catering to the American tourist..

Curious as to why some of the more modern or “updated” designs aren’t shown or brought in, I asked several vendors why. I was more or less told the same thing by all: “The buyers who come here know what they want and what will sell, and don’t look at anything new or different. They feel that the more contemporary designs won’t appeal to their core customer.” Those customers, mostly Baby Boomers and older, want the traditional shamrocks and Claddaghs, not contemporary Irish designs, which appeal to younger customers.”

Hmmm… Seems to me, something is missing here. And this is something that all businesses need to pay attention to: If all you are doing is serving your current customer base and not trying to court the next generation, how can you expect your business to continue to prosper?

Posted by Caroline Kennedy on May 19, 2007 | Comments (0)