The Retas 2021 Winners Revealed

The UK’s very best greeting card retailers were officially recognised at The Retas 2021 greeting card retailer awards ceremony, which took place yesterday (16 November) at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Mayfair.

The Retas 2021 saw greeting card retail stockists from right across the retail spectrum recognised, rewarded and celebrated. Among the worthy winners are Cardzone (Best Specialist Multiple as well as Greeting Card Retailer of the Year), Postmark (Best Small Multiple), John Lewis & Partners (Best Department Store Retailer of Greeting Cards) and Sainsbury’s, which was crowned Best Supermarket Retailer of Greeting Cards.

The ever-popular event was attended by over 300 greeting card retailers, publishers and suppliers and hosted by comedian Stuart Goldsmith.

Above: Host Stuart Goldsmith on the Finery of Greenery stage at The Retas.
Above: Host Stuart Goldsmith on the Finery of Greenery stage at The Retas.

In keeping with the thriving passion for houseplants and gardening, as well as the yearn for green shoots of optimism, the theme of The Retas 2021 was The Finery of Greenery.

Welcoming guests, PG’s co-owner Jakki Brown paid tribute to The Retas finalists and winners, highlighting that in one of the most torrid times for retailers ever, “so many showed their true grit and determination, learning new skills and instigating initiatives to enable them to nurture their customers’ loyalty.”

Enjoying a strong roster of sponsors, all leading companies, who are all committed to rewarding retailing expertise, the event was backed by: The Art File, Belly Button Designs, Carte Blanche Greetings, Cath Tate Cards, Danilo, Hallmark, Heritage Art & Design, The Imaging Centre, Kantar, Ohh Deer, Ling Design, Paper Salad, Paperlink, Pigment Productions, Products of Change, Progressive Greetings Live, Second Nature, Sensations, UK Greetings, W Select, Wendy Jones-Blackett and Woodmansterne Publications.

The Retas Awards 2021 Winners are…

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Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – London

Earlybird, Stoke Newington

 

Above: Earlybird’s co-owners Heidi and (second right) Dominic Early with Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby (far right), sponsor of this award category. Earlybird also won the Best Retail Initiative.
Above: Earlybird’s co-owners Heidi and (second right) Dominic Early with Ohh Deer’s Mark Callaby (far right), sponsor of this award category. Earlybird also won the Best Retail Initiative.

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Home Counties and South East

Red Card, Petworth

 

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – East Anglia

Celebrations Hallmark, Aylsham

 

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – South West

Expressions, Cats Whiskers and Polkadot, Swindon, Bishops Cleeve and Keynsham

 

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Wales and the Midlands

Austin & Co, Malvern

 

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – North and Northern Ireland

Reflections, Nantwich and Rugeley

 

Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Scotland

Paper Tiger, two stores in Edinburgh

 

Best Greeting Card Retailer Newcomer or New Branch – South

Kingfisher Cards, Sidmouth

 

Best Greeting Card Retailer Newcomer or New Branch – North

Henry & Co, Bridgnorth, Nottingham and Ormskirk

 

Best Independent Bookstore Retailer of Greeting Cards

The Bookshop, East Grinstead

 

Best Non-Specialist Independent Retailer of Greeting Cards – North

Stationery Supplies, Marple and Wilmslow

 

Above: A very happy Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies.
Above: A very happy Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies.

Best Non-Specialist Independent Retailer of Greeting Cards – South

No. 14, Ampthill

 

Best Greeting Card Small Multiple (4+ stores)

Postmark, Balham, Blackheath, Chiswick, East Dulwich and Greenwich

 

Best Department Store Retailer of Greeting Cards

John Lewis & Partners

 

Best Supermarket Retailer of Greeting Cards

Sainsbury’s

 

Best Non-Specialist Multiple Retailer of Greeting Cards (4+ stores)

WHSmith

 

Best Specialist Multiple Retailer of Greeting Cards (20+ branches)

Cardzone

 

Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards – independent (1-4 centres)

Bernaville Nurseries, Cowley, Exeter

 

Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards – Multiple or group (5+ centres)

Blue Diamond Group

 

Best Greeting Card Retailer Initiative

Earlybird, Stoke Newington for its Hope Programme

 

Best Greeting Card Wholesaler

Budget Greeting Cards

 

Greeting Card Retailer of the Year

Cardzone

 

Above: The Cardzone team took to the stage to accept the top trophy from (fourth left) Ged Mace, md of The Art File, sponsor of this award category.
Above: The Cardzone team took to the stage to accept the top trophy from (fourth left) Ged Mace, md of The Art File, sponsor of this award category.

Now in its 16th year, The Retas, organised by Max Publishing, owners of Progressive Greetings magazine are the only dedicated awards for greeting card retailers.

Photos from The Retas will be available to see and download from the awards’ website (www.theretasawards.co.uk) over the next few days and the event will be covered in full in the December edition of Progressive Greetings magazine.

Top: The Retas winners on stage with host Stuart Goldsmith (centre stairs) and PG’s co-owners Jakki Brown and Warren Lomax.

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