As Father’s Day is fast approaching, we here at Fisher Jones Greenwood thought it was time to revisit the origins of the holiday to remind everyone what the day is really about (and to buy a card!)
While the exact origin of Father’s Day is unclear, the most popular theory suggests that it was first celebrated by Sonara Smart Dodd in Washington in 1910 in order to honour her father, William Jackson Smart, a civil war veteran who successfully raised his six children as a single parent. Sonara originally intended for the celebration to coincide with her father’s birthday on the June 5th but delayed the event until the third Sunday of June in order to allow the pastors sufficient time to prepare their sermons.
However, the holiday was nearly forgotten in the 1920s when Dodd was unable to promote it any further due to her studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. Dodd returned from her studies in the 1930s with the goal of raising awareness of the celebration at a national level. Unsurprisingly, she had the support of the businesses that would benefit the most from the holiday, but this wasn’t always a blessing. The holiday was resisted for many decades due to the population seeing it as a crude attempt at recreating the commercial success of Mother’s Day.
Nevertheless, President Lyndon B Johnson gave the first presidential proclamation designating the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day in 1966 and it was written into law by Richard Nixon in 1972, over 60 years after it was first celebrated.
Regardless of whether the holiday was established for purely commercial reasons, Father’s Day is now celebrated across the world with the US alone spending $12.5bn in 2014. Is your business ready to meet the demand? If not, it may be time to stock up on the usual Father’s Day treats and make them readily available, as convenience will be key for consumers.
With more and more people shopping online, e-commerce is likely to account for a large proportion of a business’ sales. Therefore, you might want to send email reminders to your current client base reminding them that the celebration is approaching. Free delivery is also known to play a large role when deciding which store to choose, as is the provision of a hassle-free returns policy.
We hope these tips are able to give your business a boost but if you would like some further advice in advance of the special day, feel free to contact our Corporate Commercial Department on 01245 584515 or [email protected].
Whether you’ll be buying a new tie, a pair of socks or something less cliché, it’s time to get shopping as the big day will be here before you know it!