8 minute read
GCA news
In Robin Hood country!
Greeting Card Association members gathered at Nottingham Trent University at the end of September for the organisation’s annual conference.
Along with a chance to meet up with old friends and make new contacts within the industry, attendees were also treated to talks by a number of inspirational speakers.
Darren Cave, UKG and GCA vice president shared some highlights from the GCA annual Market Report to give an insight into the current state of the market.
The GCA’s annual Market Report is a useful tool for anyone in the industry, casting a spotlight on what’s happening within greeting card publishing and retail.
A new question in this year’s questionnaire, which forms the basis of the report, focused on the environmental efforts being made by the industry - and showed a whopping 88% of respondents are taking/will take action to renew their supply chain for more sustainable alternatives and are making/will make their cards fully recyclable.
The report showed that greeting cards retail has come out of the pandemic stronger than before, with consumers spending more than £1.5 billion on single cards in 2021, an increase of 11% on the previous year.
Everyday (Birthday / Blank cards / Occasions / Age / Relations ) card sales account for 79% of total retail value of all single card sales, with an Average Retail Price (ARP) of £1.93 (up from £1.92 in 2019). The overall value of Everyday card sales increased by 12.6% in 2021 to £1.2 billion.
Lucy Creed, Poet & Painter, and Rebecca Green, Raspberry Blossom Geoff Sanderson
Consumer behaviour
Meanwhile, shoppers’ behaviour insights came from consumer specialist Kantar. Alex Bandini and Ni Wang pointed out that gifting still remains important to consumers - and out of everything they would cut back on in light of the current economic climate, buying gifts for family and friends comes 12th on the list behind the likes of takeaways, eating out, clothes shopping and subscriptions such as Netflix.
They also stated that the average price of a card (£1.71 according to Kantar data) was far less than other giftables such as a bottle of wine, flowers or toys.
It’s also important to note that Kantar’s information comes only from retailers that have an EPOS system, so is skewed towards the bigger retailers (including supermarkets and discounters) and that many independent stores’ data is not recorded. Which explains why the GCA Market Report shows the average cost of a card at £1.92.
Alex and Ni also pointed out that value and discounted shops are thriving at the moment, so retailers must dial up the value of their product, not just the price point - for instance while flowers will be dead in a week or two, a beautifully produced card keeps for ever.
The good news is that gifts are still a ring-fenced spend… and cards are inexpensive gifts!
They finished on another positive note… nine out of 10 households buy cards, almost once per month, though Alex
identified a possible stream of revenue for London-based retailers, with only eight out of 10 households buying cards, seven times a year. “Those living in London come from a wide range of cultures. Could it be that the cards available do not reflect these?’’ he questioned.
Goodbye and hello…
The GCA also said thank you to longserving Council members Ged Mace and Raj Arora, and welcomed new Council members Rebecca Green co-owner of Raspberry Blossom, Sarah Jackson owner of Bristol based publisher Stormy Knight, and Nick Carey, managing director of Abacus Cards.
Rebecca told Greetings Today: “I am thrilled to be a part of a wonderful organisation. What I feel I can bring to the table is the perspective from a smaller scale business that has organically grown and has to compete with the larger more established companies out there.
“With smaller publishers and boutique store owners you really have to wear many different hats! One morning I am designing, then writing copy for newsletters, then checking stock in from our suppliers, banding cards for our customer orders… the list goes on! I want to bring this perspective and help other people in a similar position.’’
Graduation Open Call
Geoff Sanderson, of Celebration Nation, has spent many years recruiting and developing greeting card designers in businesses such as Tigerprint/M&S, Hallmark and Moonpig. He spoke passionately about creative innovation and how to use it to build your business, and introduced the conference to the GCA Graduation Open Call project. This will support recruitment into the industry and raise the profile of the greeting card industry with fledgling designers.
The project aims to develop a pathway for graduates who want to come into the greeting card industry, and allow GCA members to connect with new arts graduates. A selection of graduates were able to present their portfolios to GCA members during the day.
Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green said: “This initiative is something that I will be involved in going forward and add my voice and experience to. Studying graphic design at Loughborough University then graduating and going into marketing and advertising, it would have been fantastic to know that the greeting card industry was a viable avenue to find work.
‘’I feel this is such a great initiative for both the students and the industry. It can ultimately help nurture the students and their talents and then energise the publishing companies who get involved in this. Raspberry Blossom will definitely be looking at taking on a graduate next year through this initiative.’’
My Time in Print
Richard Bacon, MD at Sherwood Print, entertained the audience with some local facts - who knew that the French Bulldog, traffic lights and HP Sauce all originate from the city!? He went on to recount how the company had evolved over the years, and his own part in it - starting with rejecting a chance to join under the YTS scheme! Throughout, he imparted the 10 things he had learned about being in business, including: it’s all about relationships, work hard but enjoy yourself, treat people with respect and finally, love what you do, and if you don’t, do something else.
50 Shades of the GCA
Props must go to Adriana Lovesy, GCA membership marketing coordinator and owner of greeting card publisher Mrs Lovesy, who managed to give a rundown of 50 benefits of the GCA in under two minutes! A few mentioned included Local Meetups, guides to licensing and brokerage, Toolkits for events such as Valentine’s Day, Dragons Speed dating and many more! ‘’We have had so much great feedback from the 2022 GCA Nottingham Conference. It was so good to see so many members there. The GCA Graduate Open Call has generated much excitement, and with so much engagement from members already there is clearly enormous scope for this initiative to grow’’
Amanda Ferguson, GCA CEO
GCA support
GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson highlighted the work the GCA has done over the past year to promote and protect the industry, as well as sharing key information, resources and support.
This included the Thinking of You Week campaign, which reached more than 260,000 consumers, while the Thinking of You Week School project saw more than 3,000 children in the UK and Ghana exchange cards, as well as the GCA’s continuing to work with stakeholders, especially the Royal Mail in light of the current round of strikes.
Sir John Peace, businessman, Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University and Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, spoke about the opportunities for the industry, while Jon May, co-owner of Mooch Gifts and Home described how he and his business partner took the leap into owning their own shops, and offered useful hints on how to market your business for free (read our interview with Jon on page 46).
GCA News
Don’t forget Festive Friday!
Encourage your customers to buy and send Christmas cards early, by taking part in Festive Friday.
The initiative, from the Greeting Card Association, aims to spread the word among consumers to start getting festive and buy cards early - especially with the recent raft of Royal Mail strikes.
Festive Friday is the day when everyone in the greeting card industry, and card lovers everywhere, send their Christmas cards. Receiving Christmas cards reminds people to send theirs; so Festive Friday starts the annual exchange of Christmas cards!
The branding and design for this year’s events has been created by GCA member Sarah Best from Mrs Best Paper Co, in collaboration with The London Studio - an art licensing and design studio led by Soula Zavacopoulos, which represents artists and publishers worldwide.
Share your initiatives with us here at Greetings Today and with the Greeting Card Association, so they can be shared online.
Keeping green
As mentioned in the conference report, sustainability and eco issues are hugely important to industry members. If you want to find out more about how to make your own business greener, there’s a useful blog on the GCA website, which covers packaging, recycling and the use of sustainable materials. See www.gca.cards/greetingcards-and-the-environment-into-a-greener-future
Karen Finegold, Amanda Fergusson and Tina Knight
Flying the GCA flag
GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson attended the Genesis Senate at the Houses of Parliament in October, to fly the flag for the greeting card industry and speak about the challenges it is facing.
The Genesis Senate is an ‘umbrella’ organisation that harnesses the collective strength of trade associations, institutions and other groups representing the SME sector in the UK, sharing information and raising issues with MPs and others.
Amanda spoke about the size and health of the greeting card industry, and raised with Craig Williams MP the challenges of the Royal Mail strike, the impact of delays at port for seasonal product and the ongoing challenges of exporting into the EU for the greeting card industry.
