With many special events postponed in 2020 — weddings, graduations and everything else — the tabletop industry is poised to meet what it expects will be a strong demand for its products later this year and beyond.

The industry, which conducted its bi-annual New York Tabletop Show virtually last week, was hit hard by the pandemic. For example, upwards of 70% of weddings, a major revenue-driver for the category, were postponed last year.

Delayed Events
Of couples that married in 2020, many delayed their receptions to the first half of this year (52%) or the fall (43%), according to a survey by the wedding publication The Knot. While people spent an average of $11 more on wedding gifts in 2020, says Nancy Lee, President of the gift registry platform MyRegistry.com,  the number of gifts purchased was “down dramatically.”

The pent-up demand gives reason for optimism. In many cases table top companies are expecting sales to pick up starting with the holiday season this year and “everybody should be ready for 2022” when there will be a strong uptick in business, says Lee.

Taking Cues From Fashion?
In addition to just opening the faucet to release the pressure produced by a flood of events, the industry could take some marketing cues from the seasonal nature of the fashion industry (although even that is changing), says Jenny Lee, CEO of an event-planning company that also operates a retail store in New York.

“We know of the spending on home during the pandemic, but the tabletop world didn’t benefit as much,” she says. “That’s because it [tabletop] is not talking to people.  Fashion and beauty have done a great job of that since no one needs a new wardrobe every season, but it is presented that way.  We need to have conversation around, ‘When you go to a fine restaurant you eat on bone china, why wouldn’t you have that also be in your home…because it might break?’ People weren’t spending, for example, as much on fashion last year. That should mean they are putting some of that back into tabletop. But they are not because of the way we are packaging” tabletop.

Among recent developments:

• Tabletops Unlimited launched a new lifestyle collection with Dolly Parton. The line features a wide variety of products that range from assorted platters and bowls with delicate floral and plaid designs, to wood serving boards and chip and dip sets in shapes such as guitars and butterflies. It also includes cereal bowls with quotes from Parton, wicker basket white bakers, water bottles and a tea kettle. The licensing deal follows Parton’s long-running agreement with Williams-Sonoma for housewares and tabletop, including most recently a tea towel, a portion of the proceeds from which benefits No Kid Hungry, which helps feed children in the U.S.
• Fanattik signed a license for MGM’s Rocky franchise, targeting gift stores in the UK with home décor, glassware and barware. The company’s initial discussions with retailers for Rocky, which is marking its 45th anniversary this year of the film’s first release, have “leaned toward” Father’s Day and Christmas promotions, says Managing Director Anthony Marks. The deal also features image rights for Dolph Lundgren (Drago), Mr. T (Clubber Lang) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), all of whom will be featured on product and packaging.
  “With no new film releases, our focus on iconic, evergreen titles has been proven to be the right strategy,” says Marks. “Retailers are looking for licensed product with multi-generational appeal and an existing fan base that is looking for gifts that remind them of happier pre-Covid times.”
• Despite having launched last year in the midst of the pandemic, Gibson Overseas’ Martha Stewart line of dinnerware and other products have become among the company’s “fastest growing” collections in having gained distribution through more than 1,000 stores. Gibson expects a “healthy increase” in total sales this year as consumers “continue to refresh tableware as a quick and easy affordable luxury,” says David Nicklin, SVP of Marketing and Licensing. “Consumers have created new relationships with food during the various lockdowns and our respective approaches to dining have been redefined as well,” says Nicklin. “The companies able to offer a wide range of tableware – including licensed products from trusted names and brands – will be in the best position moving forward.
• Zrike Brands is readying Dr. Seuss and “Schitt’s Creek” mugs and kitchen textiles, the latter being the brand’s first license for tabletop/kitchenware. The Schitt’s Creek collection will feature actors’ images, key phrases and depictions of the show’s Rose Apothecary store. Zrike also is readying Peanuts products under a licensing agreement it signed in fall 2019 and originally planned to launch last year.
• Lenox Corp., acquired last fall by private equity firm Centre Lane Partners, cut its SKU assortment to 7,000 from 20,000 with goal of and eventually reaching 4,000, in trimming its line of some ornaments and figurines as well as wood and metal accessories, said CEO Mats Ryder, who last week left the company is being replaced by former SureFit CEO Bob Burbank.
  Lenox’s core business is centered on its own Dansk and Reed & Barton brands, but it also has licenses for Kate Spade, bridal brand Marchesa, Disney and interior designers Brian Gluckstein and Thomas O’Brien. Lenox didn’t renew some niche licenses, including those for interior design magazine Domino Media and architect Luca Andrisani