Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection has today announced it has been selected as a finalist for the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards 2015. Now in their 26th year, the prestigious awards showcase the best operators in the franchise industry. The overall winners of the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards will be revealed at a black-tie gala dinner held at The ICC in Birmingham on 25 June 2015.

Michael Johnson, managing director Card Connection commented: “Card Connection’s whole ethos is to support our franchisees both nationwide and individually, to enable them to run profitable businesses. Our proven business model has enabled hundreds of franchisees to run successful businesses over the past two decades. It is a great honour to be shortlisted as a finalist for the bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards in recognition of our work in the industry as the market leader in the UK for the franchised distribution of greeting cards.”

Card Connection and its network of 68 franchisees distribute cards & accessories to around 13,000 retail outlets. Card Connection is part of UK Greetings Ltd, a subsidiary of American Greetings Inc., one of the largest greeting card publishers in the world.

Card Connection franchisees supply greeting cards and accessories in retail outlets on a ‘consignment’ basis, also supplying the display equipment free on loan, minimising the retailers’ costs and maximising their profits. This is one step beyond ‘sale or return’ as retail customers don’t have to buy the stock initially; they only pay for what they sell. Card Connection’s award winning merchandising service provided to retailers has proved popular all over the UK and Ireland, giving franchisees an advantage over competitors.

Card Connection 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.