| KN22093 |
| KEY NOTE GREETINGS CARDS PLUS : SEPTEMBER 2003 |
 |
CLICK
 TO BUY |
This report covers: greetings cards, humerous, cute/whimsical, contemporary, art, photographic, multi-cultural and religious, handmade, hand finished, traditional cards,
Companies covered include: Carlton Cards, Hallmark Cards, International Greetings, Kingsley Cards, The Paper House Group, Cardfair Ltd, Clinton Cards,Greeting Card Group, Lightweight Designs, Athena, Greeting Card Company, Birthdays, Card Connections, Paper Rose, Carte Blanche Greetings, Gemma International,W H Smith,
| Executive Summary |
| 1. Market Definition |
| report coverage |
| MARKET SECTORS |
| Birthday Cards |
| Christmas and New Year Cards |
| Spring Season Cards |
| Other Everyday Cards |
| MARKET TRENDS |
| New Occasions |
| Production in the Far East |
| ECONOMIC TRENDS |
| Population |
| Table 1: UK Resident Population Estimates by Sex (000 and percent), Mid-Years 1998-2002 |
| Gross Domestic Product |
| Table 2: UK Gross Domestic Product at Current and Constant 1995 Prices (£m), 1998-2002 |
| Inflation |
| Table 3: UK Rate of Inflation ( percent), 1998-2002 |
| Unemployment |
| Table 4: Actual Number of Unemployed Persons (million and percent), 1998-2002 |
| Household Disposable Income |
| Table 5: Household Disposable Income (£ and percent), 1998-2002 |
| Market Position |
| The UK |
| Table 6: Household Expenditure on Newspapers, Books and Stationery by Value at Current Prices (£m), 1998-2002 |
| Overseas |
| 2. Market Size |
| THE TOTAL MARKET |
| Table 7: The Estimated Total UK Greetings Card Market by Value by Sector at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 1998-2002 |
| By Market Sector |
| Birthday Cards |
| Table 8: The Estimated Total UK Birthday Cards Sector by Value at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 2001 and 2002 |
| Christmas and New Year Cards |
| Table 9: The Estimated Total UK Christmas and New Year Cards Sector by Value at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 2001 and 2002 |
| Spring Season Cards |
| Table 10: The Estimated Total UK Spring Season Cards Sector by Subsector by Value at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 2001 and 2002 |
| Other Everyday Cards |
| Table 11: The Estimated Total UK Other Everyday Cards Sector by Value at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 2001 and 2002 |
| Overseas Trade |
| Table 12: Overseas Trade in Greetings Cards and Illustrated Postcards (£m at msp), 1998-2002 |
| Imports |
| Table 13: Imports of Greetings Cards and Illustrated Postcards by Value (£000 at msp), 2002 |
| Principal Sources |
| Table 14: The Import of Greetings Cards and Illustrated Postcards into the UK by Country of Origin by Value (£000 at msp), 2001 and 2002 |
| Exports |
| Table 15: Exports of Greetings Cards and Illustrated Postcards by Value (£000 at msp), 2002 |
| Principal Destinations |
| Table 16: The Exports of Greetings Cards and Illustrated Postcards by Country of Destination from the UK by Value (£000 at msp), 2001 and 2002 |
| 3. Industry Background |
| RECENT HISTORY |
| number of companies |
| Table 17: Number of UK VAT-Based Enterprises Engaged in Publishing by Turnover Sizeband (£000 and percent), 2003 |
| By Employment |
| Table 18: Number of UK VAT-Based Local Units Engaged in Publishing by Employment Sizeband (number of employees and percent), 2003 |
| Regional Variations in the Marketplace |
| DISTRIBUTION |
| From the Publisher |
| Wholesale or Direct to Retail |
| Franchises |
| Own Label |
| Card Buying Groups |
| Other Business-to-Business |
| Direct to the Consumer |
| From the Retailer |
| Specialist Greetings Cards Multiples |
| Multiple Retailers |
| Grocery Multiples |
| Confectioners, Tobacconists and Newsagents |
| The Post Office |
| Charity Shops |
| Others |
| HOW ROBUST IS THE MARKET? |
| LEGISLATION |
| The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 |
| The Green Claims Code 1998 |
| Registered Design Protection Directive 2001 |
| Waste Electrical and Electronic Directive |
| key TRADE ASSOCIATIONS |
| The Giftware Association |
| Greeting Card Association |
| 4. Competitor Analysis |
| THE MARKETPLACE |
| MARKET LEADERS |
| Table 19: Financial Results for Leading Companies in the UK Greetings Card Industry by Turnover and Pre-Tax Profit (£000) |
| PUBLISHERS |
| Carlton Cards Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| Hallmark Cards (Holdings) Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| International Greetings PLC |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| Kingsley Cards Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| The Paper House Group PLC |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| Simon Elvin Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| UK Greetings Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| RETAILERS |
| Birthdays Group Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| Cardfair Ltd |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results of Cardfair Ltd |
| Clinton Cards PLC |
| Company Structure |
| Current and Future Developments |
| Financial Results |
| Table 20: Financial Results for Clinton Cards PLC† by Turnover Size and Pre-Tax Profit (£000), Years Ending February 2002 and 2003 |
| Outside Suppliers |
| Paper and Board Suppliers |
| Printers |
| Specialist Greeting Card Envelope Manufacturers |
| Display Equipment and Shopfitting |
| Administrative Services |
| MARKETING ACTIVITY |
| Main Media Advertising Expenditure |
| Exhibitions |
| UK Exhibitions |
| Spring and Autumn Fairs |
| Top Drawer |
| Brand Licensing London |
| Overseas Exhibitions |
| The National Stationery Show |
| Paperworld |
| Publications |
| Progressive Greetings Worldwide |
| Greetings Today |
| 5. Brand Strategy |
| categories |
| Humorous |
| Cute/Whimsical |
| Traditional |
| Contemporary |
| Art |
| Photographic |
| Multi-Cultural and Religious |
| Handmade/Hand-Finished |
| Licensed |
| The Henries Awards |
| Table 21: The Henries Awards Winners by Category by Publisher, 2002 |
| 6. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats |
| STRENGTHS |
| WEAKNESSES |
| OPPORTUNITIES |
| THREATS |
| 7. Buying Behaviour |
| HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE |
| By Gross Income Decile Group |
| Table 22: Average Weekly Household Expenditure on Books, Greeting Cards, Stationery, Diaries, Address Books, etc. by Gross Income Decile Group (£), 2002 |
| By Age of Head of Household |
| Table 23: Average Weekly Household Expenditure on Books, Greeting Cards, Stationery, Diaries, Address Books, etc. by Age of Head of Household, 2002 |
| Consumer Penetration |
| Traditional Cards |
| Variation by Age and by Sex |
| Table 24: Penetration of Categories of Greetings Cards by Age and Sex ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| Variation by Social Grade |
| Table 25: Penetration of Categories of Greetings Cards by Social Grade ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| Variations by Region |
| Table 26: Penetration of Categories of Greetings Cards by Geographical Region ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| E-Mail and Text Messages |
| Variation by Age and by Sex |
| Table 27: Penetration of Categories of Electronic and Text Greetings by Age and Sex ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| Variation by Social Grade |
| Table 28: Penetration of Categories of Electronic and Text Greetings by Social Grade ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| Variations by Region |
| Table 29: Penetration of Categories of Electronic and Text Greetings by Region ( percent of adults), 2003 |
| 8. Current Issues |
| MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND CLOSURES |
| Greeting Card Group Ltd |
| Lightweight Designs Ltd |
| Athena |
| BOARD AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT CHANGES |
| Greeting Card Company Ltd |
| Birthdays Ltd |
| Card Connection |
| Paper Rose Ltd |
| Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd |
| Gemma International Ltd |
| WH Smith Ltd |
| OTHER MATTERS AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY |
| Plagiarism |
| Format-Based Pricing |
| Charity Cards |
| Wastage |
| The Impact of Technology |
| The Future of the Post Office |
| 9. The Global Market |
| INTRODUCTION |
| The US Market |
| The Louie Awards |
| The European Market |
| 10. Forecasts |
| INTRODUCTION |
| Table 30: Forecast UK Gross Domestic Product in Real Terms ( percent), 2003-2007 |
| Forecasts 2003 to 2007 |
| Table 31: The Forecast Total UK Greetings Card Market by Value by Sector at Current Prices (£m at rsp), 2003-2007 |
| Market Growth |
| Figure 1: Forecast UK Greetings Card Market by Value (£m at rsp), 1998-2007 |
| FUTURE TRENDS |
| Growth Factors |
| Household Size |
| Threats to the Industry |
| 11. Company Profiles |
| Birthdays Group Ltd |
| Carlton Cards Ltd |
| Clinton Cards Plc |
| Greeting Card Group LTd |
| International Greetings Plc |
| Hallmark Cards (holdings) Ltd |
| 12. Company Financials |
| 13. Further Sources |
| Associations |
| General Sources |
| Bonnier Information Sources |
| Government Publications |
| Other Sources |
The UK market for greetings cards, both publishing and retail, is one of maturity and intense competition. Two US companies, American Greetings Corporation and Hallmark Cards Inc. dominate the global market for publishing cards and, in recent years, their UK subsidiaries have expanded through acquisitions. Of the hundreds of `other publishers' identified by official statistics (Business Monitor PA1003), which include publishers of greetings cards, just 7.1 percent have annual turnovers in excess of £1m - a fair indication of the fragmentation of the market. Almost three-quarters of companies involved in `other publishing,' liable to pay VAT, currently have turnovers of less than £250,000 and more than a quarter have annual sales below £50,000.
The UK greeting card publishing sector is renowned for its design and innovation and enjoys a favourable trade balance. However, the value of greetings card imports into the UK has steadily risen since the mid-1990s so that the trade surplus stood at just £13.6m in 2002 compared with a peak of £45.1m in 1996. The majority (92 percent) of the value of greetings card and postcard imports into the UK was attributable to imports coming from countries outside the European Community, primarily Hong Kong and China, which, combined, accounted for 88 percent of the value of non-EC imports and 81 percent of total imports in 2002.
In May 2003, the retail side of the industry witnessed unexpected change with a surprise takeover of the chain Card Warehouse by its rival, Cardfair. It remains to be seen if this creation of a sizeable `value' chain will result in still lower prices that will do little for the value of the market, currently valued in excess of £1bn. Christmas and New Year greetings cards account for the greatest share of the market volume at around 70 percent, yet only 28 percent of the retail value in 2002.
The UK has an established card culture comprising avid buyers or those merely sending out of a sense of duty. In fact, its population sends more cards per capita than any other country and, according to a recent BMRB Access survey, only 3 percent of respondents admitted to not buying or sending any type of greetings cards. Publishers are constantly launching new designs to fuel this demand and the industry on the whole strives to introduce new occasions. In recent years there has also been a proliferation of cards conveying many more sentiments, such as `Thinking of You' and `Missing You' and cards with inspirational messages.
Potential threats to the health of the market include the introduction of format-based pricing, imposing postal surcharges on non-standard size envelopes as used for around a quarter of greetings cards is. Such regulations have had a punitive effect on the markets of other countries, such as Germany and Australia, and are being forcefully opposed by the UK's Greeting Card Association. There is an opinion that the threat of e-greetings, meanwhile, may not be as damaging as anticipated and may even have a positive effect on demand for traditional cards that are seen as more thoughtful and individual.
Text © 2003 Key Note
| Can't find what you
need? Try our "Research on Request" market report service and define your own report research! Fixed prices - £150, £450 and £1,250 - and fixed delivery of 4, 5 and 14 days |
| Click here for full details |
Ariadne - working together with our customers
to enhance productivity and increase knowledge
© 2003
www.the-list.co.uk Ariadne
Last updated by Amanda Porteous July 2003
