Revamped website and company rebrand sets up greetings distributor for next 40 years
The launch of a smart new website and company rebrand has given Archway Cards lift-off as the greetings wholesaler and distributor looks to the next 40 years.
Having just celebrated four decades at the heart of the greetings industry, the Norwich-based business still carries the name from where Chris Dyball set up the business on its first site in the city, behind an archway.
And the latest upgrade of the website – which md Chris and his technical director and operations director husband and wife team of Dan and Amy Beeby first launched 13 years ago to broaden the company reach and serve customers further afield – is now live, with an opening 10% off the first three orders offer for new accounts.
“The online space was somewhat undeveloped at that time,” Dan told PG Buzz, “with just a few other wholesalers having an online presence but, as the traditional wholesale market declined during the rise of supermarkets, discounters and postal changes, the online side brought new opportunities into our business helping us to survive the gradual decline of our local catchment.
“We improved our website again around five years later which served us well until this year whereby we have just launched the third reinvention of our website.
“We worked hard on improving our online platform as well as rebranding our image to reflect the multi-faceted business we have today. The new site improves on how we present our products and we have a roadmap of further enhancements planned over the coming year.”
Still a traditional cash-and-carry warehouse at its heart, Archway has long-term wholesale relationships with publishers including Simon Elvin, Out Of The Blue, and Xpress Yourself, and has expanded by building strong partnerships with DTR companies, such as Second Nature, Ling Design, Nigel Quiney, and Paper Rose – with the Great British Card Company the latest to join the fold.
Dan explained that changes in the greeting card industry and overall economy since the business began in 1982 saw wholesalers “have a challenging time overcoming the relatively rapid change to independent retail”.
And the number of UK-based wholesalers has declined significantly over the past 10 to 20 years, but Dan added: “During this time we are pleased to say we have been able to successfully bring our expertise in supplying greeting cards to a number of large multiples, delivering a turnkey service that capitalises on our experience in greeting cards and has resulted in a set of profitable trusted relationships that serves to mitigate some of these challenges.
“We have also benefited from the loyalty of our staff, manager Julia and Justine have been with us for over 20 years, and we’re mindful of the commitment of our team and their value to our business.
“Looking back, we have reinvented ourself a few times and we will likely have to continue to do so but we’re passionate about the industry, the greeting card business is full of lovely people with such creative talent, it really is important to keep it all going.”
