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60 Seconds with…Wayne Greensmith
Listed under: Interviews
Published: Friday, February 09, 2007
Wayne Greensmith talks about his role at Fiskars
How did you become involved in the craft industry?
Marketing has been my passion since I completed a year in industry at Boots Head Office where I worked launching some of the UK leading brands. I graduated with a business degree from Leeds University in 2004, and shortly after this I joined Hallmark Cards (manufactured cards) where I held the role as assistant product manager for the Christmas category. In this position I developed the boxed Christmas card range.
I think one of the most rewarding aspects of marketing is receiving positive feedback from the consumer regarding a product or a campaign that you have developed.
What does your role brings to the market?
As brand manager I work towards building the Fiskars brand in through marketing communications such as advertising and PR. In addition, new product development is key to the role. I aim to keep Fiskars customers and craft consumers intrigued and interested by launching new items. I believe my role has an impact and, to an extent, a responsibility to grow the market.
What are the key strengths of Fiskars?
Quality is absolutely number one. With a lot of cheap imports now on the market it is important that the company has sustained its position as a leader in quality products. Customers are not going to come back to the range of items is unreliable.
The key strength is leading the way in product innovation. There have been endless products which we have developed and launched and subsequently another company has manufactured the same item. We don’t have a problem with this, in a way it is a compliment and means we must be doing something right!
Our 2006 marketing strap line was ‘Tools of Inspiration’; this is what we hope the products do. It is not just about buying an item; it is about the after effects. We want the range to continue to encourage people to craft and hopefully inspire customers to become more creative.
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job?
I find it very rewarding to attend the consumer and trade shows. This is what really matters, seeing the customer’s responses to the products. It’s great to be out talking to consumers - especially when a product has good feedback.
How do you view the craft industry at present?
I still believe the market is growing, despite some views that it is slowing down. Personally I feel it has been saturated with suppliers, therefore the perception is that the market size is decreasing. My view is that there is still the same level of consumer spending (and more) however, there are just a lot more of us now trying to get our share of that spending.
Crafters are becoming increasingly professional and canny! Some of the cards produced now are as good as anything manufactured.
What are the future plans for the Fiskars?
There are lots of exciting plans – the new product range is being launched at Craft, Hobby and Stitch International in February. We also have a fantastic selection of new items that will be launched in the summer. We will be exhibiting at the Hobbycraft consumer shows in November and yet again we are investing heavily in advertising and PR. In terms of any exhibition, be it consumer or trade, demonstrations are key within this industry. At Fiskars we heavily invest in supporting the customer with demonstrators, we see education of the consumer as key to the continued success of Fiskars and the craft industry as a whole. We also have the new website to look forward to later in the year.
Marketing has been my passion since I completed a year in industry at Boots Head Office where I worked launching some of the UK leading brands. I graduated with a business degree from Leeds University in 2004, and shortly after this I joined Hallmark Cards (manufactured cards) where I held the role as assistant product manager for the Christmas category. In this position I developed the boxed Christmas card range.
I think one of the most rewarding aspects of marketing is receiving positive feedback from the consumer regarding a product or a campaign that you have developed.
What does your role brings to the market?
As brand manager I work towards building the Fiskars brand in through marketing communications such as advertising and PR. In addition, new product development is key to the role. I aim to keep Fiskars customers and craft consumers intrigued and interested by launching new items. I believe my role has an impact and, to an extent, a responsibility to grow the market.
What are the key strengths of Fiskars?
Quality is absolutely number one. With a lot of cheap imports now on the market it is important that the company has sustained its position as a leader in quality products. Customers are not going to come back to the range of items is unreliable.
The key strength is leading the way in product innovation. There have been endless products which we have developed and launched and subsequently another company has manufactured the same item. We don’t have a problem with this, in a way it is a compliment and means we must be doing something right!
Our 2006 marketing strap line was ‘Tools of Inspiration’; this is what we hope the products do. It is not just about buying an item; it is about the after effects. We want the range to continue to encourage people to craft and hopefully inspire customers to become more creative.
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job?
I find it very rewarding to attend the consumer and trade shows. This is what really matters, seeing the customer’s responses to the products. It’s great to be out talking to consumers - especially when a product has good feedback.
How do you view the craft industry at present?
I still believe the market is growing, despite some views that it is slowing down. Personally I feel it has been saturated with suppliers, therefore the perception is that the market size is decreasing. My view is that there is still the same level of consumer spending (and more) however, there are just a lot more of us now trying to get our share of that spending.
Crafters are becoming increasingly professional and canny! Some of the cards produced now are as good as anything manufactured.
What are the future plans for the Fiskars?
There are lots of exciting plans – the new product range is being launched at Craft, Hobby and Stitch International in February. We also have a fantastic selection of new items that will be launched in the summer. We will be exhibiting at the Hobbycraft consumer shows in November and yet again we are investing heavily in advertising and PR. In terms of any exhibition, be it consumer or trade, demonstrations are key within this industry. At Fiskars we heavily invest in supporting the customer with demonstrators, we see education of the consumer as key to the continued success of Fiskars and the craft industry as a whole. We also have the new website to look forward to later in the year.
As a small independent craft retailer I find it very difficult to sell fiskars products at a competative price since you started suppling to our local tesco’s, and now customers tell me how much cheaper they are, also because of the large craft retailers that are appearing and undercutting us everywhere, ie the range and craft central. Customers buy from these larger stores and then when they have a problem with how to use them they turn up in my shop asking me how because the likes of tescos don’t demo or know how to use them.
Yes i agree with you H. Just got back from the trade show and would love to stock fiskars goods but like youself i can not match Tesco prices. I have always plugged the big cutters as this is all i use in my workshops and by doing so have sold loads but you know what there are lots of new products out there now so for me it is time for a change as long as what i am using has my approval i will sell it and this for me has always been fiskars because i have had a cutter for at least 6 years and it is still going strong but they have changed they are not loyal to the craft shop so i will not be loyal to them either. I did see some pretty good cutters out there so watch this space i will keep you posted.