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Card Connection UK Franchise

Company Facts

Card Connection franchise is a distributor of greeting cards. It is a home-based franchise business opportunity, that is a full member of the British Franchise Association.

How much does a Card Connection franchise cost?

To buy a Card Connection franchise the minimum cost would be £35,000, of which you would contribute a minimum of £15,000 of your own money.

Read about a day in the life of one of our franchisees

About Us

Card Connection franchise...join the UK's leading greeting card franchise

 

Card Connection, the UK’s leading greeting card franchise, is the ideal franchise for those looking for both a money making opportunity and a good lifestyle.
Established in 1992, Card Connection is one of the largest publishers of greeting cards in the UK. Gaining full British Franchise Association (bfa) membership in 1994, Card Connection is also regarded as one of the UK’s top franchises.
 
By joining UK Greetings Ltd (UKG) in 2008, Card Connection became part of the world’s largest publicly-owned greeting card company and the largest direct to retail greeting card publisher in the UK. UK Greetings Limited (UKG) is the British subsidiary of American Greetings Inc AG.
 
There are over 85 Card Connection franchise owners in the UK.
 
How does the franchise work?
 
Franchise owners situate greeting card collections in retail outlets on a “consignment” basis. The customer never has to pay for the stock upfront; they only have to pay for what they sell. The stock and merchandise display units are given to the customers on a free loan. 
 
Franchisees tend to visit their customers within their exclusive territory on a monthly basis.
 
Around 15,000 retail outlets in the UK and Ireland are serviced by around 85 Card Connection franchisees.  
 
Card Connection customers include convenience stores, sub post offices, petrol station forecourts and staff restaurants in large offices.  Card Connection’s national account customers include Budgens, Londis, Nisa, Spar, Palmer & Harvey, Bestway, Bargain Booze, Shell, Texaco, Total… and many, many more.
 
Benefits of a Card Connection franchise
 
Good income from day one
 
As Card Connection has had national distribution for over a decade, all franchise areas for sale are re-sales i.e. areas currently run by an existing franchisee who is now looking to sell their business. The benefit of buying a Card Connection franchise resale is that you will receive a detailed sales history as well as an income from ‘Day 1’.  
 
Card Connection inspects all franchises for sale to ensure that they are offered at goodwill prices which should ensure a good income and return on capital. Some territories are providing income in excess of £50,000 p.a.
 
Flexible lifestyle
 
Due to the nature of convenience stores, trading throughout the day and often at night, Card Connection franchise owners can work flexible hours to suit themselves.
 
Outstanding product ranges
 
Card Connection has produced over 1200 quality greeting card ranges to cover virtually every style, taste and occasion, including birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Mother and Father’s Days, Valentines and wedding cards.
 
Card Connection ranges also include gift wrap and other “impulse buy” gifts.   Franchisees have also started to supply Voltz energy drink to their customers.
 
Having such a wide range of cards allows franchisees to adapt their displays to suit the needs of their customers.
 

A day in the life of a Card Connection franchisee

Dave and Di Tudor run the Herefordshire Card Connection greeting card franchise. Their day starts early so Dave can be on the road before the traffic. Dave visits between 10-15 convenience stores, post offices, petrol station forecourts as well as large Card Connection group accounts including; Costcutter, Londis, Netto, Budgens, Spar Haldanes and BP, to deliver Card Connection’s range of quality greeting cards and gifts. 

Dave places the stock in retail outlets on a ‘consignment’ basis. This means the stock and display equipment is installed on free loan to the retailer. This is one step beyond ‘sale or return’ as Card Connection retail customers never have to buy the stock in the first place, only paying for what they sell.  The award winning merchandising service provided to retailers by local franchisees is second to none and has established the company’s excellent reputation especially within the convenience sector.
 
By visiting the retail outlets regularly, Dave keeps the displays looking appealing with frequently updated Everyday and Seasonal product, encouraging consumers to buy. While refreshing the displays, Dave calculates the stock sold in each outlet and this allows him to generate invoices on the spot with an electronic hand held terminal. 
 
Dave also finds time to visit prospective retail customers to help grow the business. The couple open around 3-4 new stores each month. Lately, they have been focused on expanding their business and have also grown their region by purchasing the adjoining territory of Stratford-upon-Avon. 
 
Back at home, Di is responsible for packing the boxes of greetings cards ready for the following day. Each store on the call route has a tailored picking sheet which helps Di and her assistant organise the boxes of greeting cards for each shop in their garage, which has been adapted as a storeroom.   As well as greeting cards, Di also packs up gifts like Card Connection’s new party range which includes balloons, candles, banners and streamers. The objective is to maximize the sales of each store, by installing a full range of gifts and cards on each display.
 
Dave and Di are also training up a new recruit who is set to join the team part time as the business grows.  
 
Before joining Card Connection, Dave and Di ran a post office in Shropshire. They first learned about Card Connection through the local franchisee, who supplied the post office with greetings cards.
 
 
“We knew that Card Connection had a great product range which had proved very popular in our post office and as a result, its franchisees all had viable businesses,” confirms Di. “I had already researched franchising some years earlier by attending exhibitions and believed the support a company like Card Connection could give us would be beneficial when we embarked on our new direction, following the sale of the post office.”
 
“Card Connection had encouraged us to go through the franchise’s books and obtain the advice of a solicitor and accountant before buying the franchise,” Di continues. “We knew we would not make millions but with hard work it was evident the territory had great potential and since then we haven’t looked back. We are very confident we can continue to grow our business and continue to make a sound living out of not only something that we enjoy but an enterprise that has a bright future ahead.”
 
The busy day ends when Dave returns home and together, they pack up the van ready for the following day’s calls.
 

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In association with:

hsbc Lloyds

Contact Details

Mary Tollow
Park House
South Street
Farnham
Surrey
GU9 7QQ

Tel:01252 892 323
Fax:01252 892 339
Web: www.card-connection.co.uk

Card ConnectionResales Available

Card Connection Case Study

Card Connection Franchisee

Latif Twigeri
Guildford & Farnham

To become a Card Connection franchisee no qualifications are necessary. In fact, franchisees come from all walks of life including retail, sales and IT. Even a coal merchant and a deep sea fisherman now run successful Card Connection franchises!


Read more...
More Franchisee Case Studies


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