What do the NHS and Greeting Card publisher Card Connection have in Common?  They both have to prepare for the winter months and its effects on the Nation’s heath.  So in the last few weeks they have been releasing their new ranges of cards for both their Get Well and Sympathy captions. 

“Although greeting cards are mostly about celebrating the nice occasions in life, like birthdays, weddings or celebrating the birth of a new baby; they also need to provide for those difficult times,” explains Card Connection’s Managing Director Michael Johnson.  

“Sickness rates across the county soar,” continues Johnson, “and it’s not just doctor’s surgeries that get more visitors.  More and more people pop into their local store wanting get well cards for their family, friends and colleagues, so our range has to cater for all age groups, both male and female.”

Of course, the sad truth is that not everyone gets better, and when the worst happens and words fail, people reach for a sympathy card to convey their feelings of sorrow and support for the bereaved.  “It’s a difficult and delicate subject and one our cards have to deal with sensitively,” explained Johnson. “Some people know exactly what they want to say in sympathy card, so we have some simple designs with very little text on them.  However, some are literally lost for words and are looking for cards with a comforting verse message, so we make sure we offer plenty of those, too.”

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 and has limited vacancies for franchisees that are keen to run an expanding business.  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 £35k + Stock + Card Connection fee with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.