31_33_Postmark.qxp_Grid 20/12/2024 12:21 Page 1
Retailer Up Close
MARKING TIME
“Instigating the inaugural new look in our Kings Cross store at the same time as opening a brand new store in Liverpool Street at the same time as Christmas stock was going into all stores… you’d think I’d have learned to slow the pace down, but seemingly not!” admitted Mark Janson-Smith, co-owner of the Postmark group, who also squeezed in running the Berlin marathon in the same period. PG donned its trainers to chase after the marathon man and innate retailer to learn more about Mark’s plans to stay in the running and to open more stores. This time last year, Mark Janson-Smith’s wife and business partner, Leona strongly requested: “Please let’s not open any more shops this year.” They sort of kept to the deal, well for a few months at least, instead putting their boundless energy into bedding in the former Paperchase sites Postmark took on which effectively doubled the size of the business and confronted the new challenges of running stores in busy railway station locations, with limited storage facilities and strict regulations on deliveries into those stores. It also became apparent that while an idyllic setting, the garden ‘office’ at their home was no longer practical as the HQ for the growing retail business. Now Postmark has its name above the door of a new office and warehouse in London’s Fulham, with a showroom set to be installed in the new year. “Much as it was a luxury to wander to the end of the garden to go
to work, the new set up is so much better, not just from a logistics point of view, but on the team front too. While most deliveries go straight to store from suppliers, we also have a van delivering into our station stores a couple of times of week,” says Mark, who is full of praise for Graham Leese, Postmark’s head of operations for his tenacity in setting up the new warehouse system. The significant consumer-facing change however has been the creation of a whole new Above: The curved frontage of Postmark’s Kings Cross station store was the first to fanfare the new look. Below left: Leading stationery brands, such as Leuchtturm, have a strong presence in Postmark while, having sourced a quirky collection of stickers from South Korea they are featured in their own hanging space (left). Below right: Postmark’s greeting card selection is vast.
look for Postmark, which made its debut in the Kings Cross store in October. “When we took over the Paperchase sites in March 2023, to get them up and running we used the former fixtures and fittings, but it was always the plan to bring them into the Postmark family with our look and feel,” explained Mark. While freely admitting that he felt “absolutely terrified” before seeing how his blueprint for the transformation had come to fruition, largely as it represents “such a large investment”, Mark is delighted by the results. “I feel it really represents an exciting next step in the company’s evolution,” he endorses. With a contemporary ‘wooden tree’ providing a central focus as soon as you enter the Kings Cross station store, the light wood flooring, fixtures with a pale turquoise accent colour, illuminated card genre signage and repositioned till PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 31