Herald Sun – A Bright Spark in Lighting World

CLAIRE HEANEY – HERALD SUN

As a one-time buyer for retail giant Coles-Myer, Lisa Carrick knows a thing or two about what makes products fly.

So, when she was introduced to a product by an American business contact, her eyes lit up.

Initially, the business acquaintance wanted her input to get the flameless candles on Australian shelves.

“I fell in love with the product,” she said.

Melbourne-based Ms Carrick said the American-designed Enjoy Lighting had been a huge hit at a Hong Kong gift fair.

Ms Carrick soon decided to take on licensing for the Australia-New Zealand and Pacific regions.

“It’s not often you get an opportunity to introduce a new category and a new product into the market,” she said. She said she cancelled all her retail consulting contracts and set about introducing Enjoy into Australian homes. But initial reactions to a stand at a Sydney gift fair were not bright.

Ms Carrick said that after wondering why people strolled past, barely looking at the candles, she moved out front to hear what they were saying. She discovered that people were saying “Oh my God, not more candles”.

The battery-operated candles were so uthentic that people had not realised that they were fake. She decided to change tack and approach people so that they had the chance to stop, look and feel the wax candles.

She said observers were intrigued by their behaviour and pretty soon more people were on the stand, checking them out. “It just snowballed from there,” Ms Carrick said. Enjoy Lighting now has 250 stockists, including top-end Richmond outlet Hermon & Hermon.

The lights retail from $39 to $60 and last a long time. Ms Carrick, the sales and marketing director of the business, is joined by her husband, David, who is the financial controller of the operation.

The candles, which use patented LED technology, cast light and shadow similar to a real candle.