On the evening of the 24th (or the morning of the 25th, each to their own), the French will find gifts at the foot of the tree. A secular tradition to which companies also engage at the end of each year. It is in fact customary to offer, for example, a bottle of wine to a client, a block of foie gras to a partner, champagne for a supplier ... "
The business gift allows to maintain a commercial relationship
" , explains Christopher Hermelin, communication and marketing manager at cellar Nicolas, well positioned in this market. “
It remains a fairly established tradition
” during the end of the year celebrations, confirms Vincent Naigeon, founder and manager of the company Ici Ici! Specializing in gift boxes for artisanal products.
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For the players in this market, the end of the year is crucial, since they achieve 80% to 90% of their turnover there. According to some, the Covid-19 has had a boost effect on this custom, which has become a kind of alternative to corporate events, many of which have been canceled, this year as in 2020, due to the pandemic. “
In their business relationships, companies find themselves deprived of trade fairs, lunches and receptions. They therefore fall back on gifts,
"observes Christopher Hermelin, from Nicolas, who sees requests"
on the rise
"on the business side at the end of the year. With the wave of cancellations of corporate events, linked to the fifth wave and the fear of the Omicron variant, they "
find themselves with a budget.
", That the communication and marketing departments"
absolutely want to use so that it is not reduced in 2022
", reports one at Atelier Box to explain the"
strong demand
"observed.
“We can afford to offer champagne in SMEs, while in large companies, we are often on a zero alcohol policy.
"
Nicolas Conrad, director of the Sanks company
An analysis not shared by all market players.
At Sanks, many of whose clients work in services, on the contrary, activity has been declining for two years compared to the pre-Covid period.
“
The business gifts budget is a budget that can be cut back.
Companies have very little visibility and prefer to keep cash warm,
”reports Nicolas Conrad, the manager of this company located in Nantes, Lyon and Épernay.
Wine, champagne and gourmet products
On the other hand, everyone agrees on the gifts favored by companies: bottles of alcohol, wine and champagne above all, and gourmet products, such as boxes or filled baskets (foie gras, chocolate, tea ... ). Testimonials collected by
Le Figaro
confirmed by data from Omyague, the business gift show. In 2019, champagnes, wines and spirits top the products purchased (52.8%), just ahead of gourmet products and gourmet packages (51.2%). "
These are gifts that we are sure not to be wrong
“, Explains Nicolas Conrad, from Sanks. Next come office accessories, such as pens or diaries (40%). Hi-tech products are only favored by 36% of the companies surveyed, ahead of fashion accessories, leather goods and luggage (35.2%).
But the little touches sometimes differ depending on the type of business.
At Sanks, we explain that "
we can afford to offer champagne in SMEs, while in large companies, we are often on a policy of zero alcohol
."
The latter "
have stricter policies vis-à-vis corporate gifts
," says Nicolas Conrad.
Both for image reasons and for legality issues.
Business gifts can indeed fall within the scope of corruption and influence peddling.
To avoid any slippage, some companies have chosen to adopt a code of conduct relating to this practice.
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If customers remain, by far, the main recipients of business gifts (84% according to figures from the Omyague), in a process of "
loyalty
", underlines Vincent Naigeon, of Here Present !, we also find partners, such as business introducers, and suppliers, among the audiences receiving the most attendance.
Companies are not forgetting their employees, even more so in 2021, says Nicolas Conrad of Sanks.
“
Usually, it is the CSEs who give end-of-year gifts to staff,
” he says.
“
But this year, we notice that the bosses directly give gifts to employees outside the CSE, to thank them and retain them after a complicated year because of the Covid.
"