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PG’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY
35 YEARS OF PG
Interest rates were running at 15% and we had no money to speak of, but thanks to the kindness of our former boss, Malcolm Pearce, a bit of support from family and Jeff Bottomley of Kingsley Cards commissioning us to produce a supplement, we signed on the dotted line. We had previously been working for the London-based publishing subsidiary of Bath based Johnsons, the largest family-owned newspaper wholesaler in the UK at the time. It is hard for younger readers to appreciate how massive the newspaper industry was then, and as well as supplying most of the West Country and many other regions with their newspapers, Johnsons also had a retail chain and various other interests. The owner and flamboyant entrepreneur, Malcolm Pearce was a bit of a wannabe publishing mogul, hence him launching his own trade magazine to serve his customers, the newsagents or CTNs
Above: Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax soon after they had acquired Progressive Greetings. Right: The second PG under Max Publishing ownership had Athena on the front cover, promoting its new licensed Viz range.
(Confectioner Tobacconists and Newsagent). It was called Progressive Newsagent. In those distant days, newsagents had a monopoly on selling newspapers. You could not buy them in a supermarket or anywhere else for that matter, and so they had a considerable presence in UK retailing. There must have been around 30,000 of them in those days as it was before the days where every supermarket had a ‘minimart’ on nearly every street corner and garage forecourt.
1991 was an odd year. After the yuppified boom of the late eighties’ Thatcher era, Britain was well and truly mired in recession again. Retail spending was under pressure, with a delayed hangover from Chancellor of Exchequer, Nigel Lawson’s overheating of the economy in the previous years. Companies were pulling their horns in, the banks had stopped lending and there was a general feeling of doom and gloom in the air. It was into this landscape that we (Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax) as two optimistic and somewhat naïve publishing executives decided it would be a good idea to stage a MBO of Progressive Greetings. To mark the milestone, we share the PG story and some of the protagonists and happenings of the last three and a half decades.
Nigel Wilcock, now sales agent, but formerly of Paper Rose, The Art Group and Macsel
Above: Nigel Wilcock.
Wow 35 years and going stronger than ever! It is hard to believe and reflect on the changes that our amazing industry has witnessed during this time. Publishers, wholesalers and retailers are in some cases now just a memory and some continue to develop and grow while many new ones have arrived on the scene. Fabulous product and great innovation thankfully continue to drive everything. Jakki and Warren have created, nurtured and grown not only Progressive Greetings magazine
that we all still cannot wait to read, but have developed the best trade show in PG Live, industry awards in The Henries and The Retas, sister magazines across all manner of consumer sectors and have supported countless businesses and people along the way, both individually and through their work with the GCA. Neither seem to have changed at all in their determination to help everyone. Whenever Warren and I talk (after putting our two football teams to rights!) we always go back to our first meeting when he explained his vision for the then brand new magazine and we tried to poach him to join the company that I worked for back then. Thank you Jakki and Warren, here’s to the next 35 years! PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE 31