Several of us celebrated the New year last night with a dinner at Bok Choy in Brighton. It was wonderful to experience the misci and dragon in the restaurant and the fireworks on the street in front. The photo below does not do the fireworks justice, just after I took this, we were engulfed by noise, flashes and smoke.
Chinese New year is an important season for newsagents. It is not ‘minor’ as we have seen it in the past. While we have ‘played’ in my newsagencies, last night told me we’ve not done enough. Next year we will go bigger, brighter and have way more fun.
I see a Chinese New Year season as embracing multiple categories and including some serious retail theatre in-store to celebrate the season and what the year will bring.
While over dinner last night I learnt about how the Chinese celebrate, last week, I was at a Chinese New Year dinner at a Malaysian restaurant. It was different again. Both experiences underscore for me the opportunity to embrace the various asian cultures and how they celebrate Chinese New Year.
This is about more than selling cards, scratch tickets or red packets. It’s about understanding the culture and how we can better connect.