Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection has announced its youngest franchisee, Daryl Perkins, 27, has been named as the company’s ‘Franchisee of the Year’. The award was presented at Card Connection’s prestigious annual franchise conference held last week in Birmingham.
“Daryl purchased the Nottingham Card Connection franchise two years ago and supplies our range of quality greeting cards and accessories to almost 160 retailers,” explains Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “Daryl may be our youngest franchisee, but his hard work means he now has the fastest growing franchise in our network!
“However, the award was not simply judged on sales figures,” continues Johnson. “We use a points system to consider growth, business attitude and aptitude and how franchisees perform as ‘ambassadors’ for Card Connection. We are delighted to recognise Daryl’s dedication and enthusiasm as well as his sales success with this important award.”
At the conference Daryl produced a video to show how he had grown sales in one Spar store substantially. He explains: “I exchanged the old display fixture for one designed to create extra space, therefore increasing the range of greetings cards available in-store. I follow Card Connection’s researched ‘planogram’ for presenting the designs in the way customers like to browse, also blocking ranges for extra impact. Linked sales are encouraged with gift wrap and bags at eye level. The result is a crisp, fresh display. Add this to our eye catching point of sale, plus a new gondala end fixture complete with wobbler boards and a strip of party accessories and sales in that store quickly began to soar!
“The quality and popularity of Card Connection’s product is one of the foundations to my success,” continues Daryl. “It gives a competitive edge, setting us apart and ensuring my retail customers make more sales. By optimising the way the stock is displayed with regular visit cycles and always working to see how merchandising can be improved, I have been able to gain the confidence and trust of my retailers, who are in-turn happier to allocate more in-store space to greetings cards.”
Regional franchisee awards were also presented at the conference including: Peter & Sharon Smith, Northern; Daryl Perkins, South Wales & Central; Andy Burchell, Southern; Gabriel McGeown, Ireland; Andy & Vicki Thompson, North & Scotland; Paul & Jenny Davis, Anglia & Midlands.
Card Connection’s annual conference was well attended by its network of franchisees plus its head office staff. Morning presentations were followed by afternoon team building activities including archery, rounders and beach volleyball while the black tie awards ceremony dinner rounded off the fun-filled event, held at the Forest of Arden Hotel.
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 £7k + Stock + Card Connection fee with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.
Territories currently available include: Bath, Plymouth, Oxford, Liverpool, Ayr, Edinburgh, Motherwell, and Ireland South.
