Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection has announced franchisee Mike Hayes has ‘added’ to his King’s Lynn/Bury St Edmunds territory by purchasing the Cambridge, Newmarket and Haverhill franchised area. The former Maths teacher has also taken on new staff to help merchandise Card Connection’s range of quality greetings cards and accessories to a further 62 retailers, taking his total account base to just over 270 stores.

Mike Hayes sums up his expansion plans: “I always wanted to run my own business and since joining Card Connection as a franchisee in 2012, I am now responsible for making the decisions! I thoroughly enjoy every aspect of the franchise and when the opportunity to expand became available, I figured it would be a great move!

“I have taken on a new part-time merchandiser plus a stock picker to help manage the larger territory,” continues Mike. “I think my teaching background is certainly helping train them up!

“Card Connection has also been tremendously supportive,” explains Mike. “The company is a fantastic franchisor. From the product to the business model, right through to the head office back-up I’ve had no problems at all. Yes, running your own business is hard work and can be long hours, but the sales analysis keeps me motivated as I am directly rewarded for all the effort I put in. I’m planning a prospecting push next summer and calculate this will improve those figures further!”

Card Connection is part of UK Greetings, which is a subsidiary of American Greetings Inc., one of the largest greeting card publishers in the world and has limited vacancies for franchisees that are keen to run an expanding business.

Since the franchise network in the UK is complete, the available opportunities now consist of acquiring an already-established territory from an existing franchisee. These vary in price according to their level of development, but start at £7k + Stock + Card Connection fee with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.