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VIEWPOINTS
Inset: The heartbeat was strong for indies generally this Valentine’s Day.
feeling Wednesday may not be the most romantic day of the week, but Valentine’s Day 2024 certainly got the Spring Seasons 2024 events off to a decent start with Mother’s Day sales ratcheting up for the final push as PG went to press. Going to the heart of the matter, key greeting card indies revealed how the love flowed in their neck of the woods. Sally Matson, owner of Red Card in Petworth:
Above: Red Card’s Sally Matson (far left) and Karen West (far right) with Ben Hickman (Brainbox Candy), Rosie Harrison (Rosie Made a Thing) and Chris Stanley (Redback) sharing the love at the recent Spring Fair.
Sharing the love: “What a great start to the Spring Seasons, we definitely felt the love at this year – we saw our biggest Valentine’s Day card sales ever!” Passionate kisses: “Most popular Valentine’s card was the dishwasher design from Ohh Deer that we featured in the window – I’m sure we could have sold 100 of those, it’s obviously very much a thing in relationships. The beautiful Bear designs from The Art File were also very popular.”
Above: Dishwasher etiquette is no reason to fall out of love at Red Card hence Ohh Deer’s card taking centre stage in the window.
David Robertson, co-owner of JP Pozzi and Bijou in Buckie and Elgin: Sharing the love: “Valentine’s Day for us was actually pretty solid this year. All our card and gifts stores traded up both on the days leading into Valentine’s Day and for the week. With publishers cutting back on Spring Seasons, either in choice or by supplying cards in threes we mixed in both new small publisher content and reduced carry over stock which resulted in some good sell through. Sometimes a slight adjustment on price or placement is all it needs to move stock through.” Passionate kisses: “Our sales were bolstered by the brilliant Jellycat Valentine’s characters that were
picked up by young and old. On a personal front, my wife and I always try to give one another cards I don’t sell but sometimes that’s not possible! My personal fave was the Counting Stars card my wife gave me which is because we are always sending one another dog videos on TikTok – I do stock the wonderful Five Dollar Shake, but this design would have been too niche for me – she customised it by saying ‘We follow’!” Above left: The Valentine’s Day cards were displayed next to a selection of Jellycat products in Bijou. Above right: An innovative plush piece from Jellycat. Left: Valentine’s cards for and from the dog added to the display at David Robertson’s house.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 29