Franchising in the greetings card industry

By Michael Johnson, Managing Director, Card Connection

Figures from the Greeting Card Association (GCA) put the UK greetings card market at £1.6 billion at retail. The GCA 2015 market survey also suggests 878.8 million single cards were sold in 2014 which was an increase on the previous year by more than 7%.

Have you ever thought about how many cards you send each year? In the UK ‘sending a card’ remains a popular cultural activity regardless of the economic climate. In-fact at Card Connection we have seen some of our high value cards being sent instead of a gift when it’s time for consumers to tighten their belts where spending is concerned.

Although no industry is recession proof, it has weathered the storm of recent economic uncertainty and sales in this established market have continued to remain stable.

Buying behaviour

Interestingly more women send greetings cards than men. The GCA survey suggests 85% of cards are bought by women. It is important to understand these industry statistics when selling greetings cards and as a franchisor we have studied them in depth to ensure our franchisees know how to design displays to appeal to the right customer demographic.

How customers browse and buy cards is also fascinating. Research that has been undertaken has given rise to how shop displays are organised. We encourage our franchisees to lay out greeting cards to a plan which reflects the ‘circle of life’ with birthdays on the left, moving across to wedding, anniversary, age and relations to sympathy on the far right – plus plenty in between! This researched, ‘formula’ for planned displays has helps maximise sales for retailers and franchisee alike.

Distress purchasing is also an interesting phenomenon in the industry. This is where the consumer may have forgotten to purchase a card, or chooses to buy one ‘en-route’ to meet the recipient. Therefore, we see sales in forecourts where these ‘distress purchasers’ are prepared to pay a premium price for cards, suddenly revealing a great market opportunity for suppliers!

Lucrative seasons

When we interview a new franchisee they often ask about Christmas! It is a big sales opportunity but interestingly sales across the industry only rise by 13% at this time of year which again shows the strength of every day sales of cards.

Although this is a seasonal business ‘bread and butter’ card sales tend to be in birthdays, congratulations, wedding, anniversary, get well and many events which happen throughout the calendar year. Occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter are the icing on the cake as far as sales are concerned!

Unique distribution service

Methods of distribution of cards vary. Some retailers buy wholesale and some have card publisher designed displays. However, Card Connection works a little differently where greetings cards are supplied by the franchisee to the retailer on a ‘consignment’ basis.

This means stock and display equipment are ‘on loan’ and the retailer only pays for what they sell. The franchisee visits the stores regularly to merchandise displays and supply new and seasonal stock. This creates a win-win situation for both franchisee and retailer and has proved popular over more than two decades.

The greetings card market is one we are all familiar with as we will all have bought a card at some point! However, there is more to it than one might realise. From the design team that go into the process of developing cards based on trends to the various distribution methods and displays designed to tempt buying behaviour. For new franchisees there is a learning curve, however, the rewards are many including working in a flexible creative sector where no two days are exactly the same.

Card Connection

Card Connection is one of the UK’s leading greeting card distribution franchises. More about their franchise opportunity can be found here.

To look at other 'home-based' franchises, click here or, alternatively, look at franchises for sale in the 'retail' sector here.