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 |
Specialist Supplier of the Year |
Customer Service Team of the Year |
Finance Team of the Year |
Mid Ocean Brands |
Essential Embroidery |
Xindao |
Headwear |
Account Manager of the Year |
Personality of the Year |
Special Achievement Award |
Best Marketing Support |
Darren Fuller (Pinpoint) |
Darren Fuller (Pinpoint) |
Roddy Rutland (Headwear) |
PF Concept |
Deadline Champion |
Fluid Futures Leader |
Most Dependable Fluid Friend |
Product / Range of the Year |
Xindao |
Xindao |
Xindao |
Xindao (Box) |
Sustainable Product of the Year |
Proactivity Support Hero |
Post-Brexit Excellence |
Essential Embroidery (Neutral Clothing) |
Sophie Kelembeck (Xindao) |
Mid Ocean Brands |
The Fluid Family award winners were:
Team Awesome |
Pinnacle Award |
B Corp Champion |
Most Profitable Sales Person |
Sales |
Charlotte Melvin |
Nicki White |
Charlotte Melvin |
Brand Ambassador |
Sales Hero |
Support Hero |
Bright Beginnings Award |
Marie Bennett |
John Bristow & Ben Trim |
Dan Avery |
Björn Karregat |
Stand Out Moment of the Year |
Head of Department of the Year |
Laura Ralph |
Marc Barberry |
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 with so many of our team and share our successes. Thanks to everyone for attending, also a huge thank you to the conference team for 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!”
