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Retailer Profile
(Wait)rose
To The Challenge Waitrose has given its greeting card departments their biggest shake up for many years - all part of its quest to double the grocer’s card sales in the next five years. As a completely new selection of card designs, anchored by a Unique and Different bespoke range, beds in on the racks of all 350 Waitrose stores, PG catches up with the grocer’s buying manager Sarah Brett and buyer Kirsty Hicks to learn more about their ambitious greeting card aspirations.
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aitrose excels on so many fronts, but by its own admission it has not invested in evolving its greeting card offer for several years. But that’s all changed with the total revamp of the greeting card offering, which was installed across the entire estate last month. As part of a partnership arrangement with Hallmark, the largest percentage of the new 1,500 greeting card portfolio are bespoke designs that have been developed
largely by the designated Waitrose team at Hallmark Studios under the new ‘Unique and Different’ banner, with the remainder coming from 25 different greeting card publishers. Though still very early days, Kirsty, whose buying remit spans greeting cards, wrap, stationery, candles and home fragrance, is “thrilled” that sales “have started to lift” as customers are responding positively to the fresh collection. This is no small ‘tweak’, there is a lot riding on this. Elaborating on the bold ambitions for its new approach on the card front,
Sarah Brett, buying manager responsible for greeting cards, quantified the goal: “Our ambition is to double our card sales in the next five years.” And, their gaze is broader than just cards, with work already underway to overhaul its giftwrap offering too. The anticipated growth on its greeting card sales is expected to partly come from
Above left: Waitrose card buyer Kirsty Hicks (centre) with colleagues (right) Sarah Brett, buying manager and Nicky Westgarth, greeting card buying assistant. Above: Part of the new display in Waitrose Newbury store. New fixturing and redesigned PoS are to follow shortly. Inset: Waitrose has totally revamped the greeting card selection across all its 350 stores.
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