Light fantastic: from left Richard Pask, Director of Thomas Carroll Management Services, Gary Webb and Bruce Mitchell of Yankee Candle and Brynmor Williams, Group Director of Thomas Carroll.

10 Thomas Carroll

PROFILE

What is the structure of the company in the UK?

Based in Avonmouth, Bristol, the Yankee Candle Europe headquarters services the whole of the European territory and further afield, with a total of 55 countries, including markets such as the Middle East and Asia. Over recent months we have evolved our UK structure to maximise all opportunities and ensure we continue to effectively represent our brand values.

We moved into Avonmouth in June 2012 to accommodate our growing business and team. Set in eight acres, the premises are comprised of warehouse facilities, state-of-the-art offices, space for 30 HGV lorries and 16 loading bays spanning over 165,000 square feet. Since the move, our team has expanded to include over 250 members of staff. The executive team includes: Cathy Mayor, Director of Finance; Larissa Meixner-Adam, Director of Distributors; Gary Webb, Director of Human Resources, David Crawford, Director of Wholesale and Jenny Cox, Director of Retail.

Interview: Peter Acton

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Yankee Candle Europe is a client

of Thomas Carroll Management

Services, the health and safety

division of the Group. The Scene took

a trip to meet the team, accompanied

by Richard Pask, Director of Thomas

Carroll Management Services and

Brynmor Williams, Group Director.

11www.thomascarroll.co.uk

PROFILE

How many Yankee candles are produced annually?

Annually, we produce more than 100 million candles and wax products, which include our Classic jars, Samplers®, votives, wax melts and tea lights. Our Classic apothecary jars are our best–selling collection which is famous around the world.

Is there a total worldwide turnover figure?

For 2013, we were particularly proud to have reached a mid-double digit growth for the brand outside the US, compared to the previous year. We’re also pleased to be able to reveal that 2014 is already proving to be a record-breaking year for our European division, with our spring trade show season surpassing all previous figures across the board.

In how many countries are Yankee Candles sold and what is the biggest international market?

From our European headquarters we supply and service 55 countries and, of these territories, the UK is the largest market. As we continue to evolve the brand, we intend to increase our presence in each

market with the support of our in-house team, supportive network of distributors and our dedicated consumers.

What are the peak times for sales?

The festive season remains our best selling season, closely followed by autumn and winter. Spring and summer are just as important, with European consumers embracing home fragrance all year round and not just in the home. For example, we all feel that summer begins and ends all too soon – before we know it autumn is here and the shops are full of autumnal accessories. So we have developed two collections which will start and extend summer 2014. For the first time you can welcome in summer with our Fruit-a-licious Classic collection, and extend it long into autumn with our new Indian Summer scents. As well as seasonal gift buying occasions, Mother’s Day and Easter are our specialty and each year we provide new, inspirational gift ideas and gift sets for our consumers. This year we have evolved our new-look gift sets to offer on-trend packaging, filled with a large range of our famous fragrances and candles, as the perfect gift.

What are the secrets of producing a world-leading scented candle?

Research, knowledge and trust. As well as traveling the world to discover fragrances and ingredients, it’s just as important and effective to listen to our customers and our consumers.

Our approach to research and our experience in the industry gives us unrivalled knowledge; it’s this that allows us to create the fragrances people continually trust and which make them smile. We identify key trends from around the world and evolve new, innovative fragrances specifically for the international market to give consumers the chance to enjoy them in their home.

What influences the new fragrances you develop?

Quite literally, the world: its natural fragrances, people, experiences, memories and trends. The floral fragrances we launched for this spring include Kiku from Japan, Hibiscus from Korea, and Champaca from South Asia. While they are very international fragrances, they are approachable and reachable for all European consumers.

Yankee visited more than 30 countries last year. Our product teams travel the world – from South Africa, Brazil and Chile to China, Australia, Singapore and Scotland, always in search of new influences that make people smile. It's not just flowers and fruit, it can be the smell of a soft sweater, or the smell of a leather saddle in a horse barn in the summer. You never know when you are going to find something that makes people

Piled High: Inside the giant Yankee Candle European distribution centre in Avonmouth

We are planning to keep creating what

we are famous for: new, innovative

and beautiful fragrances which,

quite simply, make people smile."

12 Thomas Carroll

PROFILE

go 'wow!'. For example, one of our best-selling fragrances smells of fresh sheets, while another smells of men's cologne – what people like is amazing, and so is finding the things that make them smile. Influences come from every direction; your eyes just have to be open.

What differentiates Yankee Candle from other candle manufacturers?

It really is emotion and memory that differentiates Yankee Candle from every other candle seller.

All of our scents are blended to be authentic, to be so realistic that they have the power to evoke memories, to make someone breathe in, sit back, remember and smile. There's a quote we use which sums up the ethos of our brand: “We do not sell candles. We make fragrances that connect to the emotions which make people happy; this is what Yankee Candle is about.

If a consumer buys a candle because it looks beautiful, to put on a table and look nice but never burn, that isn’t our business. If a consumer buys a candle because it smells good but that is all, then this isn’t our business either. We want to make candles which a consumer can pick up to smell and smile – that’s the Yankee Candle secret, we make people happy.”

What future plans are there for developing the brand going forward?

We have just completed our European spring trade show season where, for the first time, we launched every new product and fragrance for the entire year. The response was phenomenal, not only to the new launches but also to the strategy. As a result we broke our

all-time record by achieving combined sales increase in excess of

70%. It is important to give our retailers the

service they deserve, and to ensure this we are continuing to implement new systems, updates and processes. We are planning

to keep creating what we are famous

for: new, innovative and beautiful fragrances which,

quite simply, make people smile.

Visit www.yankeecandle.co.uk

PROFILE

We do not sell candles. We make

fragrances that connect to the emotions

which make people happy; this is

what Yankee Candle is about.”Why did you choose to work with Thomas Carroll Health and Safety?

We always take time to research all available options when we are sourcing new suppliers and, when it comes down to health and safety, it’s paramount that we’re comfortable we have the best possible company. With regards to Thomas Carroll Health and Safety, the proposal was extremely strong, particularly in terms of the quality of service we were looking for.

What range of health and safety services have you engaged on?

The health and safety management system service provided by Thomas Carroll is the main choice for us. This provides a comprehensive structure for our business, to ensure not only compliance but also a sound and robust management system. This enables us to create and maintain a safe working environment for everyone. The supporting structure enables Yankee Candle leadership to implement and manage an excellent health and safety system, with Thomas Carroll providing structure, guidance and support, including training at all levels.

What unique health and safety challenges does Yankee Candle face at the distribution hub that Thomas Carroll assists with?

There are no ‘unique’ aspects in the conventional sense, for example hazards or risks, rather we required a complete health and safety overhaul to bring our management systems up to date. For Yankee Candle, Thomas Carroll’s expertise is significant and well tailored to our needs.

A tailored health and safety system

13www.thomascarroll.co.uk