Notes & Queries invites UK indies to give feedback at advisory board meetings
Talented British indie retailers are all set to strut their stuff in front of their American cousins thanks to US distributor Notes & Queries.
N&Q runs regular advisory board meetings to receive feedback from retail customers who buy the many British publishers greeting cards it imports into the US, so MD and co-owner Vanessa Harnik has come up with the idea of getting UK retailers to put in their two pennyworth too.
Vanessa, who runs the business with her father Alan, told PG Buzz: “We host a Notes & Queries online retailer advisory board meeting every three to four months with about eight to 12 retailers across the US.
“They’re a diverse group from bookstores, coffee shops, frame shops, news stores, gift stores, etc – all they have in common is that they buy our line and, in some cases, have bought our line for a very long time.
“We set up these retailer advisory board meetings as a way to get direct feedback on our products, business and what we can do as a partner – to be better at what we do.
“It dawned on us that making this meeting international for at least one meeting a year would be really interesting and helpful, another way of getting another set of eyes on everyone’s respective business.”
Vanessa and Alan came up with the idea at Spring Fair last month, when they brought sales rep Francie Macica to experience a British trade show for the first time and, to kick things off, House of Cards’ Miles Robinson, Mark Janson-Smith from Postmark, and Stationery Supplies’ Sarah Laker are joining in for the 20 May online meeting, along with JP Pozzi’s David Robertson, who admitted: “I’m really intrigued to join the discussion”.
To celebrate N&Q’s 45th anniversary Vanessa and Alan are also working on plans to bring one of their American customers and a sales rep over to experience the wonder that is PG Live in London on 3-4 June.
