In the fast-changing world of business, only those who adapt tend to survive. This is true, even in the field of greeting cards. So, at Card Connection’s Annual Conference in May this year, Managing Director Michael Johnson and Creative Director Kelly Courtenay were delighted to recognise some of their franchisees that have seen more… Read more »

Card Connection franchisee Gabe McGeown and his team have achieved this accolade due to their never-say-die attitude, hard work and resilience in tackling this territory, which covers the whole of Northern Ireland. His sales performance year in, year out, continues to amaze; causing some people to scratch their heads in amazement at how he keeps… Read more »

This year’s winner is a former Card Connection customer, who bought their Middlesbrough franchise back in 2019. Thayalan and his wife Silva built on the foundations left by the previous franchisee and overcame some early store losses that were no fault of their own, to get the area quickly back into profit. Thy achieved this… Read more »

Early in 2019, Jane Pitt and Kevin Field took the brave decision to ditch working for other people and become their own bosses by taking on Card Connection’s greeting card franchise for the Exeter region.They took the area by storm, no doubt helped by Jane’s previous experience of the product category as a manager at… Read more »

Over the last year, Card Connections franchisee for Norwich franchisee Martin Rolfe has had to train three new merchandisers, all after losing a long-term employee and a new trainee dropping out after only a matter of a few weeks. He’s approached the numerous challenges of getting the best out of his new employees with the… Read more »

In the past twelve months Gloucester territory franchisees James Bird and Sandy Jess have worked tirelessly to continue to build sales and service all their customers through very difficult times. They’ve always done this with a smile on their faces. Their drive to add new customers, develop their existing customers, improve gift bag, giftwrap and… Read more »

Since Robin joined Card Connection as Franchisee for North Wales, no one can remember a year when his names didn’t feature on the shortlist for this award, such is the consistency of performance with his business. Indeed, he won this very award as recently as 2019. Ever determined to grow his sales year-on-year by setting… Read more »

A richly deserving winner of Card Connection’s award for Teamwork & Tenacity, Martin Rolfe has been with Card Connection since pretty much the beginning. And through all those years, Head Office have always been able to rely on him to help out in all kinds of situations. In 2021, when approached to assist with a… Read more »

Trailblazing greeting card franchisee Joseph Sweeney passed away recently, leaving a big hole in Card Connection’s collective history. Joe purchased his first franchise way back in 1999. At the time, Card Connection was a proven greeting card supplier in the UK, but not yet in Ireland; so it was calculated step by this shrewd businessman…. Read more »

Sunday 19th June is the day when we get a chance to say “Thanks” to all the Dads out there. Whether your Dad is an ace piggyback giver, an ever-dependable taxi driver, a D.I.Y saviour, a source of free bank loans, the go-to person to get rid of those big spiders, or just an all-round… Read more »

Card Connection franchisee Gabe McGeown and his team have achieved this accolade due to their never-say-die attitude, hard work and resilience in tackling this territory, which covers the whole of Northern Ireland. His sales performance year in, year out, continues to amaze; causing some people to scratch their heads in amazement at how he keeps… Read more »

James Bird and Sandy Jess have been trading for approx. 3 years. The business is franchise run, van based, through Card Connection and sells Greeting Cards and associated products into convenience groups and local independent stores. The area they cover is Cheltenham & Gloucester. The business was taken over from an existing franchisee who had… Read more »

At an emotional awards ceremony in Dublin, Card Connection franchisee Joe Sweeney posthumously won Retail Franchisee of the Year award at the prestigious Irish Franchise Association Awards It was bitter-sweet moment for Joe’s sons Joseph and Trevor, who went up to collect the award, as their father Joe was given a standing ovation by all… Read more »

Card Connection reaches its Pearl Anniversary, celebrating the day back in 1992 when two budding entrepreneurs married together a winning mix of enticing business propositions – colourful greeting cards, great service all backed by the consignment principle of supply. The newly formed company made an instant impact with its manta of “You only pay for… Read more »

We all know that you can always rely on your Mum. And when it comes to Mother’s Day, you can always rely on Card Connection Day to help you to say: “Thanks Mum!” Whether you want something heartfelt, something stylish, something cute or simply something fun or downright silly, Card Connection have just the card… Read more »

Come February 14th Card Connection will once again be doing its level best to help spread the love. With 60 brand new Valentine’s Day designs on offer across two card ranges, there should be no one struggling to something that is just perfect for their loved one. Whether it’s some heartfelt words, super stylish sentiment… Read more »

Card Connection have celebrated a successful year across UK and Ireland by completing their network wide programme of December regional meetings, during which they were able to thank their franchisees for their contribution towards the network’s double-digit growth in 2021. “Through another year of difficult and shifting Covid pressures our franchisees have really pulled out… Read more »

Whist on the day Card Connection narrowly missed out on the top spot in both the categories they were shortlisted for, they still ran the front runners a very tight race as finalists in the 2021 Best Franchise Awards.“We came equal second against stiff competition in both the Business to Business category and the New… Read more »

To say our world has changed over the past 20 months is probably the biggest understatement ever. Everyone is painfully aware of the difficulties many sectors of the economy have suffered during the Covid pandemic, but there are examples of businesses who have still thrived – Card Connection being one of them. Managing Director Michael… Read more »

To be considered for these awards franchisors must have taken part in the Franchise Satisfaction Benchmark programme. This involves their franchisees being asked to complete a confidential online survey, rating their franchisor on qualities such as initial training, ongoing support, their relationship with the franchisor, and whether they would recommend the business to prospective new… Read more »

Card Connection’s range of Greeting cards play a big part in helping people to celebrate Christmas, but when the festivities are over, the company also wants to be able to celebrate their efforts in facilitating the recycling process of its products, too. “Sustainability is a key part of a company acting responsibly and we take… Read more »

Daryl Perkins our Nottingham franchisee and his partner Lucy have recently funded a local football team by purchasing their kit and instead of advertising their own business on these shirts, they insisted the Rainbows logo take full pride of place, which it’s hoped will help generate further donations for the charity. As Daryl explains, “We… Read more »

Theepan Sinnathurai purchased the Romford Card Connection territory back in November 2018. “Before I bought the Card Connection franchise, I ran an MRH forecourt site for 2 years. This was my first time involved in running a business as a licensee commission operator. It was a great introduction in managing a small retail shop and… Read more »

Imagine spending your days working in the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Lake District, the Scottish borders, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Eden Valley…. Well Colin & Margaret Brattan do just that.Colin & Margaret purchased the Lake District territory from Bryan & Sheila Jones back in October 2020 after Colin had… Read more »

From Card Connection’s beginning in 1992, female franchisees have played a key role in the success of the greeting card franchisor’s brand. As women remain the primary purchasers of greetings cards, perhaps it’s not so surprising that female franchisees have an affinity with the product the company supplies.Around 8% of Card Connection’s franchisee territories are… Read more »

Scotland is the most attractive location in the UK outside of London for foreign direct investment (FDI) according to the 2020 EY attractiveness survey!My brother owns several retail outlets and was being supplied Card Connection greeting cards from the previous franchisee so when I heard that the franchise was available back in 2016, I thought… Read more »

In 2018 David and Sherran Patient sold their successful convenience store to a multiple chain and took a short but deserved career break. Then, in the 2019 the experienced husband and wife team took on a Card Collection franchise territory that straddles part of Essex and Suffolk. They took on this new and exciting challenge… Read more »

Like most companies going into the pandemic, Card Connection were facing the unknown. As in keeping with the response from the general public, businesses and organisations cross the land, it’s ultimately people that got us through. The whole Card Connection family comprising our network of franchisees, our head office staff, and our support infrastructure involving… Read more »

Card Connection have just been awarded a further 4 years re-accreditation by the bfa.  This means the business has proudly enjoyed continuous membership of this important trade organisation since joining the bfa way back in 1995.  Accreditation with the BFA is confirmation of the fact that a franchisor has been carefully and stringently scrutinised for… Read more »

Thanks to Government restrictions lifting, love is in the air once more as the shackles finally come off those cancelled and delayed wedding dates. Couples up and down the land are scrambling to tie the knot, no matter the time of day, or day of the week they can book!  Luckily Card Connection have just… Read more »

Seems even the Covid pandemic can’t stamp out our deep desire to have a nice roof over our heads! The housing market is now getting back to full swing again, both with purchases and rentals, with the summer being the most popular time for people to up sticks to a new property. A typical person… Read more »