Swing Back In Time
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In 2025, Swing Gifts are celebrating 50 years in the industry so we caught up with Andrew Irving to learn a little more about their wholesale story…
What’s the origin story of Swing Gifts, and how has the business evolved over the decades?
In 1975, my mother, Marie Irving, and her friend Jenny Swann decided to start a wholesale business; that’s the SW and ING in Swing. I vividly remember the first box of samples arriving from Taiwan; it was full of random board games. Let’s just say none of them went on to become Monopoly. A spare room at the family home became the company headquarters, and my first job as a nine-year-old was to apply a purple stamp to the top of all the pages in the order book.
Swing exhibited at a trade fair event shortly thereafter, and amusingly we wrote more orders for some of the props that we had used to decorate the stand. Subsequently, Marie and Jenny jumped on a plane to Thailand and had the items manufactured. Eventually the company leased an office/showroom in South Yarra; it was a Victorian double-fronted home; until then everything was stored in our living room.
Jenny Swann sold her share of the business to Heather Hider in the early 1980s, and my grandmother Margareta also joined the business. By the mid-1980s, the company had found a nice niche in the packaging sector, supplying cake and chocolate tins to Darrell Lea and Haigh’s chocolates. Then in the late 1980s the company expanded into Christmas décor.
In 1993, after five years as a corporate banker with ANZ, I joined the company as financial controller. My Mum gradually introduced me to the product side. As I had spent most of my university days working casually in the warehouse it was fairly familiar territory. Heather retired around 1998, and Swing became a wholly owned family business supporting three generations of our family.
We moved to a Cheltenham HQ in 1999, and after five years, again moved to our current location in Moorabbin Airport. I suppose it was the mid-2000s when we really started to grow, largely driven by our expansion into home décor. My Mum retired in 2007 after a solid 32-year career; one she should be very proud of.
Today we boast a state-of the art distribution facility of approximately 6500 square meters and showrooms throughout Australia in partnership with our agents. I have two children who have both spent their university days also working casually in the warehouse. And who knows? Maybe one day they will have a vision to set the company on a new pathway.
What values or principles have been central to Swings success and longevity in the wholesale industry?
We absolutely cherish our independent retailers. Our entire ethos is devised with their wellbeing in mind. Primarily we are a service business. Products continually evolve, and it is our role to provide a constant flow of new and innovative affordable home décor and giftware. Scruples are everything in this industry; it is essential that a company acts with the greatest of integrity at all times, something we are very proud of.
What are some of the standout products or ranges that have defined your brand and kept retailers coming back?
I can proudly say that we are a market leader in the Christmas décor field. Over 40 years we have seen a lot of wholesalers come and go in this space. It is tricky to get right. We have an excellent supply network that stretches well beyond the normal boundaries. In recent times, our lighting ranges have performed very well. Again, this is a tricky space, and we ensure that we adopt the correct electrical safety standards for Australia and New Zealand. We are also very strong in glassware, ceramics, and polyresin, resin… but really there are no boundaries; we work with all mediums from time to time.
Biggest lesson in wholesale over the years?
If you want to be a wholesaler, stick to wholesale. Once you cross that grey line of retail, it gets very blurry, and you will be compromised. You only have to look to other industries for guidance. Successful global brands support their dealerships. We in turn support our retailers; we would never compete directly with them.
We’ve calculated roughly over 60 events and more with Reed Gift Fairs over the years - what keeps you coming back to Reed Gift Fairs?
Trade shows are still the best events to meet new customers and service those from afar. I would say that 90% of our active customer base discovered us at a trade fair. They also provide a wonderful opportunity to catch up with longstanding customers. I really enjoy seeing our customers, taking time for a coffee and a personal chat. We are all in this industry together; we all get along pretty well. In my humble opinion, Reed Gift Fairs still provides the best trade platform available in the market, and that keeps us coming back.
Who is the Swing customer?
One of the first tips my mother gave me was to have a vision of our customer. She, of course, shared her vision with me, and I suppose that vision has remained consistent over time. I guess I will keep that secret for now, but I can tell you it is a “she,” and we try our best to put a smile on her face with innovative, stylish home décor, giftware and Christmas cheer!
What will you be doing to celebrate 50 years?
Watch this space. We will run some fun promotions and certainly celebrate with our staff in style. We have some amazing staff and customers who have been with us for decades. We are all one big, supportive family, to be honest.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself!
I am fortunate enough to have a cattle farm in Victoria’s high country. I am very hands-on and love working with the animals with a terrific farm manager to help run the farm. We raise about 100 Hereford/Shorthorn cattle and turn the calves off to backgrounders at 10 months of age. Honestly, I couldn’t pursue one career without the other. Such a juxtaposition, but somehow it works for me.