The cardfather of specialist greeting card multiple retailing has passed
Don Lewin OBE, the founder of Clintons and titan of the greeting card industry, has died peacefully at home this morning, 25 October, aged 91.
Laurence Prince, chairman of Danilo and Don’s long-time friend, commented: “I am deeply saddened by the news. The industry has lost a true stalwart, someone who shaped the industry and elevated the important role greeting cards play in our lives.”
The son of a chimneysweep, Don’s entrepreneurial drive showed itself at an early age, selling toy soldiers on a market stall aged only 10 – however, it was 16 years later when he started selling greeting cards as a freelance salesman that he spotted the true potential of making his mark on the retail front.
When Don opened the first Clinton Cards shop in 1968, named after his son Clinton, it marked the start of a pioneering charge in the UK greetings industry’s history, creating what went on to become a household name, and setting the benchmark for quality greeting card retail execution as well as expanding card-sending occasions.
Don’s mantra “You can’t sell sentiment cheap” saw many supplying publishers benefit from Clintons’ retail pricing strategy for greeting cards as the retail group grew steadily over the 1970s and 1980s, branching out from its Essex heartland.
In 1988 the company launched on the stock exchange to become a PLC and from here onwards Clinton Cards – as opposed to Clintons as it is called today – started its phenomenal growth spurt with Don as its figurehead, supported by son Clinton, daughter Debbie and a respected management team.
Clinton Cards’ then-distinctive orange and brown fascia started to appear in High Streets and shopping precincts all over Britain, buying up both mini and major card chains and quickly Clintonising them.
The 1990s were really the boom years for Clintons with Don being dubbed The King Of Cards by the national press, reflected in his award of an OBE in 1996 – and, on the purchase of rival chain Birthdays, Don achieved his personal goal of trading from 1,000 stores.
Very much the showman, Don hosted lavish industry parties, sent Christmas cards with recordings of himself singing while his autobiography Think Of A Card, published in 2008, chronicles the heydays of the business.
Don remained involved in the business until 2012 when Clintons went into administrative receivership and was bought by the Weiss family, who owned it until March this year when it was acquired by Pillarbox Designs, parent company of Cardzone.
Paul Taylor, CEO of Cardzone, paid tribute to the brand’s cardfather: “Today is a sad day indeed and our thoughts go out to Don’s family. There’s no denying that, when Don Lewin started Clinton Cards, it was to change the shape of greeting card retailing, becoming synonymous as a specialist retailer renowned for quality cards.
“We are now the proud custodians of the Clintons’ brand and will do our utmost to continue its strong legacy.”
