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Face To Face
Words ‘n’ Wishes has been scoring highly recently! In the last few weeks alone it has kicked off the distribution arrangement of Quitting Hollywood designs to the independent retailer, jumped up to 5th place in the industry service ‘league table’ at The Henries, unveiled its new branding and launched a revamped product portfolio at an annual sales conference that took place at the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City FC. Rod Brown, joint md of Words ‘n’ Wishes (and former professional footballer himself) shares his ‘team tactics’ that are based more on core principles rather than fancy footwork. “We have had a great month,” Rod Brown, joint md of Words ‘n’ Wishes told PG recently. Although known for his positive ‘can do’ attitude as well as his natural salesman ability, the Words ‘n’ Wishes’ ‘score sheet’ is looking pretty impressive. Making its debut at the company’s recent annual sales conference, which took place at Man City’s Etihad Stadium, was a
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
new product portfolio under fresh new Words ‘n’ Wishes branding. Significantly, not only did the launch include 92 new Words ‘n’ Wishes greeting card designs, but also the inaugural collection of 120 ‘best of the best’ Quitting Hollywood designs, which are now being distributed to the independent sector by the Words ‘n’ Wishes sales team.
Above: The new Words ‘n’ Wishes logo reflects the more contemporary feel of the company’s product portfolio. Left: Rod Brown is delighted the way things have panned out for Words ‘n’ Wishes. Below: As ever, Words ‘n’ Wishes made a big deal of its annual sales conference – it had every reason to! It was held at the Etihad stadium, home to Manchester City FC.
Moreover, half of these Quitting Hollywood designs (in the QH and Paw Play ranges) have been revamped exclusively for independent retailers to give them a point of difference, with more from the Twisty and other ranges to follow in time. Rod admits he felt “incredibly proud and emotional” at the conference, which provided time to reflect on the progress the company has made over the last six years since he cofounded the business with fellow joint md Carl Salt, who were joined by Brian Philips (former co-owner of Wishing Well Studios), Alison Traynor (sales co-ordinator), Lesley