25-27_29_GF.qxp_Grid 18/05/2022 14:12 Page 1
VIEWPOINTS
A Cost Of Loving Crisis? Below: The cost-of-living v the importance of loving.
PG asks members of the greeting card community what extent they believe the cost-of-living crisis will impact on the sector? Will it be better placed than other product areas due to its relative low cost and personal, caring nature? What should the Government do to help? Plus, revelations into some personal ‘pick me ups’!
Miles Robinson co-owner of House of Cards, a group of seven card and gift shops in the Home Counties
Simon Elvin
“While I don’t believe our sector is immune, being that the cost of a greeting cards is just above a pint of milk/loaf of bread I do feel our industry will weather the current storm OK.” Consumer price sensitivity: “I think there may well be some of this, price points of gifts will be ever more important, but I don’t think we will see a massive move in the split.” Mitigating measures: “Certainly an awareness of energy consumption/reduction where possible and looking at the little things that added up cost wise can make a significant difference. We recently carried out a sustainability study throughout every branch and employee, the results have been quite eye-opening and I think will lead to some brilliant time/cost saving measures in due course.” Govt magic wand: “Permanently fix the Business Rates system!” Personal pick you up: “Well it would have to be chorizo, Pedro Ximenez and ?????” Above: Greeting cards are better and cheaper than sliced bread! Above left: Miles is partial to a drop of Pedro Ximenez. Left: House of Cards’ latest store in Woodley.
co-founder of Simon Elvin “The cost-of-living crisis is bound to have some effect on the greeting card industry, particularly because of the postage increase.” Consumer price sensitivity: “Hopefully the majority of people will still send a card, but they may well be more price conscious when buying one. The Covid lockdown and buying locally did help our wholesale distributors, particularly those with a strong online offering, and I believe this will continue as retailers become more aware of the range of product they can buy from leading wholesalers.” Mitigating measures: “As a business, we continue to look hard at our costs, but with everything going up and the need to pay our staff more to cope with inflation, we will inevitably have to increase our prices, even though we will swallow as much as possible of such prices increases.” Govt magic wand: “If the Government had a magic wand, they could close down Card Factory, ban SOR and give me a crystal ball that could look forward 12 months.” Personal pick you up: “When the going gets tough, it’s just a case of trying even harder and ignoring all the doom-mongers.” Above right: Simon Elvin believes that the crisis bodes well for the wholesale sector. Above: Simon is hoping for a crystal ball which would help him see what the next year has in store for us all.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
25
