Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has today announced that new franchisee, Subramaniam Suganthan (Sugan), has taken over the Redditch territory. Former Card Connection retail customer, Sugan will now supply Card Connection’s extensive range of quality greetings cards and accessories to more than 175 stores in the region.

“I first came across Card Connection about four years ago when the local franchisee delivered greetings cards to the petrol forecourt I worked at,” explains Sugan. “The greetings cards are excellent in terms of quality and range and I know from experience how well they sell. I researched the franchise online and realised the company had been established around two decades! From a retail point of view, I was impressed with the customer service provided by the franchisee and I knew it would be a good business opportunity.

“I actually went for my first interview with the management team in 2012 but there was no area available until now,” continues Sugan, “So, I am very excited to be starting as a franchisee with Card Connection at last! The staff have been particularly supportive and the training very thorough. My business development managers Andy and Darren have helped me set up my store room so I’m now ready to hit the ground running.”

Prior to joining Card Connection Sugan was a commission operator for petrol forecourt brand Rontec and before that, a manager at BP Simply Food.

Card Connection franchisees supply greeting cards and accessories in retail outlets on a ‘consignment’ basis, also supplying the display equipment free on loan if appropriate, 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 which last year celebrated its 21st year in operation as a franchisor is one of the UK’s largest card publishers and is the market leader in the franchised distribution of greeting cards. The business’ unique model of consignment sales has resulted in a strong brand and established reputation which has been proven over many years. Through its franchisees Card Connection supplies about 12,000 retailers throughout the UK.

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.