Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has announced franchisees Peter and Sharon Smith, who cover the Macclesfield and Buxton area have seen an 11% growth in their business in the past year. The couple now plan to retire following the sale of the territory which is currently on the market.

“After many years’ service, I was made redundant from the printing company I worked for when I was 61,” explains Peter Smith. “I needed a new role and with retirement only a few years away, finding a good job was proving difficult. We were introduced to Card Connection through friends who are franchisees in Cornwall and signed up to a five year deal.

“When we took over the region which covers East Cheshire, into the Derbyshire Dales, Macclesfield, Buxton and North Manchester, the franchise needed an injection of fresh enthusiasm!” confirms Peter. “We worked hard and turned the franchise around from trading at minus 17% to plus 25% within a couple of years.

“Partly we achieved this in order to earn a living and partly, keeping in mind that within five years we wanted to sell to retire,” continues Peter. “Since then we have continued to grow the franchise. We supply almost 140 retail stores with Card Connection’s range of cards and accessories and have developed these accounts to optimise profits for both retailers and ourselves. In addition, we have streamlined and computerised many processes to ensure new franchisees taking over can step straight into a profitable business after training plus a fully supported five week handover.

Peter concludes: “The franchise would suit a keen individual or couple who are interested in becoming self-employed, running their own business in a creative industry with the full support of a leading brand right behind them. For our part, after 48 years in the world of work we are looking forward to some well-deserved R&R in our retirement!”

Established in 1992 and a full member of the BFA since 1995, Card Connection is one of the UK’s largest card publishers and is the market leader in the franchised distribution of greeting cards. The consignment sales approach where franchisees supply stock and display equipment free of charge and the retailer only pays for what they sell has stood the test of time and challenging market conditions, allowing hundreds of franchisees to run successful businesses over the years. Through its franchisees Card Connection supplies about 12,000 retailers throughout the UK including independents plus a network of national retail account customers which include the likes of BP, Costcutter, Londis, Budgens and WHS Travel. Ten full time head office staff are dedicated to managing 100 national accounts on behalf of the franchisee network.

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 £12k + Stock + Card Connection fee with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.

Territories currently available include: Fife, Edinburgh/Scottish Borders, Stirling, Brighton, Reading, Plymouth, Bath, Northampton, Macclefield, South West Region Ireland. For further information about franchises for sale, please fill out the enquiry form.