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Retailer Focus
Penmark’s Reset
Marking a significant step change for Penmark, the longestablished greeting card retail group, is Henry & Co, a brand new greeting card and gift retailing concept, the inaugural store of which debuted recently in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre shopping mall. Mark Rees, managing director of the Midlands-based group explains all about what he describes as a real “business reset”.
Lockdown has a lot to answer for, but one of the positives is a vibrant new greeting card and gift store concept which is going down a storm with the good people of Nottingham. The inspiration for Henry & Co, Penmark’s new ‘baby’, (which is set to be a blueprint for its other stores) largely came from the family time which Mark Rees, owner and managing director of the retail group, spent with his wife and their three children during lockdown. “As we all know 2020 has been a year like no other. The impact on every member of society and every business has been unparalleled. Life has changed in ways that no one could have thought possible,” states Mark. “As a family we were at home with three young children: Henry, Lucy and Alice. Home schooling was challenging, we were baking in abundance, and creating family shows became the norm! We discovered skills we never knew our children had, unearthing their fun, quirky ways, and their kindness and compassion for others.” As parents Mark and Katy looked at how best 62
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they could protect the family from the coronavirus situation while at the same time give hope and reassurance that times would get better. “For our family it brought about a level of closeness that we couldn’t have imagined. We were able to realign our lives and rediscover that the little things in life made us happy. Being able to create memories together and show the children that having resilience through tough times is a great skill to have,” sums up Mark. While protecting the family was a top priority so indeed was future proofing the business. Buoyed by the positive reactions from customers and the store team after reopening post the first lockdown, brought it home to Mark that “our stores are at the heart of many local communities. What quickly Above left: Henry, Lucy and Alice Rees outside the first Henry & Co shop in Nottingham’s Victoria Centre which started trading in November. Above right: The greeting card display is supplied by UK Greeting under its new independent brokerage scheme. Below: The contemporary look and feel of Henry & Co.
became prevalent is that the words on and in a greeting card or the giving of a small gift gave our customers a tangible way to communicate with their family and friends. In a time where we couldn’t physically be there to hug or care for our nearest and dearest, there was a strengthened desire to show love and support to others. As well as a warm, fuzzy feeling, this gave us hope that there really is a role for our stores and confidence that what we do is important,” he added.
However, while Mark was determined not to lose the DNA of the Penmark heritage, he also recognised that there needed to be some changes; “to adapt our brand and stores to be part of the future of retail.” Penmark, which now comprises 11 card and gift shops and four Love Aroma home fragrancing shops, was started by Mark’s parents (Barry and Ann) in 1991. With them both now retired and the business now fully owned by Mark, he feels the time is right to put the next generations’ stamp on it, and Henry & Co is just that.