Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has announced it is to launch a major new range of greeting cards at Pro-Retail 2017. More than a year in development, 122 new designs are aimed at the more discerning customer and, for the first time, bring the ‘boutique card shop’ look to the convenience sector.
“A launch of this size is unprecedented in Card Connection’s history, so we are very excited,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “Detailed study of the sector and intelligence from our own forecasting has anticipated the requirement for a more sophisticated and slightly up-market look. Convenience customers are now expecting higher quality food, wine and indeed, greeting cards and we have responded to this need with our full attention.
“However, we will not overlook our traditional ‘distress purchase’ customers,” continues Johnson. “The fresh styles will run alongside our core range to deliver extra sales by appealing to a broader a more discerning client base. Initial feedback from all our national retail account clients so far has been exceptionally positive and the new designs will be in-store across the UK from May onwards.”
Card Connection’s eight-strong, in-house design team have put together an extensive collection of styles which cover classic, contemporary, cute, humour and fun. Shaun Bateman acting senior creative manager explains: “We have worked on a combination of approaches, with more confident use of design and space to achieve a real point of difference. Multi-finishes feature heavily with embossed foil, UV varnish plus other highlights. Overall, the colour palette is more muted and treatments are tasteful and subtle, while text is a little more quirky and clever to create an artisan card shop look. Colour-coordinated envelopes perfect the package to match the higher expectations of today’s convenience shopper.”
Michael Johnson concludes: “As one of the top suppliers to the convenience sector we are able to identify and act on trends and use our unequalled resources to ensure we are always at the forefront of the industry with our response. The new range itself is geared to a slightly higher price point and so stores will also achieve a higher margin on sales which creates a win-win situation for customers and clients alike.”
Card Connection is part of UK Greetings, which is a subsidiary of American Greetings Inc., one of the largest greeting card publishers in the world. Since the franchise network in the UK is complete, the available opportunities now consist of acquiring an already-established territory from an existing franchisee. These vary in price according to their level of development, but start at £12,5k + Stock + Card Connection fee with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.
Territories currently available include: Fife, Edinburgh/Scottish Borders, Stirling, Brighton, Plymouth, Bath, Northampton, Liverpool, Macclesfield and South West Ireland.
For further information about franchises for sale, please see: www.card-connection.co.uk