Paperchase is championing ‘fierce females’ in all their glory, making the most of the fact that the early timing of Mother’s Day means it falls only a few days after International Women’s Day (March 8).
The window and instore displays of the specialist retailer fanfare both events, under the ‘Fierce Females’ theme, celebrating the real stories behind some of the sassy and powerful mums in history. As well as its Mother’s Day specific PoS, the retailer is also pressing the buttons on ‘GRL PWR’ backed up by a punchy collection of products that celebrate ‘sisterhood’.
For the 10th year running, as part of its commitment to Mother’s Day, the retailer is supporting Ovarian Cancer UK. Within its Mother’s Day card selection is a collection of own brand in-house designed card designs, which sees 25p being donated to the charity for every card sold.
Not surprisingly, Hazel Walker, card buyer for Paperchase said that the recent adverse weather conditions “obviously had an effect on our sales last week, meaning we need to sell a lot of cards to make up the sales this week!”
However, she said that the retailer was still feeling positive “as we always see our highest sales in the final week before an event – yesterday’s sales are already looking much stronger so it’s all to play for…”
As part of Paperchase’s female focus this week, Hazel agreed to participate in the retailer’s blog ‘The Journal’, revealing her views on how she came to be a buyer and revealing why she thinks people send cards, how she got into buying, her own card buying tastes, plus what she likes to do in her spare time.
Here’s an excerpt of what Hazel said:
With digital becoming ever more important, why do you think people still send cards?
“I think with the world becoming more digital every day it’s nice to have something that still requires putting pen to paper. There’s a nice feeling to picking, sending and receiving a card that you just don’t get from an email or text message.”
What did you study and how did you get into buying?
“I studied French and Spanish which has been of very little use to me in my buying role, but a good excuse for a holiday! Having worked in retail for years, I’d always wondered what happened ‘behind the scenes’ in a head office role so did some research and actually started off in merchandising. I soon realised I wanted more involvement in the product and the jumped at the chance to move to buying when an opportunity came up – I’ve not looked back since!”
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of getting into this area of work?
“You don’t necessarily need to have a fashion and design background to get into buying – you just need to have a creative eye, follow trends and know what sells! I’d also say don’t shy away from work experience and intern roles as these are a great way to get your foot in the door and get yourself noticed within a business.”
How does a typical day in the life of a card buyer look?
“So varied! A typical day would normally involve product selection, supplier meetings, meeting with the design team, deciding how much to buy with our merchandising team, product presentation and sign offs. We also visit trade shows and suppliers, both in the UK and overseas so will travel quite often.”
What do you look for in a card design?
“Something different…personally I love a pun but what we buy for our stores is not just personal taste, we have to make sure we’ve got a good mix of styles and there is something for all our customers.”
Which are you top three Mother’s Day cards and which one are you sending to your mum?
“It’s a tough one but I love the blue floral design in our charity range – I’ll probably send this one (hopefully Mum hasn’t read this!). I also think the innovation range is great, particularly the flower bouquet design. My third choice would be the cats design in our Mama Bear range – all the illustrations in this range are really cute, but my Mum and I are both cat fans (plus it includes a pun!) so this would be my pick!”
What trends are you noticing at the moment and what projects are you working on?
“We’ve just finished working on Christmas 2018 and are starting on Valentines 2019 – we work almost a year ahead! Innovation is key, whether it be musical cards, new finishes or new formats we are always looking for ways to make differentiate our card offer and make it extra special.”
What do you do when you’re not working?
“Travel and eat!”
* The full ‘life of a buyer’ piece, plus more on the Paperchase’s Fierce Females activity can be accessed from Paperchase’s website
