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Up Close With... Paperchase
A Colourful Half Century When two Chelsea Art School students had an idea of opening a shop in Kensington to cater for their artistic needs little did they know that 50 years on it would have evolved into a beloved retailing emporium trading from well over 140 shops in the UK and many more overseas. This month, as Paperchase kicks off a whole year of celebrations to mark its half century, PG met up with Timothy Melgund, deputy chairman, and Joe Irons, its multi channel director, to talk about ‘50 colourful years of stationery’. When art school students Judith Cash and Eddie Pond opened the very first Paperchase store in 1968 unicorns had been invented, but not emblazoned on sequined journals. Greeting cards were around in the late 60s, but nothing like the 3,000 different designs (not to mention the additional 1,000 postcard options) that tantalise every aesthetic taste and cover every occasion imaginable on the racks at Paperchase’s Tottenham Court Road store.
Top: Paperchase has always championed design, in products and within its own store environments. Above: A blast from the past! Timothy Melgund (right) and Robert Warden in their early days at Paperchase. Above middle: A window poster to thank customers for the last 50 years. Right: Some of the 50 updated products that form part of the anniversary collection.
It has grown to be a retailing ‘bestie’ to everyone who loves cards and stationery. Its stores differ in size, shape and even feel, it’s product range constantly evolving to reflect the trends both in design and society in a fun confident way, and it has nurtured its relationships with customers, bringing them closer into the ‘tribe’ through elements such as its Treat Me cards, curated emailers and events instore. To borrow a quote from Reggie Perrin, ‘Paperchase has not got where it is today’ by harking back to the past, but some milestones are definitely worth marking. Under the theme of ‘50 Colourful Years of Stationery’, a whole programme of events
kicked-off in the middle of May and will run over the course of the year. Among the highlights is a product launch on 50 updated products from when the retailer started, a scratchcard customer initiative (offering freebies to customers) and heaps of social media activity “It is quite something to think that Paperchase has been selling stationery to three generations - and we want it to carry on doing that for many generations to come,” said Timothy Melgund poignantly. The retailer’s anniversary is a marker in the sand for Timothy personally, having recently relinquished the position of ceo to Duncan Gibson, himself taking the deputy chairman’s position. It is now 22 years since Timothy joined forces with the former Boots buyer Robert Warden and staged a venture capital-backed management buyout of Paperchase from former owners WHSmith (for whom Timothy previously worked). It was seen as a big deal at the time, but Paperchase only had nine stores and was viewed very much as a niche player, its stores expected to be confined to major conurbations, which had a large population of affluent arty types. Now look, over 140 standalone stores all over the UK, trading from high streets to PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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