After taking their conference virtual last year due to the pandemic, Fluid were delighted to get their teams and trusted supplier friends together again for a face to face event, this year with the theme of Reconnection!
On Friday 1st October the Fluid team gathered at the exclusive former Ryder Cup venue, The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales. An action packed weekend was ahead of them, starting with collecting a sustainably sourced goodie bag and grabbing a Welsh cake before settling into their home for the weekend.
The theme of the weekend being Reconnection, Friday night was informal drinks and networking with a quiz hosted by Fluid’s very own Technical Director, James Stoddern. Saturday then saw an early start ahead of an action packed day which kicked off with an Icebreaker session headed up by Financial Controller, Miranda Hope, where the team all got to know each other that little bit better. Next up was the Fluid friends showcase, where delegates chatted to our friends and explored their latest product offerings. Fluid’s MD Miles Lovegrove gave an inspiring address around “Unleashing your inner Black Panther” which really fired up all of the family and friends present. The afternoon then consisted of further breakout sessions hosted by Senior Leadership team members, Kyle Scott, Aaron Loveridge and Jon Birrell exploring ideas around sustainability, connecting with colleagues and delighting customers. The Fluid team then rounded off a very busy day with a competitive team building session.
The evening was a drinks reception and then a big birthday themed gala dinner and awards ceremony, celebrating Fluid’s 15th year of delivering Meaningful Merchandise! The awards honored the stand out moments from the last year with the Fluid family awards alongside the Fluid friends awards for the very first time. The awards acknowledge achievements both internally and externally, that go above and beyond expectations.
This years Fluid friends award winners were:
Supplier of the Year – Mid Ocean Brands
Specialist Supplier of the Year – Essential Embroidery
Customer Service Team of the Year – Xindao
Finance Team of the Year – Headwear
Account Manager of the Year – Darren Fuller (Pinpoint)
Personality of the Year – Darren Fuller (Pinpoint)
Special Achievement Award – Roddy Rutland (Headwear)
Best Marketing Support – PF Concept
Deadline Champion – Xindao
Fluid Futures Leader – Xindao
Most Dependable Fluid Friend – Xindao
Product / Range of the Year – Xindao (Box)
Sustainable Product of the Year – Essential Embroidery (Neutral clothing)
Proactivity Support Hero – Sophie Kelembeck (Xindao)
Post Brexit Excellence – Mid Ocean Brands
The Fluid family award winners were:
Team Awesome – Sales
Pinnacle Award- Charlotte Melvin
B Corp Champion – Nicki White
Most Profitable Sales Person – Charlotte Melvin
Brand Ambassador – Marie Bennett
Sales Hero – Josh Bristow & Ben Trim
Support Hero – Dan Avery
Bright Beginnings Award – Björn Karregat
Stand Out Moment of the Year – Laura Ralph
Head of Department of the Year – Marc Barbery
The night was rounded off with celebrations and lots of “dancing like no one’s watching” until the small hours!
John Walker Fluid’s Commercial Director comments, “This has been our biggest conference to date, the facilities and venue have been amazing, everything was tip top! It’s been so good to be able to catch up face to face with our Fluid friends and family after so long. I’d like to thank the conference team for all their help and as ever, our Fluid friends for their unwavering support.”
Miles Lovegrove, Fluid’s Managing Director adds, “Wow, what a weekend! It was fantastic to chat to so many of our team and share our successes. Thanks to everyone for attending, also a huge thank you to the conference team in making the event run so smoothly! A big well done to all of our award winners! A great time was had by all!”
Russ Coleman of Preseli (one of Fluid’s supplier friends) adds “Fluid absolutely smashed it with the organisation and execution of a very professional event, all rounded off with an excellent gala dinner and awards. We had a great time so thanks very much for including us in your celebrations!”
Published on: October 14th, 2021
