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In Conversation With... Card Factory
Inside Card Factory’s
Cupboard She’s hardly an ‘old mother’, nor as Card Factory’s recent results testify, the value retailer’s ‘cupboard’ is certainly not ‘bare’. PG catches up with Karen Hubbard, ceo of Card Factory, acknowledged to be one of the 10 most influential women in UK retail, to pick the ‘bones’ out of the wealth of news emanating recently from UK’s largest greeting card retailer.
T
he wall of Karen Hubbard’s office features a bright and breezy depiction of Card Factory’s history - from its humble beginnings back in 1992 out of the back of Dean Hoyle’s van through its milestone moments. The latter include setting up its own in-house creative studio (2005) and acquiring its own print facility in Printcraft (2009) which nailed its vertical business model, plus floating on the stock exchange (2014) and opening its 900th store (2017). Just in case Karen needs reminding, in the top right hand corner of the mural is a big red
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PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
arrow to the words ‘Story to be continued…’ of which, as ceo of the UK’s largest greeting card retailer, Karen is the ‘editor in chief’. Two and half years into her role as ‘mummy’ of Card Factory, Karen is most definitely making her presence felt, both within the organisation (see opposite story) as well as on the broad retail landscape. Last month she featured in the Power List 100, the respected league table, published by Retail Week, which highlights the top 100 most influential individuals in UK retail, ranking 73rd, making Karen Hubbard one of the top 10 business women in the entire UK retail scene right now. Above: Card Factory’s ceo Karen Hubbard (left) with studio director Jo Bennett (right) and PG’s Jakki Brown at the retailer’s Wakefield HQ. Right: Card Factory has impressed the City with its financial results and Karen sent every one of its employees a hand-written card to say thank you. Below: Card Factory has its aim of 1,200 stores well within its grasp.
She has held her own in the City, not only delivering the good news by way of the retailer’s financials results (turnover was up 6% in the last year, like-for-like sales up 2.6%, while the estate continued to grow at a steady 50 stores a year), but also the positive message about the industry as a whole. Underpinned by the findings from research company OC&C, commissioned by Card Factory to delve into the nation’s card sending habits, Karen has championed the UK’s engrained culture of card sending, reinforcing how cards have most definitely not been displaced by digital means, highlighting how in actual fact greeting card use is increasing among 18-24 year-olds, a demographic that is likely to be swayed by the immediacy of digital alternatives. Although gratified by OC&C’s projection that the card market is on course to grow in value between 0.6% and 2%