40-41_Eliot Jacobs.qxp_Grid 08/04/2025 19:57 Page 1
RETAILER FOCUS
Above: As well as offering postal services, UOE’s stores also act as a bank, which further drives footfall.
TYPE RIGHTER
If the photocopier had not broken that day, Elliot Jacobs may never have reconnected with his Saturday job owners, let alone buy the UOE business or become a non-exec director of the Post Office. Having achieved a threefold uptick in greeting card sales from the now nine store retail group, and an ambitious plan to expand to 35+ greeting card, stationery and Post Office stores, PG hotfooted it to meet the man with an extensive typewriter collection.
Above: Elliot Jacobs outside UOE’s Crouch End store, which like all of its the shops features an old typewriter in homage to the business’ roots. Right: The majority of UOE’s stores are open seven days a week and, having a Post Office means they are a hub for the community. Below right: While UOE’s greeting card sales are growing strongly, sales of its packaging products (displayed on the right) are a cornerstone of the business.
If you have a disused typewriter looking for a new home, Eliott Jacobs could well take it off your hands. He needs to build up his collection, in readiness for the planned expansion of his UOE business into what he is aiming to become “The number one national stationery retailer” trading from up to 40 stores and greeting cards are very much part of the remit, being the fastest growing part of the retail business. So, what’s with the typewriters, and why is there one in every UOE store? It is in homage to the company’s origins, something of which Elliot has first hand knowledge. As a young lad, he used to cycle up to 40 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
UOE’s shop in London’s East Finchley to get some photocopying done for his Dad. Then, at the grand old age of 14 he clinched a Saturday job working at what was the former typewriter maintenance company that had evolved into the rather grand sounding Universal Office Supplies business selling all manner of stationery and office supplies. It was many years later, when working in the computer sector that a broken photocopier prompted Elliot to visit to his erstwhile employers where he learned of their plans to retire. “It does rather sound like a Victor Kiam story,” joked Elliot recalling the catchphrase of the outspoken American entrepreneur who liked the Remington shavers so much, he bought the company. Elliot then developed UOE’s B2B online operation while the retail side ticked along. “It was 2013 and high street trading was tough, but I just loved retailing. I knew I either had to become a proper retailer or get out of it,” revealed Elliot. “I then spotted that the Post Office was franchising out branches and recognised how bringing retailing together with the services a Post Office offers would drive footfall and increase sales.” Elliot was successful in his bid for the Post Office in East Finchley. “Our business went boom overnight,” recalled Elliot, with Potters Bar, Hertford, Muswell Hill, Stoke Newington and Crouch End following suit in quick succession. “During Covid, though it was challenging, we were able to continue trading, further cementing our relationship with the community,” explained Elliot. After opening in Ware (together with a banking hub), last October hearing of the owners plans to retire, Elliot was able to acquire the popular First Stop Stationers shop in Reigate, which further underlined the growth potential greeting cards offer UOE. “First Stop Stationers is a fantastic store, long revered for its greeting card selection and we are delighted that all of the team