Getting Fruity With Languages
With a turnover of over £1 million and a staff of 30, Hitchin-based greeting card publishers Pineapple Park sells into a number of international markets, including Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Israel, Canada and Australia. The company also imports from a French publisher and has recently imported its first licensed range, featuring Winnie the Pooh .
Sarah Parker, Director of Pineapple Park, points out the benefits the business has gained from training in French: Learning French has enabled us to have better communication with a Belgian publisher, who we recently dealt with, who tends not to speak much English.
A further positive aspect of speaking another language is apparent when they exhibit at the NEC International Spring Fair each year. Being able to communicate in another language has helped us enormously when it comes to coping with the growing number of overseas visitors who visit our stand.
Although many cards are exported with text in English, in some markets, such as Denmark and Spain, the client has supplied the text for the publisher to incorporate into its design runs.
With one of the company's main Spanish customers there are still barriers to doing business due to the lack of adequate language skills on both sides. Our Spanish distributor does not speak much English, so we have to muddle through, which to us is unsatisfactory. Sarah is now considering attending a Spanish course as part of the Skills for Trade and Investment programme, through which she attended an intermediate French course.
I get a tremendous reaction from our French publisher when I use my French. They are very complimentary and tell me how much they appreciate it, even if they can speak English. Now I have a better understanding of what is being said in meetings, which can now be conducted in French and can last up to three hours. The French publisher has also started sending e-mails and basic written correspondence in French.
At an exhibition, even if we don't have whole conversation in the language, if you have a few key phrases, people are receptive to talking to you. You put yourself above your competitors who stand there with a blank face, whereas we are taking a more proactive approach.
www.pineapplepark.co.uk