Last Friday, in what was the first PG Buzz Publishers’ Zoom Meet-up saw a group of leading UK publishers talk openly about how they are dealing with life and business during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hosted by PG Buzz.net and also attended by Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA, card publishers Emma Bryan from Emma Bryan Designs; Darren Cave from UKG; Jackie Collins from Cherry Orchard; Rosie Harrison of Rosie Made A Thing; Wendy and Steve Jones-Blackett from Wendy Jones-Blackett; James Mace from The Art File and Karen Wilson and Claire Williams from Paper Salad all spoke frankly and openly about the unexpected triumphs and ongoing tribulations of life in lockdown.
With the majority of their respective teams of staff on furlough, it has been ‘back to basics’ for many card publisher owners and directors, which, it seems has not been all bad.
“It is good to get to grips with your business and go back to basics. With 18 members of our staff furloughed I’m retraining myself! I have been doing the order processing, talking to customers as well as members of the general public who have rung wanting to get hold of our cards, which I pop in the post to them,” revealed Jackie Collins, owner and managing director of Cherry Orchard.
While some orders from retailers and export customers are filtering through – and news that this week Sainsbury’s is resuming replenishment and merchandising of its greeting card displays going down well with publishers, who are involved in the brokerage – it has been online sales that have helped massively to fill the gap.
“We have been averaging £700 a week just on B2C orders,” stated Claire Williams, co-owner of Paper Salad. “And they are not small orders, generally spending between £30 and £70 a time.”
Concurring James Mace, sales and marketing manager of The Art File whose girlfriend is running the online side of the publisher’s business from his home in this interim period is much busier than expected.
“While we are still receiving orders from some retailers who are still trading, such as farm shops and export customers which we ship from our warehouse once a week, it is the surge in online sales from the public which has taken us by surprise. It delivers a really positive message as is a great signal that people are determined to send cards to show they care,” he stresses.
For Emma Bryan she has seen sales of her card designs on Thortful go through the roof. “I was used to selling a few cards a week on the site, but that is now up to a few hundred a week.”
Rosie Harrison, founder of Rosie Made A Thing has found she is busier than anticipated, not least with the take up of her Remote Rosie service, which sees the card publisher handwrite the cards that are then sent directly to the recipient.
“Our fulfilment house is shipping orders out to customers every Tuesday, but the Remote Rosie service I post out twice a week. It is more popular than I expected!” says Rosie, whose cards are also selling incredibly well via the main online platforms.
All agree that while not perfect, the Government’s swift action to put the furlough scheme in place has been a godsend to many card publishers.
“It’s a lifesaver,” says Steve Jones-Blackett. “The intervention means we can take care of our biggest overhead and safeguard jobs.”
However, as Emma Bryan highlighted, as a sole trader currently no provision has been made for the many hundreds of small card publishers in her position. “We are of course fortunate in that we do not have the overheads of more established publishers, but it would be good to have some access to help if needed,” she said, with Amanda Fergusson, ceo of the GCA agreeing to look into this.
All the publishers agreed though that a key priority is helping to ensure that as many of their retail customers come out the other side.
“I still believe that there are many independent retailers out there who are still unaware that there are grants available, worth £10,000 or £25,000 (depending on the rateable value), that they do not need to pay back. I have spoken to many of my customers who either don’t know about the grants or are fearful of applying for one, concerned they have to pay it back at some point. We all need to do everything we can to get the word out to retailers to please, please apply for the grants,” implored Jackie Collins.
With the phrase ‘cash is king’ never being more apposite, going by the reactions so far, retailers who have received their grants are using some of these funds to settle outstanding orders with publishers.
“It is a difficult tightrope to walk,” says James, referring to the whole payment issue. “All the way down the line, we all have suppliers to pay. We are all in this together and we’ve found that by picking up a phone to chat things through with customers and our suppliers has resulted in payment plans being agreed amicably which maintains relationships. We are all in this together.”
Steve Jones-Blackett whole heartedly agrees: “This is all about cashflow. Goodwill shown in these difficult times will stand us all in good stead later.” The Yorkshire publisher’s goodwill has extended to its agents, underwriting 50% of the commission that they should have received had the shops been open to trade. “We just can’t allow our agents to be destitute. These people work hard for us so if we can give them a financial cushion now it is the least we can do,” believes Steve.
One area which publishers are still wrestling with is the fair way to deal with amounts owing for Spring Seasons orders, what with Mother’s Day not achieving its full potential, Easter being a non-starter and a big question mark hanging over Father’s Day.
“One way of looking at it is that for once I am ahead on next year’s Father’s Day!” quips Rosie Harrison accepting that her designs for this year’s event are unlikely to receive anything like the retail exposure they would usually.
“Publishers are going to lose out either this year or next year on Spring Seasons, we just need to work out what’s best for us and our customers,” admits Steve.
As Darren Cave points out: “It isn’t just the financial cost, but the environment one too. Do we really want to generate unnecessary waste for retailers to return entire seasons’ stock. There has to be some kind of fair extended payment terms put in place.”
As to what the ‘new normal’ will look like after lockdown, fears were voiced that the pandemic will have cost the industry some business casualties, a consensus that online will continue as a stronger channel for cards as well as consumers being more loyal to their local independents.
However, an overarching united belief is that greeting cards will most definitely have a place in the heart of the public.
Summing up a sense of unity, James said: “During this time of isolation never has the role of sending greeting cards ever been stronger. This is something we should take comfort in and do our utmost to deliver the message of the power of the card.”
*This PG Buzz Publisher Zoom Meet-up follows on from a similar one attended only by retailers. (https://www.pgbuzz.net/leading-card-retailers-zoom-in-for-pg-buzzs-first-industry-meet-up/).
Subsequent PG Buzz Zoom Meet-Ups are being organised for independent retailers, agents as well as a mixed group.
