And licensing partnership forged with Paper Salad for gift stationery
Notable additional greeting card publishers have got on board with GBCC’s brokerage arm Great British Card Partnership allowing it to expand its offer for 2024.
Louise Mulgrew, Redback Cards and Dandelion Stationery have all just agreed to participate in the brokerage division, which supplies brokerage and planning solutions to retailers across the UK, and follow hot on the heels of recent additions Stop The Clock and Raspberry Blossom.
David Byk, ceo of GBCC and Ling Design, told PG Buzz: “We reviewed our publishing partners and also looked at other publishers who we believe both offer us something different from what we have already and are also doing a fantastic job in the market and we narrowed our targets down to these three companies.
“We were absolutely delighted when all three wanted to come on board – this is on top of Stop The Clock and Raspberry Blossom who joined the scheme in the last quarter of 2023.”
Highlighting the respective strengths of the latest publishers to join up for its brokerage, David summarised how “Louise Mulgrew offers illustrative designs showcasing her love of animals and the environment, while Redback’s collection of funny and clever cards should ignite birthday laughs, and Dandelion is the go-to publisher of modern words and sentiment with a good measure of humour.”
This means that, in addition to its own brands, the GBCC brokerage service can now offer designs from 22 other greeting card publishers providing retailers “with a complete planned category solution which results in a customer-focused, data-driven, cohesive look and offer all arriving in one delivery, with one invoice and one point of contact backed up by our merchandising service if required,” reinforces David.
“We tailor the solution for big and small retailers and it drives sales while reducing stock and time which is why it works for retailers and publishers alike.”
GBCC’s sister company Ling is also launching its new publisher-controlled allocations where it helps retailers plan the space with the aim of driving increased volume – and David said: “If they have a particular publisher they want to include that’s fine. We will allocate the space.
“It works over open and occasions and relations, and opens Ling into planned display in a way they haven’t been before, which is different from the brokerage model. It gives access to all 4,000 Ling cards but also other publishers if the customer has a particular need or desire for someone else.”
GBCC is kicking off 2024 with a bang, exhibiting at the Harrogate Christmas & Gift Fair over 14-17 January for the first time in many years, as well as Spring Fair over 4-7 February.
Bound to attract interest is a licensing collaboration with Paper Salad for a gift stationery collection, which is being launched this month, along with increases to its well-known Humour Factory range, a brand-new friendship collection, and licensed cards from David Walliams and Bewilderbeest – the launches total over 800 new skus on the NEC stand.
David said the sales force was “delighted” with the 2024 Christmas range presentation in late December, adding: “Early results for 2023 show a positive result from the previous year’s Christmas with retailers reporting good sell through and a very active last few days leading up to the 25th.
“As a result of this and the very well-received 2024 range, initial sell-in for GBCC’s Christmas 2024 offer is looking positive with strong design and some very much liked new formats.”
