Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has announced it is now the sole supplier to Blakemore Retail stores in the UK. Card Connection’s franchisees now supply the company’s full range of greeting cards to 320 Spar branded Blakemore Retail stores in addition to more than 100 independent Spar stores where Card Connection now also has ‘preferred supplier’ status.

“The trial last year went really well and this was followed by the country-wide roll out of our greeting cards, wrap, bottle bags and party accessories,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “We are delighted to be associated with Blakemore’s Spar brand which is well regarded and trusted on the high-street. Some of our franchisees are now supplying 20-30 extra retail accounts because of the deal and have employed additional staff to manage the new business, which is very positive news across our network.”

“Card Connection franchisees now supply more than 1,500 every day and seasonal designs to Blakemore Retail stores,” continues Johnson. “Because there are a high number of outlets in Wales we have also developed specific Welsh greeting card designs to appeal to these customers as well as creating a bespoke spinner crown to add impact to the display.”

James Davis, trading manager non-foods at Blakemore commented: “Card Connection provides an unparrelled range of high-quality greeting cards supplied by a team of dedicated franchisees. The merchandising service the company provides is also excellent and we are happy to be working in partnership with Card Connection.”

Card Connection is part of UK Greetings, which is a subsidiary of the largest publicly owned greeting card publisher in the world and has limited vacancies for franchisees who are keen to run an expanding business. Suitable candidates would ideally have some management experience as, once established, and depending on the size of the territory, they could be expected to employ a small team, operate a small warehouse and have several liveried vans on the road.

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.

Territories currently available include: Southend-on-Sea, Plymouth, Nottingham/Grantham, Leicester, Manchester, Cardiff, Southport/Wigan, Macclesfield/Buxton, Dundee/Kirkcaldy.