Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has confirmed it has completed the successful roll out of its extensive range of greeting cards and accessories in 30 Gilletts branded Spar Stores in the South West.
“We have worked with Appleby Westward, the organisation which manages Spar stores in the area, for around 15 years,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “Appleby Westward purchased Gilletts at the end of 2016 and store managers are now reporting sales have improved ‘significantly’ since Card Connection’s franchisees have taken over supplying and merchandising greeting card ranges in selected outlets.”
Card Connection’s network of franchisees supply greetings cards to around 1,200 retailers across the UK including many independent stores and national accounts including the likes of Blakemore Spar, CJ Lang, BP, Londis and WHSmith.
“There are a number of reasons why we can improve the sales of greetings card within a retail store,” confirms Johnson. “The quality of our range is second to none in the industry and our experienced in-house team are dedicated to developing unique designs, with new releases weekly to cater for a broad range of consumer tastes. Our licenced product is particularly popular: Frozen Queen, Swinging Spiderman, Sweet Minion Birthday and Finding Dory are just some of our unique licenced designs that result in strong sales.
“Our franchisees visit stores regularly to ensure displays are refreshed and supplied with everyday and seasonal product,” explains Johnson. “Our investment in recently updating our colourful point-of-sale displays helps franchisees generate immediate impact and in-store theatre for the finishing touch to inspire buying behaviour.
“The more greeting cards sold, the more income both the retailer and the franchisee makes so our team is highly motivated,” continues Johnson. “As a result, the business model is particularly successful. A number of our franchisees have worked with us for more than 20 years! In return, the level of resource we provide to our franchisees is un-matched in the industry. For example: we have six regional franchise managers permanently on the road working with our franchisees to ensure we can provide the best possible service to our valued clients like Gilletts Callington Ltd.
“We are delighted about the success of our roll-out to Gilletts group and we look forward to continuing to help grow sales of greetings cards in the selected stores in the future.”
Card Connection which is this year is celebrating 25 years as a franchisor, is part of UK Greetings, which is a subsidiary of American Greetings Inc., one of the largest greetings card publishers in the world. Since the franchise network in the UK and Ireland is complete, the available opportunities for franchisees joining the network 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: Plymouth, Bath, Brighton, Liverpool, Macclesfield, Fife, Edinburgh/Scottish Borders and Stirling.
