Central Coast business Personalised Favours has been named Medium Retailer of the Year by the National Retail Association.
The award recognises businesses with 20-199 employees which continue to innovate and grow at a time of disruption, positioning themselves as a desirable brand to work for, and buy from, while providing a unique customer experience.
Founder Melissa Wilkinson said she was excited by the win.
“We were happy just to be finalists along such incredible brands but to win was mind-blowing,” she said.
The business had its beginnings in 2009 when Wilkinson, newly engaged, was looking for wedding favours with a unique, sentimental twist.
“When a Google search turned up only cookie-cutter offerings, I knew it just wouldn’t do,” she said.
Recognising that there was a gap in the lucrative market, she quickly established her own online store, and filled it with personalised, affordable products for all of life’s celebrations.
With a background in industrial design, she had worked with big brands like Disney and Adidas and knew exactly what she wanted her business to be.
What started as an eBay side-hustle operating from the dingiest corner of her garage soon turned into a full-blown business, with Personalised Favours becoming one of the most dominant players in the Australian wedding industry.
In 2013, Wilkinson joined forces with brother-in-law, Matthew Mosse-Robinson, and they transformed the backyard operation into a multimillion-dollar international enterprise.
The immense product range now covers gifts for birthdays, kids, corporates, pets, and every recipient or occasion in-between.
Today, Personalised Favours is the flagship brand of the Foresight Online Group, which has grown to incorporate six successful e-commerce businesses operating throughout Australasia and the US.
It operates from a warehouse at West Gosford, dispatching more than 100,000 orders across Australia, the Asia-Pacific and the US every year.
In 2021, the business was featured in the Australian Financial Review Fast100 list.
Wilkinson said the company is soon to launch its Christmas range and is ever expanding.
“We recently bought some embroidery machines so we will soon be launching an embroidery range,” she said.
The company imports items largely from overseas, although it also supports a few local suppliers.
“All decoration is done in-house at West Gosford,” Wilkinson said.
“We sell gifts for every occasion and sell to a lot of corporates as well.
“Our engraving service is very popular – we have eight artwork options which can be customised or customers can supply their own design.
“To speed up turnaround time for those customers we are about to introduce Dynamic Imaging, so customers can do their design work online quickly and it should all be operational by the end of the year.
“Design at point of purchase is expected to improve conversion rates and speed up turnaround times.
“Our aim is to take a gift to the next level by making it unique and personalised.”
You can follow the business on TikTok, Instagram or Facebook or check out the range at personalisedfavours.com.au.
Terry Collins