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GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson (left) and Karen Wilson

Keynote speakers – L-R Amanda Fergusson; David Greaves; outgoing president Rachel Hare, Belly Button; David Robinson; Jo Bennett, Card Factory GCA president Chris Bryan, Second Nature

GCA conference heads north

October’s GCA conference saw the most attendees in its history (barring its 100th anniversary event in 2019).

Leading the organisation of the event was Karen Wilson, director at Paper Salad, who told Greetings Today: “The conference was held in Manchester for the first time in its history. A lot of the attendees said they enjoyed Manchester so much they were going to bring their partners back for a weekend.’’

The venue was Bridgewater Hall, home of the Hallé Orchestra and host to the BBC Philharmonic.“We themed the event around Manchester and its music,’’ Karen explained “and we were so pleased that a lot of the speakers followed the theme too.

“It was just good to see that a conference held up north worked so well. Many of those who came arrived the night before and we held a drinks party, which was great for networking - and we know how people love to network!’’

Karen added that she hoped the AGM could be held at other northern locations such as Leeds and Liverpool in the future.

GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson opened the conference. She spoke about how the GCA has been providing information, support and an industry voice on issues that affect its members, such as Covid, Brexit and supply chain problems. She highlighted some of the key themes for this year, including sustainability and the rise in online sales, and stressed how vital it is for the industry to be engaging the next generation of card senders.

She noted that another key area for the GCA this year has been diversity and inclusion - the organisation sponsored the new Diversity & Inclusion Henries award, and worked with supermarket giant Sainsbury’s on a project for Black History Month.

Incoming president Chris Bryan, who is general manager at Second Nature, took attendees on a whistlestop tour of the past 18 months or so, highlighting how the greeting card industry had responded so quickly to events. He said: “A senior industry figure once said to me ‘greetings cards - apart from being a way of conveying sentiment and sharing warm wishes - are actually a strong record of society at any given point in time, often reflecting changes in attitudes, key events in history and bookmarking notable figures of the time’.’’ And with cards reflecting everything from Brexit and the MeToo campaign, to lockdowns, clapping for the NHS, Captain Tom and Covid jabs, he showed just how true that is.

Chris shared the good news that the GCA’s recent consumer market research discovered that “80% of card buyers said they were now purchasing as many cards, or higher, than they were pre Covid, and the majority of those believe they will continue the same pattern going forward – with more than one in 10 intending to send more greeting cards in the future.’’

He concluded: “The British public has not lost their appreciation for the humble greeting card, if anything, they’ve rediscovered their appetite for our most wonderful way of communicating sentiment.’’

Danilo gets green light for Squid Game

The past couple of years has seen a rapid increase in viewing figures for streaming platforms such as Netflix, and the most recent show to capture the public’s imagination is Squid Game, which has become Netflix’s most-watched series to date, with more than 100 million viewers since September. It remains in the top 10 Netflix chart of shows to watch.

Danilo has worked quickly with the support of CAA-GBG and Netflix to secure licence rights for the official calendar, diary and greeting cards in order to meet the rapidly growing demand for Squid Game themed merchandise.

“We have been very lucky to have got the officially licensed calendar approved and manufactured within a few weeks, and the product is now available to buy at retailers such as Calendar Club, Amazon and HMV as well as our own Danilo.com web store,’’ said Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo. “The show has become an overnight success and we hope that the product sales will reflect this too, and that the calendar could even become a best seller this year. We have also developed Squid Game greeting cards as well as a number of personalised items, which will launch very soon.”

Last chance to enter Gift of the Year

There’s not long left to get your entries in for the largest competition in the gift and homeware world.

Gift of the Year (which includes Card & Wrap and Stationery categories) gives companies a chance to enter their products and get them seen by buyers and retailers who judge the competition, as well as raising their profile.

Previous winners have described the effect it has had on them and their businesses:

“Winning Gift of the Year has been a huge help to my business. I received a lot of publicity at the time and it gave the products and myself as a designer a level of credibility and reliability that I did not have before.” Victoria Eggs, winner 2012.

“The awards have really supported us with industry-wide awareness as we’ve moved more into gifting over the years. Being recognised in a category helps us to reach new buyers.’’ Burgon & Ball, winners 2015 & 2016.

“We would definitely recommend that other businesses enter the Gift of the Year. It is a great platform for meeting new customers, raising the profile of your business and receiving the acknowledgement of the hard work that goes into producing great quality products.” Wrendale, winner, 2016

For your chance to be one of the 22 category winners, or take home the judges’ choice or peoples’ choice crown, go to www.giftoftheyear. co.uk and enter your products now. Closing date is 30 November.

The Henries winners list

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 The Henries 2021 greeting card industry awards, presented at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London in October: The Lynn Tait Most Promising Young Designer or Artist Charlotte Mason, senior designer: Woodmansterne Publications Best Diversity and Inclusion Range Fierce & Fabulous: The Art File Best Contemporary Trend Range Hunky Dory: Paper Salad Best Art Range Artisan Days: Pigment Best Wholesale Range Shimmer: Kingfisher Cards Best Humorous Range Gin & Frolics: Rosie Made a Thing Best Children’s Range Hoopla: Paper Salad Best Licensed Card Range Explore and Treasure with National Trust: Toasted Crumpet Best Traditional Words and Sentiments Range Helen Steiner Rice: UK Greetings Best Contemporary Words and Sentiments Range Senti: Emotional Rescue in collaboration with Paper Salad Best Relations and/or Occasions Range Words of Wisdom: Dandelion Stationery Best Handmade or Hand-finished Range California Dreaming: Five Dollar Shake Best Photographic Range Loose Leashes: Woodmansterne Publications Best Male Range Gin & Frolics: Rosie Made a Thing Best Christmas Counter Range Rainbow Drops: Wendy Jones-Blackett Best Christmas Box or Pack Luxury Christmas Boxed Collection: The Art File Best Cute Range Owl’s Nest: Ginger Betty Best Spring Seasons Range Rainbow Drops Valentine’s: Wendy Jones-Blackett Best Giftwrappings Range Paper Salad: Glick The Henry Cole Classic Award The Country Set: Wrendale Designs Sponsored by The Sherwood Group Best Service to the Independent Retailer Gold: IC&G Silver: Woodmansterne Publications Bronze Winner: UK Greetings Honorary Achievement Award Paul Taylor, Cardzone

Retailer invests in personalised products tech

Riou retires after 44 years

Love Layla, a Yorkshire-based card and gift retailer, has invested a six-figure sum in new printing technology to allow it to meet demand for personalised products.

The company has seen sales for personalised cards grow 300% over the past year. The new equipment will allow the personalisation of a wide range of products from mugs and pet bowls to cards, bar mats and Christmas sacks.

Stacey Dennis (pictured), founder of Love Layla, said: “People have embraced the ability to personalise cards, and we’ve seen some hilarious jokes over the years. Our investment in the latest printing technology means that we can continue to grow this part of the business and give our customers even more choice in creating the card and gift for every occasion.”

Love Layla recently announced it had seen sales of stationery double in the past 12 months as more people worked from home. It is on track to see stationery sales top £1m in 2021, with notebooks, pens and personalised mugs proving best sellers. It expects personalisation to account for 25% of sales in the upcoming year.

Stacey Dennis, who runs Love Layla, started her business with £30 cash by printing her designs at home after being made redundant as a graphic designer - and now has a multimillion-pound business, a production warehouse, and a franchise in Australia.

Why Management has announced the retirement of Riou Baxter after 44 years in the greeting card industry.

For the past 16 years, Riou, who will retire on 31 December, has been a director of Why Management, a leading specialist sales consultancy within the sector, which he co-founded with Mike Broad.

Riou said: “The past 16 years, in partnership with Mike and with our clients, has been a real highlight of my working life; also the years with Accord Publications and Hanson & White. I will miss this wonderful business and the people I have come to know as good friends, but with today’s fast-changing industry I know it’s time to retire gracefully and spend some quality time with my supportive wife Laura, family and friends.’’

Mike said: “Riou will be missed, not just by me, but by all those who have worked with him. I echo his comments about the past 16 years. We have had some great times, and worked hard to enjoy significant success with our clients. However, our industry and retailing in general faces a period of significant change, I fully understand and support Riou’s decision. Why Management Ltd will continue, and I look forward to working closely with our clients on the exciting projects we have planned.’’

Vent for Change shares awareness day date

Vent for Change, the sustainable stationery brand that aims to protect the planet and support children’s education projects worldwide, has announced the date for its next Share a Pencil Day.

Since 2017 more than 200,000 UK primary and secondary school pupils have signed up to take part in the special event.

The UK’s largest free-to-participate global education awareness day of its sort, Share a Pencil Day teaches UK schoolchildren some of the reasons why millions of children worldwide are still missing out on the education they deserve.

Evan Lewis, founder of Vent for Change and Share a Pencil Day, said: “Extreme poverty, teenage marriage, war and conflict and natural disasters are just some of the reasons for millions of children’s education to be affected. Highlighting these issues through a soft touch interactive school day is a wonderful way for UK youngsters to engage with such an important issue”.

On the day, during specially designed classes, pupils are asked to work with their friends sharing one pencil between two, an interactive way for them to understand what it’s like to go to school without all the resources we take for granted.