Woodmansterne Glee Greetings

G ro w i n g s a l e s t h e

Woo d m a n s t e r n e w a y

Highfield Garden World and Simpsons Garden Centre are impressed with increased sales of greetings cards which have delighted their customers since signing up to Woodmansterne’s W-Select Programme.

The role of garden centres as a vital hub to connect people within local and wider communities has become increasingly evident in the last few years, and with 3 million new gardeners attracted to the pastime, garden centres have an opportunity to take advantage of promoting non-gardening ranges to even more people. Sales of greeting cards have reflected this increase in footfall and figures. Analysis of garden centre Epos data provided to GTN Bestsellers shows that greeting card sales rose by 22% in 2021 to levels that are 49% higher than 2018. Garden centres are clearly becoming the retail venue of choice for many when it comes to choosing and buying greetings cards.

Woodmansterne understands the garden retailing market and is supporting retailers with its W-Select Programme. It’s proving successful at Highfield Garden World, Gloucestershire and Simpsons Garden Centre, Inverness, and Woodmansterne is inviting retailers to its stand at Glee to see how the programme can work for them too.

Glee 2021 was a turning point for Highfield Garden World

“We visited the Woodmansterne stand at Glee last year after receiving an invitation on a hand-written card from the team. We were blown away!” said Tim Armstrong, Highfields General Manager and Director. “Tim Greenway (the owner of Highfield) and I looked round and were so impressed with the whole offer, from the quality of the products and fixtures to the way they had been merchandised– the whole thing just made us want to buy a card. Eco sustainability was another important factor in us choosing to work with Woodmansterne. Its green credentials very much aligned with our own ethos on the environment. The fact its cards are unwrapped, make use of recycled paper and were glitter free made them the perfect fit for us.

“Mark Timlett from Woodmansterne was fantastic (as was Julie their sales agent). Each element of the transition was seamless, from planning right through to installation. While we were a little daunted by the thought of changing category manager, the process was made simple by Mark and his team. Everything was carefully planned and managed, even when we made last minute changes to the location of the space, the team made things easy for us.

“It’s certainly exceeded my expectations. The proof is in the sales really, and they’ve been fantastic. We were fortunate enough to be open during lockdown last March so saw a big increase in card sales due to the pandemic, but even with big figures against us we’re still comfortably up year-on-year. Something else I’ve noticed since the change is a huge uplift in sales of Mother’s Day and Easter cards, we’ve never sold so many!

Woodmansterne’s display at Glee last year which wowed Tim Armstrong and Tim Greenway from Highfield Garden Centre – expect more of the same this month.

Tim Armstrong, Highfield’s General Manager and Director with the Woodmansterne display which has exceeded expectations.

Each element of the transition was seamless, from planning right through to installation

“The team at Woodmansterne were unbelievable, they are always on hand for support and advice, it’s been great working with them and I would definitely recommend W-Select. It has been a seamless transition between our old supplier and Woodmansterne. After we had agreed the new layout and card stands it was no time at all from them coming in and only taking a day to change the whole department around.”

Why Simpsons Garden Centres chose the W-Select Service

The display looking good at Simpsons.

Established in 2000, Simpsons is an independent family run business with two centres, one in Aberdeenshire, the other Inverness - Scotland’s city in the Highlands. Very much part of the local and wider communities, the garden centres have a focus and reputation for providing excellent quality products and customer service from the outdoor plant area and gardening departments to its award-winning restaurants and home departments.

The fact that Woodmansterne offered no plastic packaging was a big tick for us…… the paper smart seal is such a simple but effective way to display the range.

“We were recommended to switch to the W-Select programme by our Woodmansterne agent Kevin and although the business already had a good sales performing greetings card department, we felt very confident in moving for a number of reasons,” said Janet Campbell, Retail Team Leader at Inverness.

“Firstly, the quality and varied range of cards available for our customers, giving so much more choice than our previous range. Secondly, the quality of the display units provided for the range was a big positive for us, meaning cards could be showcased much better and allow customers to be able to really see the range much easier. Finally, the fact that Woodmansterne offered no plastic packaging was a big tick for us. We are always looking at ways that we can reduce plastic within the business and for our customers who want to actively seek out products that are kinder for the environment. The paper smart seal is such a simple but effective way to display the range.

“The move to working with Woodmansterne has been seamless all round from the beginning. The initial set up was quick and straightforward, and sales agents Kevin and Steven have been really helpful ensuring our displays are always looking great and full. The service has been excellent from ordering to liaising with our accounts team.

“The range has been very well received by our customers and team alike. We often find new and regular customers taking more time to browse and shop the stands - especially the funny cards, where we can hear customers giggling in the background! Sales have increased markedly since the new set up and ranges were implemented in 2020.

“We would definitely recommend Woodmansterne to anyone looking for a fresh and exciting quality greeting card offering. The service from the team and sales from the new collection have certainly made the move worthwhile.”

gardentradenews.co.uk G AR D E N C E N T R E G R E E T I N G C AR D S A L E S

Volume Growth 2018 - 2021

Janet Campbell enjoys hearing customers giggling at the funny cards on the Woodmansterne display.

Emma Bridgewater cards from Woodmansterne.

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To discover more visit Woodmansterne’s stand at GLEE - Hall 20, stand E20-F21

Why Woodmansterne?

Woodmansterne is a third-generation family business supplying premium greetings cards, designed and manufactured in the UK, to independent retailers.

It’s ‘Smart Seal’, pioneered in 2019 enabled Woodmansterne to remove plastic packaging from its cards saving a million pieces of plastic every week. Cards are printed with vegetable inks on paper from sustainable forests and envelopes are made from 100% recycled consumer waste.

Why W-Select category management?

Woodmansterne has become an expert in visual planning and category management, offering the following... A bespoke assortment incorporating the best UK publishers Less admin – one order, one invoice Regular analysis A unique caption calculator to ensure optimum product mix

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