All its everyday greeting cards are selling for £1 and all giftwrap is 80p in Jack’s, Tesco’s new value sibling, which is now trading from six stores, but with others due to open soon.
All the greeting cards (both everyday and Christmas) and giftwrap are being supplied by Hallmark as part of its ongoing relationship with Tesco, for whom it is the greeting card category manager. Equally strong as the value message is the fact that the cards and wrap are produced in the UK, which features strongly on the PoS.
“We’re six weeks in, but the early signs are very good,” Matt Critchlow, sales director of Hallmark revealed to PG Buzz about the card and wrap sales in Jack’s.
The new store concept is named after Jack Cohen, who founded Tesco 99 years ago and pays tribute to his nickname of ‘slasher Jim’ thanks to his ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ approach.
All the cards and wrap in Jack’s are being marketed under ‘Simply for You’ though the Hallmark brand also appears on the products.
Each of the Jack’s stores include a one metre bay of everyday cards (which accommodate 90 designs) as well as wrap and giftbags. Christmas boxes and packs also currently feature adjacent to the everyday selection.
The much-anticipated debut of Jack’s joins a number of developments in the value arena on the greeting card front, not least Aldi’s double trial of greeting cards from Card Factory as well as IG Design Group.
For Hallmark the trial with Jack’s is all part of a “commitment to support our customers,” Matt Critchlow told PG Buzz. “Greeting cards is a healthy category” testament to its strength and consumer engagement is the diverse approach from retailers right across the spectrum.
“It is our industry’s interest that greeting cards are on offer to appeal to all tastes, all economic situations and in places where consumers are spending their time,” summed up Matt.
While Hallmark has historically not courted the value sector, it does supply greeting cards to Card Factory, Home Bargains and The Range.
Top: Jack’s is Tesco’s new value sibling brand to rival Aldi and Lidl.
