STEP BACK IN TIME
Celebrating more than 25 years of publishing Greetings and Greetings Today, here we step back in time each issue to five, 10, 15, and 20 years ago in the greetings card industry – Malcolm Naish
February 2015
February 2005
l The Royal Mail increase postal charges with a penny added to both first and second-class postage – up to 63p and 54p. That is a rise of 1.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent.
l Piccadilly Greetings open a new manufacturing operation in Hemel Hepstead, Hertfordshire, that saw owner Jitesh Kaneria inviting Conservative Party leader Michael Howard to do the honours. It is a great compliment to Jitesh that 15 years on the company is still thriving in its excellent HQ and still print all their cards in Hemel Hempstead. Only recently I enjoyed a guided tour with Jitesh (pictured left) who is just as passionate about the industry and his company’s place within the greeting card industry.
l Australian children’s Stationery brand Smiggle has opened 19 shops across the UK in just 12 months. These are in addition to their stores in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. l All retailers will be allowed to offer click-andcollect services in store from April 15 as laws requiring planning permission are changed. Retailers will no longer have to apply for planning permission, which costs £196 and requires store bosses to complete reams of paperwork. Minsters say the move allowing more online shoppers to pick up their purchases in-store will boost the High Street. l Card Factory reports revenues up 8.1 per cent to £353.3million for year end January 31. This means an operating profit growth up by 8.9 per cent to £79.4m. Card Factory shares were a healthy 291.30p. l Alan Mawhinney decides to leave the publishing business to pursue personal business interests. Alan had worked for almost 25 years for Abacus. l We interview Wyevale’s senior buyer Afzal Sachak. At the time they had 148 garden centres in the UK.
February 2010 l Peter Andre receives a Valentine’s Day card supplied by UK Greetings from their Boofle collection when he appeared for an interview on the GMTV breakfast show. He was unattached at the time, hence the card. l Greetings card publishers are a generous lot as can be seen when Artique Gallery Publishing raised more than £28,000 towards the Bomber Command memorial from the sale of their greetings cards featuring pictures of the aircrew and the famous aircraft – 55,573 aircrew lost their lives during the conflict. l We feature Rainbow Designs across three pages with a new strapline Leading The Way In Classic Characters. Move 10 years on and the company are still a major player in supplying timeless characters from well-loved icons such as Paddington (pictured left), Snoopy Beatrix Potter. l Terry Harvey gave us a blow-by-blow account of opening up a retail card shop in a Hampshire town with his wheeling and dealing with landlords to finally come up with a deal suitable for both parties. Securing the first three years of a 10-year lease I thought was quite a result. Finally opening a month before Christmas, his sales eventually amounted to half that expected at £26,000, but he was competing with Clintons, Card Factory and Birthdays in the same shopping centre.
74 www.greetingstoday.co.uk Step Back in Time Feb.indd 1
l UK Greetings acquired Collage Designs – a luxury giftwrap company, including the Italian connection Collage Italia Spa. John Charlton, UKG’s chief executive, told us: “We are tremendously excited about the acquisition as Collage creates some fabulous designs of giftwrap and gift boxes. This is an ideal partnership.” l The Cardgains Village made its debut at the 2005 Spring Fair with 144sqm of space. Still going strong today, the Cardgains team is to be congratulated on its foresight. l We publicise our very first golf day at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire. Move on 15 years and the golf day is still going strong and, unbelievably, still retains the same format, although we have moved to a different venue. For 2020 we will once again be at Puckrup Hall on July 7.
February 2000 l Portico were on our front cover pushing their range of Tweenies children’s cards and wrap. l Marcia Hughes, proprietor of Kidderminster-based card shop In Touch, was our retail interview. Marcia believed strongly that the independents’ most effective weapon in their battle against the majors was undoubtedly customer service. Marcia personally trained all of her staff in this very important aspect of card retailing. l Reflex Marketing is sadly placed into receivership. They had some great Winnie The Pooh greetings cards. l Mind’s Eye – a brokerage company – has had its CVA accepted by their creditors and is confident they can turn round the company. l It was great to see an old mate of mine Ted Blake, who owned and ran Caltime Calendars, taking the leading role of Tevye in Wembley Operatic’s Fiddler On The Roof (pictured left). Caltime is, of course, still going strong with Woodmansterne.
www.facebook.com/greetingstodaymag @greetingstoday
10/01/2020 16:36