Industry news, retailer revelations, views from international distributors, fresh product launches…all in the covers of the May edition of Progressive Greetings.
With only a few days to go before the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, and as droves of Union Jack waving visitors are putting the final touches to their trips to Windsor, PG’s May edition swerves its ‘carriage’ towards the nuptials (click to pages 57 to 59).
But the celebrations are not just confined to the wedding, as closer to the card trade, PG Live prepares to mark its 10th anniversary at the BDC in Angel Islington. PG reveals how some card publishers have been inspired by our capital city’s treasure trove of British icons (click to 57 to 59) to create London-centric ranges, while others remember share their personal memories of the very first show and key changes in the industry dynamics. (click to 33 to 35).
With Meghan Markle being such a positive embodiment for cultural diversity, PG takes up the baton. According to the research commissioned by card publisher Huetribe last year, involving 2,000 Britons across a variety of backgrounds, “73% said they wanted to see more minorities on greeting cards”, says owner Tineka Smith.
However, things are changing. ‘Mother’s Day cards go gender-neutral’ was a recent front page headline on The Sunday Times, which applauded Waitrose and Scribbler for their respective inclusive approaches to Mother’s Day cards. And this was a follow on from a thumbs-up for Sainsbury’s, whose mission is to be ‘the most inclusive retailer where people love to work and shop’ for its own brand single sex Christmas and Valentine’s Day card designs.
But is the UK greeting card industry keeping pace with diversity? (click to page 36 to 37).
Want to know who are the best card retailers in the UK, then relish in the roll call of The Retas 2018 Awards Finalists! (click to page 25 to 27).
UK greeting card retailers were invited to enter The Retas Awards, the only dedicated annual awards for greeting card retail stockists, detailing their progress over the last 12 months. Additionally, card publishers, agents and sales reps nominated which card retailers they consider have excelled over the last year.
Sparked by winners of the top accolade of the publishers’ top awards, The Henries, PG ‘gets personal’ with 2017 Henries Honorary Achievement Award winners and co-directors of Second Nature, brothers Rod and Trevor Schragger, with the company’s latest twist on its Express Yourself personalised brand making its debut on its stand at PG Live next month.
Never afraid to experiment with new product ideas or display concepts, evolving with changes has been Second Nature’s forte. The company, which started back in 1985 has survived and prospered to become one of the leading greeting card brands in the UK, and elsewhere in the globe too. (click to page 50 to 51).
From poignancy to hilarity, British comedy – from its dark and satirical form to sitcom and parody – has never been so popular or diverse. As tears of laughter flow with Peter Kay’s Car Share and the Generation Game returning to our TV screens, so the conveyor belt of hilarious witty to wonderfully weird humour greeting cards that grace the card racks are celebrated in the Focus On Humour Cards publication, sharing the news, views and fresh range releases in this sector of the market (read the Humour supplement online).
But that’s far from all as May PG also shares the wise words from columnists Cardsharp about the general state of the retail scene; David Robertson of Scottish retailer JP Pozzi (who discusses some of the key relationships to build in business); Blue Eyed-Sun’s Jeremy Corner (who talks about current environmental changes) as well as revelations from retailers as to what are their respective hot sellers; publishers’ new range launches, and not forget all the industry’s latest news.
All this in the pages of a lovely glossy magazine and online too!
