International Day of Happiness is celebrated every year on 20^th March. Snap Products and The Pen Warehouse strive to create an environment that fosters positivity, collaboration, and support, not just on this day but every day.

The HR department worked collaboratively with the Marketing team to create a range of vibrant and cheerful postcards, promoting International Day of Happiness and encouraging staff to take a moment to write a message of appreciation to another employee.

Tiffany Pegg, Hr Administrator, commented: “Monday was all about appreciating the simple joys that bring happiness and fulfilment, such as meaningful relationships, purposeful work, and personal growth.” She added, “it was great to see so many people get involved, with so many lovely words written.”

The Pen Warehouse and Snap Products marked International Women’s Day by getting all the amazing women from every department together for a photo.

Monica Malfa, Marketing Manager, commented: “We’re proud to promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity at The Pen Warehouse and Snap Products, not just today but every day.” She added, “our mission is to build a workplace where women thrive. Taking a photo in aid of International Women’s Day was a beautiful way of celebrating women in our team and around the world.”

For more information, visit internationalwomensday.com, and join in on the push to celebrate women’s achievements, increase visibility, and drive gender parity.

With 2021 coming to a close it’s a good time to reflect on the past twelve months and also shed some light on the plans we have for the year ahead.

The promotional merchandising sector has not been immune to the challenges wrought upon it by the Covid pandemic but despite these industry-wide headwinds The Pen Warehouse has achieved record-breaking restorative growth in sales over the past twelve months. 

These excellent results have only been made possible by the grit and determination of each and every team member at The Pen Warehouse and the core values in which we share in our work together. This year we welcomed an additional 39 staff members and we are delighted to have them onboard. Our team, and the values we foster, underpins all the good we do. It’s through our collective efforts that we make the greatest difference and I regard it as a privilege to be part of it. 

I’m really looking forward to 2022 as we have so many exhilarating projects in the pipeline. The acquisition of new brands, new printing technologies and new operating systems. For me, the most exciting of these will be the launch and development of systems to improve the employee experience. The Pandemic has brought about change for employers and employees alike, some of which will be irreversible, and our focus in 2022 will be to create a working environment that reflects these changes to everyone’s benefit. The business landscape is changing at a breathtaking pace, hard lessons have been learnt in 2021 and change is vital so our teams are equipped and supported to face the challenges ahead. As CEO of The Pen Warehouse I am completely aware of the importance of these changes.

Our success in 2021 is a credit to our wonderful staff that understand the need to support our loyal customer base and this will continue to be central to our culture and values as we enter 2022.

On behalf of the board of Directors I would like to thank our staff, customers and suppliers for their unwavering support in 2021 and we wish you all a very happy and successful 2022.

Neil Cleere

Managing Director

On Monday 8 November, Brian Hayward, Director at PAGE Partnership, visited The Pen Warehouse with a small group of catalogue members for their annual meet up. The day started with a tour of Innovations House including the factory, offices, studio and showroom.

The afternoon continued with a company update, outlining challenges, achievements and objectives for the future, followed by a presentation of brand-new products landing in 2022. The evening included a luxury private dining experience in a relaxed environment to catch up on both a business and personal level.

Monica Malfa, Marketing Programme Manager at The Pen Warehouse commented: “It was so good to welcome PAGE Partnership back and meet with familiar faces, sharing each others’ experiences and gaining invaluable feedback to help us build back better.”

The Pen Warehouse’s commitment to regain exceptional levels of customer experience and unrivalled service remains a core objective for 2022. Now out of survival mode and into recovery, the teams are rebuilding, processes updated and new structures implemented.

On Friday we celebrated all things spooky by hosting a spooky bake off, a spooky face off and a charity bake sale.

Winners included Beata and Angelika who both received a £20 Amazon voucher. Beata won Spookiest Cake and Angelika won Spookiest Face.

The bake sale raised over £100 for Frimley Health Charity – a huge thank you goes out to all our employees for participating and donating. It was a day filled with fun and delicious treats, and a fantastic way to support a charity close to our hearts.

For more information on Frimley Health Charity please click here.

Family Business United founder and champion of the family business sector, Paul Andrews explains, “There are over 5 million family firms across the UK and not only do they employ significant numbers of people, generate significant tax revenues and support local communities, they are the backbone of the UK economy. All too often the endeavours of the family business sector are dismissed in favour of their non-family counterparts and the aim of National Family Business Day is to champion the sector, put family firms on the map and help to dispel the myths surrounding the family business sector.”

The Pen Warehouse are trade-exclusive suppliers of promotional products and sell through a network of distributors – many of which are also family businesses. The promotional merchandise industry is very much a community of like-minded individuals with strong family values. Celebrating National Family Business Day is a fantastic way to help put the industry firmly on the map.

At the beginning of the year, The Pen Warehouse was shortlisted for the Family Business of the Year Awards 2021 and this was a huge achievement and great boost during such a challenging year.

Helen Dyl, Operations Director of The Pen Warehouse commented, “This company was founded by my father, and our MD, over 25 years ago and is now in its second generation. Through hard work, brilliant vision, and an amazing team we are still here today.”

If you’re a family business and want to get involved, simply use the hashtag #GBFamilyBizDay.

For more information on Family Business United please visit familybusinessunited.com.