This year’s top greetings retailer nominees are really Go(gh)ing for it!
After a rigorous canvassing of publishers, reps and agents for their retailer nominations and a thorough cajoling of encouraging greeting card retailers to enter The Retas, the finalists in this year’s 2023 greeting card retailers of the year awards can be revealed.
The winners will be announced at a Van Gogh-themed afternoon extravaganza on Thursday, 6 July, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, during an event attended by over 400 members of the greeting card community.
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – London (inside the M25)
Diverse, Brixton
Earlybird Designs, Stoke Newington
Gift, Crouch End
Medici Gallery, Kensington
Mooch, Ealing & Fulham
Snap, Bow
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Home Counties
Cards 4 Occasions, Hayling Island
Joyce’s Best Wishes, Lingfield
Maddy Moos, Totton
Objectables, Folkestone
Red Card, Petworth
Threads, Harpenden
Zest, Crowborough
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – East Anglia
The Card Centre, Felixstowe
Cards ’N’ Things, Norwich
The Eel Catcher’s Daughter, Ely
Just Cards and Abigail’s Cards & Gifts, Norwich & Dereham
LoveOne, Ipswich
Sincerely Yours, Hornchurch & Shenfield
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – South West
Bazaar, Barnstaple
The Card Collection, Bath & Shaftesbury
Kingfisher Cards & Gifts, Sidmouth
PaperGangsta, Bristol
Stationery House & Gifts, Somerton & Clevedon
Tickles & Co, Wimborne
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Wales
The Celtic Company, Welshpool
Charlton Cards, Tenby
Creative Cove, Lampeter
Daisy Daisy, Llanishen
Halls, Llanduff
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – The Midlands
Austin & Co, Malvern
Bentleys and Maddison, Birmingham, Harborne, Solihull & Stourport-on-Severn
Hugs & Kisses, Tettenhall
Set Design, Leicester
Something Special, Kingswinford
Wishes & Kisses, Boldmere & Solihull
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – North West England and Northern Ireland
Bailey’s, Ainsdale, Crosby & Maghull
Bus Stop Cards and Gifts, Castlederg
Celebrations, Carlisle
The Gift Box, Hoole
Reflections, Nantwich & Rugeley
Wishes of Cockermouth, Cockermouth
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – North East England
Artichoke, Tynemouth
Cards & Gifts, Dronfield
Castle Cards, Barnard Castle
Design@six, Wetherby
Serendipity, Newcastle
Thinking Of You, Denby Dale
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer – Scotland
Gibsons, Haddington
The Gift Boutique, Fraserburgh
JP Pozzi and Bijou, Buckie and Elgin
Paper Tiger, Edinburgh
Pencil Me In, Elgin
Penny Black, Glasgow
Best Greeting Card Retailer Newcomer (opened since Jan 2020)
The Beverley Card Company, Beverley
Cards & Moor, Yelverton
Dolly Daydream, Presteigne
Jelly Armchair, Cheltenham
Occasions, Jersey
Best Independent Bookstore Retailer Of Greeting Cards
Barnes Bookshop, Barnes
Bookends, Christchurch
Chorleywood Bookshop, Chorleywood
Guisborough Bookshop, Guisborough
The Hedgehog Bookshop, Penrith
Regency Bookshop, Surbiton
Best Non-Specialist Independent Retailer Of Greeting Cards – North
Archerfield Walled Garden Shop, Dirleton
The Hollies, Little Budworth & Lower Stretton
Mooch, Bewdley & Stourport-on-Severn
Nest, Broughton Astley, Stoneygate, & Thurlaston,
Stationery Supplies, Marple & Wilmslow
Utility, Liverpool & Manchester
Best Non-Specialist Independent Retailer Of Greeting Cards – South
The Bay Tree Home & Gift, Devizes & Marlborough
Dart’s Farm, Topsham
Lark, London & Woking
MiMi, Hartley Wintney & Wokingham
Natsons, Barnes
No.14 Ampthill, Ampthill
Best Greeting Card Small Multiple (5-20 stores)
3 Wishes, five stores in the south
Between The Lines, 17 stores in the south
Henry & Co, nine stores in the Midlands
House of Cards, seven stores in the Home Counties
Postmark, 14 stores in London, Birmingham & soon Glasgow
Temptations, seven stores in the Home Counties
Best Department Store Retailer Of Greeting Cards
Atkinsons, Sheffield
Barkers of Northallerton, Northallerton
Daniels, Windsor
Elphicks, Farnham
John Lewis & Partners
Morleys Group, eight stores in the south
Selfridges
Best Supermarket Retailer Of Greeting Cards
Asda
Booths
Morrisons
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Waitrose & Partners
Best Non-Specialist Multiple Retailer Of Greeting Cards
Marks & Spencer
National Trust
Oliver Bonas
The Range
Waterstones
WHSmith
Best Specialist Multiple Retailer Of Greeting Cards (20+ stores)
Card Factory
Cardsdirect
Cards Galore
Cardzone
Clintons
Scribbler
Best Garden Centre Retailer Of Greeting Cards – independent
Bents, Warrington
Burford Garden Centre, Burford
Garsons, Esher & Titchfield
The Grange Garden Centre, Melton Mowbray
Highfield Garden World, Whitminster
Stewarts, Christchurch, Broomhill and Abbey
Best Garden Centre Retailer Of Greeting Cards – multiple or group
Blue Diamond, 40+ centres nationwide
Haskins, five centres in the south
Longacres, five centres in the south
Klondyke/Strikes, 22 centres across the UK
Notcutts, 19 centres across the UK
RHS, five centres across the UK
Best Greeting Card Retailer Initiative (for a specific project or initiative undertaken by a retailer since 15 April 2022)
Austin & Co, Malvern, for its Nessa’s Christmas Dog Food Drive
Expressions, Swindon, for its Scouts Post engagement
House of Cards, Home Counties, for its Thinking Of You Week activities
Milford Cards & Gifts, Milford, for its Turkey Earthquake Appeal activity
Nickery Nook, Bedale, for its upcycling cards programme
Stationery Supplies, Marple & Wilmslow, for its Festive Friday Design A Christmas Card Competition
Swagger, Chipping Sodbury, for its charity Swagbags
Best Greeting Card Wholesaler
Archway Cards, Norwich
Budget, nine branches nationwide
CAPS, Bury
Crosswear Trading, Enfield
Greetings House, Walsall
Jackson’s, Sheffield
Greeting Card Retailer Of The Year
All winners of The Retas 2023 categories are contenders for this award, so no finalists are revealed until the awards event on 6 July
All The Retas 2023 winners will be announced at the awards event with a strong roster of sponsors ready to hand out the trophies.
The Retas 2023 sponsors include AfroTouch Design, The Art File, Belly Button Designs, Carte Blanche Greetings, Cath Tate Cards, Danilo, GBCC, Hallmark, Ling Design, Lucilla Lavender, Meraki, Museums & Galleries, Ohh Deer, Paperlink, Paper Salad, Pigment, Progressive Greetings Live, Rosie Made A Thing, Sensations/Express Yourself, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, UK Greetings, Wendy Jones-Blackett, W Select, and Woodmansterne Publications.
To be among the UK’s best greeting card retailers as well as some great card publishers, book your ticket online via Max-Tickets.net or contact The Retas’ awards manager Clare Hollick, director of Createvents, on 0118 334 0085 or email clare@createvents.co.uk.
