Leader

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leader Editor Naomi MacKay

And it’s shows time once again!

As I write this, card publishers up and down the country are busily receiving stock and taking publicity photos in readiness to show off their new wares to a host of eager buyers, from independent retailers to the big boys, at Spring Fair.

And the good news is that despite all the doom and gloom in the press, greeting card retailing appears to have come through Christmas relatively unscathed. Our Diary of a Card Shop columnists Paul and Helen Southgate of Cards n Things in Hellesdon, Norwich said: ‘’So much scaremongering made it a nervy wait to see if customers would buy, and as the weeks went on through October and November, there was no drop in customer spend. In fact, we had record sales in October, November and December.’’

So hopefully all the exhibitors at Spring Fair will find that the visiting retailers will come ready with their wallets open!

If you’re a retailer heading to the NEC, Birmingham, there’s certainly plenty to fill your shelves and racks - you can find a line-up of the greeting card offering in our Spring Fair preview on page 16, along with some hints, tips and tales of shows past from some of the exhibitors.

There’s more advice on getting the best out of this season’s trade shows from Anna Berry, director and cofounder of Retail100 Consulting, who has compiled a guide to making the most of a show visit on page 55.

While you’re at the shows, it’s also a chance to consider upping your game when it comes to gifts - a selection in a greeting card shop offers a great chance to increase customer spend - as Paul and Helen noted: ‘’We found our greeting card sales were on a par with last year, but what made the difference was our gifting range.’’ We’ve included some gift ideas in our focus on p50.

And while you’re there, you might as well start planning for next Christmas too - as the saying goes, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail! Take a look at our focus on Christmas for more inspiration.

And talking of planning ahead, take this chance to look forward to summer (doesn’t that seem a long time away?!) and the famous Greetings Today Golf Day. Lema Publishing founder Malcolm Naish says: ‘’We shall once again be organising the only industry Golf Day on June 29 at Puckrup Hall [in Tewkesbury]. Very good room rates have been agreed and the format for the day will be a nine holes morning Texas Scramble, followed by a sumptuous lunch, with the afternoon team fourball, individual Stableford and yellow ball competition to follow - with a barbecue to continue the most essential networking that follows a day’s toil! “Sadly, I had to cancel the 2022 golf day due to a number of very late cancellations that just made the day impossible. So put June 29 in your diaries now! The cost for the day, including the evening barbecue, is £110 per player. ‘’Let’s make this a golfing day to remember. Let’s face it, a day’s golf will make a nice change from working from home, and taking time out to walk the dog. Plus, you could be coming home with one of Greetings Today’s hugely expensive and highly sought-after prizes!’’

Email Malcolm at malcolm@lemapublishing. co.uk to book your place.

Meanwhile, whether you’re on the train to Birmingham, or staying indoors to escape the weather, use the time to read the rest of the magazine. Towards the back of the issue you’ll find interviews with Scribbler’s head of design Aisling Crosland, who reveals how the retailer sources and creates its ranges, as well as Sandra Jervis, who champions Welsh language cards in her Lampeter shop Creative Cove.

I always like to hear from retailers, so do get in touch if you would like to contribute to our retail section. In fact, I would love to hear from any readers who are interested in taking part in our features, interviews and news pages. Contact me at naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing many of you at Spring Fair. Please stop and say hello if you see me wandering the aisles!

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Send your views and submissions for the magazine to naomi@lemapublishing.co.uk