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NEWS TOP STORY
Shop Local Delivers For Indies Over 55% expect to grow this year Independent greeting card Expectations for your business for 2024? retailers have started 2024 3% Major Decline 3% Significant feeling a lot more optimistic than Growth they were this time last year, 21% Slight with over half expecting to Decline 52% Marginal grow this year, according to the Growth findings of the latest PG Retail 21% Remain Barometer. About The Same This comes on the back of 47% reporting that their trade was up last year compared to 2022, with the How do you view the supermarkets’ continued ‘shop local’ drive expansion on the greeting card front? being cited as having been the biggest boon to their takings 30% Serious Threat while the cost-of-living crisis and 39% Neutral postal issues came at the top of the list of banes to their trade. Among the many insights into the independent greeting card 31% Threat retail sector from the latest annual survey, are that humorous cards was the top performing greeting card category. Clearly indies’ tenacity, engagement Christmas card singles took the with their customers, social media second slot as the area that has and collaborative activity as well as grown the most year on year, a improvements in their product reflection that 27% of their selection have borne fruits,” customers sent more Christmas commented Jakki Brown, md of Max cards in 2023 compared to the year Publishing, which undertakes the previous with the GCA Cardmitment independent research every year. campaign coming in for praise. As for which other retail types that In response to what one word indies see as the biggest threats to best describes the industry today, it their business, while it is still was ‘vibrant’ that came out tops, supermarkets that clinch it, with with ‘resilient’ and ‘challenging’ 30% of indies going so far as to see not far behind. them as a serious threat, garden “It is encouraging that the centres, Cardfactory and Amazon Barometer readings show a boost in have crept up as been viewed as confidence for the year ahead. substantial bugbears to their business.
Pen Poised for Chris Leonard-Morgan As registration for the London Stationery Show opened, the other big news to break was that the exhibition’s original founder, Chris Leonard-Morgan (above) is back on board. Chris has joined as special advisor and will work alongside the show’s event manager Chantelle White and the Max Publishing directors, following their recent acquisition of the show – which takes place 14-15 May at London’s Business Design Centre - from Ocean Media Group. “I was thrilled to have been asked by the Max Publishing team to work with them on the exhibition as well as National Stationery Week, the Stationery Awards and the Stationery Matters media,” said Chris, a passionista for all things stationery. “I feel very happy that I will be a part of it, rather than just watching from the sidelines!” he added. It’s full steam ahead with plans for the May show with a whole roster of leading brands and entrepreneurial companies already having booked their stands. To register head to www.stationeryshowlondon.co.uk
WHS shows more Curi-o-city WHSmith has opening of its first Curi-o-city concept greeting card, stationery and gift stores outside the UK, debuted its travel brand in Hungary as well as trialling a new High Street logo. Just before Christmas, the ribbon was cut on two Curio-city outlets in Dubai, which are opening alongside a number of in-store concessions across the United Arab Emirates with strategic partner Al Maya Group. Around the same time WHS opened its first store in Hungary, a 1,200 sq ft airside outlet at Budapest Airport, taking the retailer into 32 countries, and one of over 100 new travel shops set to open this year. However, the unveiling of a trial rebrand at 10 High Street stores in England has not been so warmly received, with many commenting that the new logo, looks too similar to that of the NHS. Below: One of the Dubai Curi-o-city stores and the trial WHS new branding on a store in Preston.
Sherwood Group expands its Far East ops Leading greeting card printer, The Sherwood Group has expanded its Far East operations with the official opening of its Semplice quality assurance and testing office in China by ceo Jeremy Bacon. The Nottingham-based company’s Far East division operates under its subsidiaries SPHK and the Semplice manufacturing site, providing print management services and printed products directly to the UK since 2003. Jeremy flew out to the new facility in Xie Gang City for the official opening recently, which will operate as a hub for component sourcing, purchasing, quality inspections, and quality testing. It follows on from the joint venture operation forged by the group in 2022 with two printing companies, both located in Shenzhen, China. This collaboration offers customers an even more extensive range of
products, services, and production capacities which the state-of-theart new facility complements, and is aimed at positioning The Sherwood Group to further expand its international presence and cater for markets in Australia and the US. The expanded services, in conjunction with the new partnerships, span the printing of greeting cards, toys, games, books, gift boxes, confectionery boxes, wood pulp biodegradable products, and various other packaging options.
Above: Jeremy Bacon (right) with Semplice’s md Derek Lam at the new Semplice office.
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