Umbrellas have a long history as a mainstream of the promotional merchandise industry. Regularly fluctuating among the list of top ten products, they have – if you will forgive the expression weathered recessionary times and fought back to meet the demands of corporate call time and time again.

The recent tough climate has been no different – yes, there’s been a down turn, but the signs are that this particular product – which re invested itself on numerous occasions – will continue to prosper. That’s certainly the view of promotional companies.

Increasingly though the promotional products market – as in retail sector – competition got tougher and the whole business model had to change. Change is a word which Promotional companies are very familiar, particularly in respect of how the umbrella as a product has developed over the years. The modern umbrella is bright, vibrant and user friendly product, with the recycling aspect looming ever larger with our customers.

Materials have changed over the years. In the old days it would have been whalebone, wood, silk or cotton whereas now they are all synthetic materials – fibre glass, Kevlar, polypropylene and polyester, so almost all materials are now man made. Increasingly , the materials are recycled, and that is a growing trend. In the future we will be selling umbrellas which is 100 per cent recycled and 100 percent recyclable.

This is ground breaking move. At present, when the umbrella comes to the end of it’s life the tendency is for it to end up in the bin. The new umbrella, however can be unscrewed. People can put the plastic component in the plastic bin, metal in the appropriate bin and so on – every part will be recycled.

A broader range of umbrellas and frames has also had to be developed over the years. Technology makes it possible light weight and stronger materials to work with. Most frames with medium to upper quality are 100 per cent fibre glass as opposed to steel. Wood is still popular and distinguishing. It’s warm and familiar and nice, but it now also has to be sustainable.

Children’s umbrella’s which has have been an incredible hit. Whilst last autumn we suffered in terms of our traditional markets – financial, automotive and property – the opposite was true in the public sector. It seems the children’s umbrellas were popular with schools, universities, colleges and hospitals, particularly because they are exposed to the market.

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