Suffolk-based Showcase Greetings is a fresh new concept for independent greeting card retailers, offering a simple one-stop service for great new designs.
Featuring the exclusive creative talents of over 20 of UK’s brightest new designers, Showcase Greetings offers Retailers true choice. Rather than having to place several individual orders at one time, retailers can tailor their purchasing to suit their specific requirements.
For administration purposes this means there is one supplier providing huge choice but with just one delivery and one invoice. Unlike rival publishers Showcase Greetings doesn’t insist on a contract to exclude other publishers – the retailer retains their total freedom of choice.
The slogan of the company is “One Order, One Delivery and One Invoice”, created from 600 plus designs from multiple publishers, each with differing styles.
Showcase Greetings was started in the autumn of 2014 by John Botting with a small team of industry professionals. The company represents a number of mostly small publishers, currently twenty six with more wanting to join the fold.
There is an interesting selection of participating publishers and we found it refreshing to see some unusual and less well-known names in there:
Colour House Graphics, Cherry Pie Design, Colneis Marketing, Half-Bee, Animal Logic, 28 Celsius Designs, Cut Back Cards, Little Paper Wishes, Odd Socks, Jonesy, Lime Green Lollipop, Ma Nubiah, Widow & Son, Sabah Designs, Stickbots, One Tall Guy, Vanilla B, Tripod Cards, Word Play and Rufus.
These publishers’ designs are presented as one overall portfolio, organised by captions. Retail customers are invited to place a single order from a number of these designs which are then produced on demand and delivered, with the minimum order value being spread over several different publishers to whom Showcase Greetings pays a royalty.
Publishers currently represented by Showcase Greetings come from throughout the UK and overseas, and are sourced via the team’s extensive trade contacts and at exhibitions, “but often they find us”, says John.
“Our customers are varied, including gift shops, but can be anywhere that has a till for taking payment and footfall. It has been claimed that one in every seven retail outlets in the UK sells Greeting Cards so that is potentially a lot of tills!”
The collection incorporates the full range of greetings, including male and female birthday, male and female relations, juvenile, engagement, wedding, anniversary, births and christenings, humour, thank you, sympathy, new home, congratulations, other occasions, art cards and blank cards.
The company is quietly building its presence in a highly competitive industry, scoring points for the independent focus and originality offered by smaller publishers. Garden Centre Buyer is very interested to see how they will progress over the coming months and years.
For convenience, orders can be placed using using the online shop.
