Retailer Sophie Edwards celebrates the season and shines a light on women’s businesses
Celebrating spring is always fun and More Than Just A Gift has coupled its annual event at Narborough Hall with a special Female Founders’ Month focus.
Organised by Sophie Edwards, who runs both the store and Petimo greeting card company at her family home in Leicestershire, the 21st Spring Celebration shone a light on women’s businesses – all of this year’s Mother’s Day cards in-store came from female-founded firms, along with 99% of their everyday cards.
“At a time when independent retailers are fighting to keep High Streets thriving, More Than Just A Gift continues to prove that creative, community-driven retail is the way forward,” explained Sophie, who can be seen giving her experience of being a woman in business in the reel above.
“We welcomed customers to a joyful, immersive shopping experience that combined stunning visual merchandising, exclusive offers, and a chance to connect with the stories behind the products.
“It’s always tough for us retailers to figure out where best to spend our time and money, but I genuinely feel this kind of event is worth it. It made a real impact yet it was fairly low cost and definitely a good return on investment.
“Any retailer could pick and mix elements of it to inspire their own event, after all, this kind of community feel is something the internet and big retailers just can’t create so it’s a great aspect for indies like us to focus on. I’m planning another version for our Summer Celebration in June to coincide with Father’s Day trade and then it’s Independent Retailer Month in July so I’ll be creating a campaign around that too. I want to share a bit of positivity which I think we all need right now!”
And Female Founders’ Month, which ends on March 31, gave the event extra meaning, with cards from Laura Darrington Design, Rosie Made A Thing, Belly Button Design and Molly Mae all part of the display.
Molly Mae’s founder Jude Kenney also visited, writing a heartfelt message for the store’s Gratitude Tree, which encouraged customers to share messages of appreciation, and posing for photos with the display.
Sophie added: “It was important to us that this wasn’t just a token gesture. Female-founded brands genuinely are the foundation of our business and we wanted to give customers insight into the women behind the brands they love. Our display explained how much impact their small purchases and everyday choices can make.”
Running the shop at the house her parents bought as a wreck in the 70s, and have spent decades restoring, has its own unique challenges as the 425-year-old building has high maintenance costs and soaring utility bills on top of the day-to-day business expenses, plus the added quirk of no passing footfall so every event has to be a self-generated success.
Sophie said: “It’s easy to assume that, when a shop looks beautiful, they must have a huge budget but that’s not the case – every penny we spent on this event had to give a return. We focused on cost-effective but high-impact elements, like a simple but striking display using low-cost paper product. The Gratitude Tree was homemade, we gave away macarons which we sourced cheaply from Iceland and our spin-to-win prizes were scavenged old product from the stockroom. All that created a fun, engaging experience without a big financial outlay.”
But behind the décor, displays and events, Sophie knows that it doesn’t matter how lovely everything looks, if the product isn’t right, people won’t buy.
“Most customers come in primarily for a card,” she said, “once they have that, then they start browsing for a gift – if they don’t find the right card, they’ll just go elsewhere, so you lose gift sales too.
“Cards keep customers coming back, and are what we’ve built our reputation on. Customers travel to us because they know we have the best card selection locally – and that’s no small feat, considering we compete directly with a large garden centre, a huge Sainsbury’s and a massive shopping park, including a newly refurbished M&S and a brand-new WHSmith, all with big card sections.
“It’s not easy to stand out, but that’s why niches matter. Customers don’t just want a card; they want the right card for the exact sentiment, age, relation or occasion. That’s why we’ve always focused on making sure we have something for every need, and a little choice within each niche too.”
That’s why she set up Petimo a couple of years ago, as her 30 years of card retailing experience has given her an insight into what customers look for and the gaps that can exist in card selections, so she tries to offer those harder-to-find designs customers are looking for.
Despite rising stamp prices and ongoing economic uncertainty, Sophie believes the greeting card industry continues to show its resilience: “While there may be some decline in the number of cards sent through the post if Royal Mail continues with its plans, the vast majority are either given in person or sent to someone so special that skipping the gesture simply isn’t an option.
“With women leading the majority of greeting card businesses and making up the majority of card senders, our industry thrives on the power of women supporting women – something worth celebrating, championing, and continuing for years to come.”
