Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has announced Ron & Shirley Maynard have offered their franchise business of Oxford to the market following 20 years as franchisees. The retiring couple currently supply almost 170 retail outlets with Card Connection’s quality range of cards and accessories and are now looking forward to spending more time with their family.

“We have five grandchildren!” confirms Ron. “Although the Card Connection franchise gives us the flexibility to spend time with them, after two decades we are looking forward to passing on our established business legacy to another enthusiastic franchisee or couple.”

The award-winning territory, which has a turnover of almost £145K pa, covers all of Oxfordshire and parts of West Berkshire including part of the M4 corridor to the south and extends up to Banbury and along the Cherwell valley and the A40 in the north. Card Connection franchisees place greeting cards and accessories in retail outlets on a ‘consignment’ basis. The display equipment is supplied free on loan, minimising the retailers’ costs and maximising their profits. The award winning concept 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.

“As an organisation we have 14 staff dedicated to helping our franchisees optimise the profitability of their respective franchises,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “Card Connection is unique in the industry as, as well as many independent retailers and convenience stores, we also work with nearly 100 Regional and National retail accounts such as Costcutter, WH Smiths Motorway Services, NISA, BP and Spar.

“In addition, our greetings card ranges are unparalleled in terms of quality and design and feature some of the best-selling licenced product available, including Disney and the ever popular, super-cute character Boofle,” continues Johnson. “This means new franchisees have an established customer base and make money from day one. The chance to purchase and run the Oxford Card Connection territory is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we look forward to welcoming applications from enthusiastic potential franchisees. No experience of the greeting card industry is necessary as full training and hand-over will be provided.”

In 2015 Card Connection was named as a finalist for the prestigious British Franchise Award (BFA) Franchisor of the Year award and Ron and Shirley Maynard won the BFA Award for the Best Micro Business in 2013.

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.

Territories currently available include: Bath, Coventry, Reading/Windsor, Northampton, Plymouth, Oxford, Leicester, Liverpool, Ayr, Edinburgh and Ireland South. For further information about franchises for sale, please fill out the form below.