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Independent Retailer Focus
Going For It “As an independent retailer, you can’t just sit back - so we just decided to go for it,” is the philosophy which has seen Paul Carter and his wife Zoe invest in a radical overhaul of their Cheshire and Manchester-based card shop group. With all four of the Carter’s stores having now undergone the transformation into the new Zo and “No one will ever see an improvement in their business by just sitting back and moaning about trade and all the difficulties of being an independent card retailer – you have to grab the bull by the horns,” believes Paul Carter, who co-owns the Zo and Co group of card and gifts shops based in Cheshire and Greater Manchester with his wife Zoe. A great example of independent card retailers fighting back in a tough retail climate, October saw the completion of the Carter’s ‘grand plan’ – as their Marple store was totally transformed in recent weeks, bringing it in line with their other three Zo and Co stores. Card retailing stalwarts, with 20 years’ trading under their belts, Paul states that the introduction of their new Zo and Co look
has been “the most significant development for our business since we started 20 years ago, but the positive reactions from customers are worth it alone, let alone the improved trading.” Having traded as Hallmark Gold Crown retailers for years, it was when the opportunity to acquire an existing card shop in Knutsford (due to the former owners retiring) that sparked the idea for a new approach. “As soon as we clinched the deal on the Knutsford site we felt the town would suit a 42
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
very independent, rather than a corporate, approach,” explained Paul. The new concept debuted in their Knutsford store last November - which went on to win a Retas award in July. “We have never rested on our laurels, but it was when we found out that we had been nominated for The Retas that it did give us an extra burst of confidence,” admits Paul. Buoyed by this and the customer response to the Knutsford store, the Carters plumped to give their Didsbury store a similar makeover in June. Then their Cheadle branch underwent a transformation in September, and latterly the Marple branch’s makeover completing the set. A far cry from the stores’ former look, all the Zo and Co shops have a contemporary grey frontage, wood flooring, ‘floating shelves’, modern card fixtures and curated feature gift areas. “Zoe has always been very creative so we knew that she would be able to create some
Above: Paul and Zoe Carter with their Retas award that they won in July. Left: The Cheadle Zo and Co store. Below left: The contemporary interior of the Cheadle store. Bottom: A curated collection of gifts, anchored from Widdop and Co.
fabulous displays and also bring in more upmarket brands,” said Paul. A fundamental thrust of the Zo and Co offer is a new approach on the greeting card front, for which Paul is full of praise for Chris Houfe, sales director of GBCC. The discussions with GBCC began when Paul and Zoe took on the Knutsford store and were looking for alternatives that they felt would match the local clientele’s tastes. “Chris immediately got what we were hoping to achieve,” says Paul. “We have handpicked lots of fantastic designs from lots of lovely publishers that are new to us, which are then supplied to our stores via GBCC’s Waterwells’ division,” he explains. Another key trade partner in Zo and Co coming to fruition is gift company Widdop