Garlanna, the County Wicklow-based greeting card publisher has long had aspirations to move into the UK greeting card market – well now it has, with major installations now up and running in several of the Leekes department stores in the group and others to follow.
The family-owned greeting card business, headed up by Alan and Jackie McNamee has installed a huge card ‘department’ in Leekes’ flagship store in Melksham, Wiltshire which followed on from the inaugural sizeable installation in its Cross Hands store with the Llantrisant store next on the list.
Garlanna’s products account for around 75% of the displays of cards and wrap in Leekes’ new look department with Second Nature providing the remaining 25% of skus.
“It is great for us to be able to properly show the Garlanna look and feel with our friends at Second Nature adding a more hand-crafted element,” said Alan MacNamee, md of Garlanna. “The Leekes team have been so lovely to work with and we are pleased to say it is all going very well!”
Established in Rhondda, Wales in 1897, Leekes trades from six department stores in South Wales, South West England and the Midlands).
Leekes owns department stores in Wales in Cross Hands and Llantrisant, and a builders’ merchant at Tonypandy. Its stores in England are in Bilston, Hereford and Melksham (Wiltshire), together with showrooms for conservatories and windows at Thornbury (Gloucestershire) and Swindon. In addition, the Park Furnishers store in Bedminster continues to trade under its own name. (The company also owns the Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan and the adjacent Hensol Castle, a conference and wedding venue.)
Garlanna is currently shipping its products out of Eire, but has also set up Garlanna UK.
Top: The Garlanna card display in Leekes’ Cross Hands store.
