Awards are given in recognition of positive achievements, and in some special cases they are inspired by those who went before. When one of its much-respected Irish franchisees passed away recently, greeting card publishers Card Connection wanted to honour his memory by creating a new award in his name. The Tony Lees Award for ‘Going… Read more »

Penny has worked in the Greeting Card Industry for 20 years and got the inside track on how Card Connection operated as a franchisor when she joined the company as a Regional Sales Manager in 2013. Impressed by this successful business model, she set a 5-year plan to own her own Card Connection franchise. In… Read more »

“We’re such proud winners and definitely over the moon” is the first reaction of owners David and Sherran Patient. With thirty-plus years as highly successful, multi-award winners in retail businesses, including their own convenience store. In the forecourt sector, they operated multiple high turnover Esso outlets as Licences and also varied retail site, area, and… Read more »

David and Helen Rabaiotti are Card Connection’s Franchisees of the Year 2021. It has been an amazing set of achievements that pushed them to the top award in the greeting card publisher’s franchise network. Having initially purchased the Bath area in 2010, they were soon thirsty for more. So, when the Newport territory in South… Read more »

A few words from our Scottish 2021 Regional Winner – Munawar Mohammed“Thank you for this award, I was surprised to receive it this year as my fellow Franchisees have all done extremely well in the last year. I would like to thank all the team at head office for their support through this challenging year…. Read more »

Kochchu is no stranger to hard work, having run a convenience store for 4 years with his wife Gemma, in addition to a chilled food delivery business which he owned for 7 years. However, nothing could quite prepair him for the last year, dominated by the challenges of the Covid pandemic. Many of the normal… Read more »

As part of our parent company UKG Greetings, Card Connection are proud to announce that all its single greeting cards will be offset through the global conservation charity World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced Paper programme. By doing this, UK Greetings will fund the protection of 635 acres of threatened habitat in the Khe Nuoc Trong… Read more »

McGeown is no stranger to awards for being a top performer at Card Connection. As the franchisee for the whole of Northern Ireland he’s become accustomed to smashing sales records. However, over the last year, as Covid pushed sales of greeting card in essential stores through the roof, he’s had some seriously stiff competition from… Read more »

Recent impacts on the economy has made redundancy a cruel reality for many people. However, as one door closes, a new one can often open! Franchising can allow you to turn a negative experience into a positive one and to invest in a bright future.The increase in UK redundancy rates during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic… Read more »

What do Bournemouth, Stirling & Ayr all have in common? Give up? These franchise areas that are currently for a sale by greeting card franchisor Card Connection. All these territories grew between 21% right up to an amazing 60% during the last year. On top of seeing thriving new business gains over the past year,… Read more »

This temporary structure may remind us of the Nightingale hospitals that sprang up last year, but for the residents of Holt village near Wrexham, this ‘pop up’ Budgens store was in many ways a just as much of a lifesaver. “The Budgens that was the only store to serve the village was completely destroyed by… Read more »

With Covid restrictions beginning to relax and vaccine coverage increasing, there’s a real positive upswell in hope for the future. Easter has always celebrated the season of rebirth and nature renewing itself once more, as we move towards brighter days ahead! What better time to send some Easter cards and spread a little positivity to… Read more »

The very heart of Scotland could all be yours if you have the ambition and drive to invest in Card Connection’s Stirling franchise. You’ll be taking over an established business with many prestige customers including Spar, BP Simply Fresh, Bestway, Nisa, KeyStore and a host of Independent stores. The franchise area includes Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling… Read more »

That was the challenge facing Thayalan Markandu, Card Connection’s franchisee for Middlesbrough, when through no fault of his own he lost a chain of his most lucrative stores. A relative newcomer to the greeting card franchise network, he took this early blow to his business firmly on the chin. “As an ex-retailer myself, I knew… Read more »

Offered for sale is the thriving Card Connection franchise territory of Oldham. Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock. It has a population of 230,800.Boasting a current turnover of over of £83k, and currently growing at 11%, despite the pandemic, this territory has an attractive… Read more »

  Valentine’s Day has long been an important chance to exchange cards, with the first ones being sent in the 18th century. Initially handmade, as pre-made cards were not yet available, lovers would decorate paper with romantic symbols, including flowers, love knots and lines of heartfelt poetry. Card Connection are proud to continue this loving… Read more »

Were all painfully aware of the difficulties many sectors of the economy have suffered during the Covid pandemic, but there are some examples of companies who have still thrived.  One such is greeting card publisher, Card Connection, who saw an 8.7% increase to their sales in 2020. Managing Director Michael Johnson explains this phenomenon. “As… Read more »

In a recent What Franchise article, business advisory specialist Phil Archer points out that the franchise sector is still moving forwards, despite the challenges brought by the Covid crisis. This is certainly true of greeting card franchisor Card Connection; whose franchise network grew by 8.7% in 2020. “Greeting cards have always proven to be resistant… Read more »

If you’re looking to start the New Year with a change of direction, how about taking on a greeting card franchise for a thriving area of the UK? These Card Connection franchise territories are all for sale right now and all have grown between 2% right up to an amazing 35% in the last calendar… Read more »

2020 will go down in history for how Covid-19 created hardship for people all over the world.In adversity, many found a new inner strength to affect big changes in their own lives and in their communities, none more so than the nation’s favourite, Sir Tom Moore. He raised millions and inspired us with his quote,… Read more »

What do Bournemouth, Plymouth, Ayr & Oldham all have in common? Give up? These are franchise areas that are currently for sale by greeting card franchisor Card Connection.  All these territories grew between 6% right up to an amazing 32% during the last year. On top of seeing thriving new business gains in 2020, the… Read more »

As a writer of articles on franchising for the Daily Mail and many other publications, Linda Whitney points out in her recent ‘What Franchise’ article that the franchise sector is well known for weathering economic storms. She also highlights that the changes brought about in 2020 by the global pandemic has thrown up winners and… Read more »

As we try to put as much joy back into the Covid affected Christmas, the recyclability of Christmas giftwrap is again in the spotlight.It’s true that there are some types of giftwrap that are printed on a plastic film, or on paper that uses shiny foils and sparkly glitters, but we use none of these… Read more »

Colin and Penny Ellis have been with Card Connection for over 5 years and are still pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved from a well-run, established business. In the past year, with all the challenges that COVID has thrown their way, they have still managed to grow their area by almost 8%. Much… Read more »

Successful franchising is built on the teamwork between hardworking, enterprising franchisees and the well-proven business models from established franchisors. However, many franchisees have also built their success on another form of teamwork that’s much closer to home. “Going into business with a partner or other family member offers immediate benefits, “explains Michael Johnson, managing director… Read more »

A recent piece in What Franchise magazine pointed out that 4 in 10 franchises can be run from the comfort of your own home. In the article, Frank Miller of Tudor Doctors points out several of the key benefits: • LOWER SET UP COSTS & OVERHEADS – The financial efficiencies are many. No extra rent…. Read more »

With the Covid 19 pandemic threatening to drive a huge wedge between us all this Christmas, taking the time to send a personally hand-written Christmas card is an opportunity we really shouldn’t miss. Recently, BBC Business reported Howard Mustoe pulled together a number of different opinions on the subject.“The very act of putting pen to… Read more »