Industry stalwart joins Taylor family on specialist card retailer group’s board
Industry stalwart John Charlton has taken on a senior post at the Cardzone retail group, with the news released just hours after the announcement that he had stepped down as SA Greetings chairman following the company’s acquisition by Card Factory.
John has become non-executive chairman with immediate effect at Nottingham-based Cardzone, which has 150+ stores across the whole of the UK operating under various names including Art Of Cards, Card Bar, Card Box, Card Centre, Card Land, Cardarama, Hallmark, Heart To Heart, Home & Fragrance, Just So, Occasions, Paper Kisses, Romantica, Something Special, Special Occasions, The Card Shop, Tidings, Thorntons, Yankee Candle, and Cardzone, and is run by the Taylor family, Paul and Christine and their son James.
Trading director James told PG Buzz: “We are delighted that John has come on board as chairman for Cardzone. John is a true industry stalwart with experience at the highest level which we are confident will help elevate the Cardzone business in the years to come. There are plenty of exciting opportunities on the horizon and John will be an integral part on the deliverance of our growth plans.”
Cardzone also forged a joint venture partnership with Postmark in April 2021 to cover new store openings for the specialist group, headed up by Mark and Leona Janson-Smith. This has seen a flurry of activity as Postmark is making the most of prime retail opportunities resulting from the demise of Paperchase.
“Greetings card and celebrations retailing is in a very interesting position today,” John commented. “Card Factory clearly dominates the value market. The demise of Paperchase has removed a retailer from the top tier and Clintons is in the middle of the road!
“In my opinion, Cardzone is in a great position because, within their group, they have the variety and ability to satisfy a number of consumer channels. I have also admired their management style – Paul and James have done a brilliant job in developing Cardzone, both by organic and acquisition growth. They have a very lean management team, but they are now at a stage to implement strategies to make the Cardzone group the clear number two in the specialist celebrations retail sector.
“I am very excited at joining them to help develop strategies to assist them in realising their growth ambitions.”
John’s many years of industry experience includes being non-executive chairman of International Greetings and, prior to that, he was senior vice-president of American Greetings together with being ceo of UK Greetings.
As announced on PG Buzz on Tuesday, 25 April, SA Greetings, the leading greeting card publisher and card retailing group in South Africa, became the first international acquisition for Card Factory, with the business and its subsidiaries having been bought for £2.5million, including the 24 Cardies retail stores with four further outlets operated by franchisees, plus a roll-wrap production facility.
John had been chairman of SA Greetings since 1998, when it was part of American Greetings, which sold the business in 2007. He then continued as chairman and a shareholder, including when the company was then sold on to management in 2015.
Although he also stepped down as chairman of both Festive Productions and The Vintage Garden Room at the end of last year, John – who celebrates his 77th birthday next month – teased PG Buzz on Tuesday that he had no intention of retiring “as you will shortly see”, with the news coming a few hours later of his Cardzone appointment.
