Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has announced Gayan Weerakkody has taken over as the new franchisee for the Oxford area. Gayan succeeds Ron & Shirley Maynard who are retiring and looking to spend more time with their five grandchildren after over 20 years as franchisees!
“Having been a BP forecourt manager in London, I am used to working with leading, professional organisations,” confirms Gayan. “Card Connection’s team get 10/10 in this regard, as they have provided all the help, information and training I need to get up and running quickly.
“As my new role required relocating with my family from London to Didcot, it was important this kind of support was available,” continues Gayan. “It’s been a bit hectic managing the move and training all at the same time, but that’s life! I am now looking forward to supplying my new retail customers with Card Connection’s range of quality greetings cards and accessories.
“Ultimately, it was the product that was one of the main attractions to Card Connection,”confirms Gayan.“A local franchisee used to deliver to my BP store and the displays always looked better than any competition that I saw at other retail outlets. I did some research and was also impressed with the size of the 100-strong National Account network which Card Connection franchisees supply to, in addition to independent retailers. I could see from the sales figures this really was a viable business.”
Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection comments: “We are delighted to welcome both Gayan and his wife, who will help him run the business, to our Card Connection franchise family. Gayan’s forecourt background makes him ideally placed to understand retail customers’ needs and our team will be on-hand to ensure he has all the help and training needed to get off to a great start as a Card Connection franchisee and to continue to develop his franchise on an ongoing basis.”
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.
To find out more on this brand please email = hannah@franchiseexpo.co.uk
