PLAYING YOUR CARDS RIGHT

Greetings cards are an important part of the range for many rural retailers. We asked Chris Houfe, Sales Director of Paper House, a RSA Partner company, to tell us about this £1.3 billion a year market.

We may love email and text messaging, but greeting cards say it best at birthdays, Christmas and special celebrations.
In fact, the Greeting Card Association (GCA) reports that more than 90% of people send cards, with the average person sending 55 a year.
Cards are a real draw and with margins of 50% it is good news for rural retailers looking to give profits a boost; if you’re concerned about having enough space, bear in mind that a spinner only takes up the same space as a chair, while small wall racks are also an option.
But while many retailers might sell cards, plenty don’t understand their potential. “Some might have racks that look a mess, or spinners that contain cards that aren’t appropriate,” says Chris Houfe, Sales Director of card publisher Paper House.
“It’s a big turn-off having old cards on display – you need to keep getting new designs in, particularly if you’re in a small village where shoppers don’t want to be receiving the same cards,” adds GCA general manager Sharon Little.
Put simply, having a token display of dusty, faded, dull designs just won’t cut it if you’re trying to create footfall and repeat business. “It needs to be credible to attract local people,” says Houfe, who adds that pricing is important too. He doesn’t recommend putting cards out for £1 – leave that to the pound shops, he advises: “We try and give people the opportunity to buy at a ‘good, better, best’ level.. A lot of people are discerning so it’s about giving value for money. In fact, the average price of an individual card has gone up in the last few years to £2, and while some shoppers might be trading down, many are trading up and perhaps not buying a present to accompany the card”, says Houfe.
Paper House, has grown to be the largest independently owned direct-to-retail publisher in the UK. It supply some 15 different ranges. They recently acquired the card ranges of the Medici Society. It has a full-time salaried sales team, backed up with merchandiser support. It can provide a complete service including full space planning support, together with a sale or exchange policy. As Houfe explains: “We’ll take ranges out if they don’t work.”
He advises stores to have a balanced display, particularly if starting off when they are unsure of the market; blank and birthday cards are the safest bet and can lead to more impulse purchases than filling up a spinner with more specialist events such as anniversaries. You can always get more adventurous if demand is there, and there are plenty of occasions to exploit.
“Birthdays are the most common reason for sending a card, but the list of other card category sentiments is growing too,” says Houfe. “’ Milestone age cards are increasingly popular and as we all live longer, there is a growing demand for 80th, 90th and even 100th birthday cards.
When you’re thinking about what kind of designs to stock, humour always sells, along with arty themes, while contemporary cards are proving particularly popular now”, he says.
So what might the future bring? Chris Houfe has a confident response: “The card market is static but it is still massive and although we don’t know exactly what the next generation will do, older people particularly like to keep in touch with cards. People might send an email to wish someone Happy Birthday, but they’ll send a card too.”

Popular card occasions (2007)

Source: Mintel

Greeting card trivia

* Britons send more cards per head than any other country
* 85% of all cards are bought by women
* £50m is raised for good causes each year through the sales of charity Christmas cards
* Sir Henry Cole, the chief organiser of the Great Exhibition of 1851, invented the commercial Christmas card in 1846
* Greeting card making is the number one craft hobby

Source: GCA

THE RSA SAYS

Greetings cards should be a core range for most rural retailers and can make a major contribution to store profitability. Customers spend time choosing and so position them away from the front of the shop or busy aisles. It can be worthwhile investing in modern display fixtures, which can display far more cards in a given space compared with some older units.

Make sure the ranges you stock cover a variety of tastes – young people often want humorous cards and do not even look at the price, whilst some older shoppers want more traditional designs and are more aware of the prices. Some rural shops report customers coming to their shop specifically to buy half a dozen cards at a time, saving considerable amounts compared with High Street prices. It is important to ensure that the fixture is well filled; do keep it tidy between the reps’ visits. If you are buying cards yourself from a wholesaler, don’t fall into the trap of just buying cards you yourself like. Be ruthless – if a design is not selling it is far better in the long run to scrap it, rather than let it occupy valuable space.

The card fixture needs to be well lit – a small halogen spotlight in the right place can really “lift” its appearance. Many card suppliers will provide a spinner. This is fine, but do make sure that you do not have too many – often they can end up blocking access to other ranges.