Card Connection franchisee expands territory

Card Connection franchisee Paul Davies has expanded his greeting card distribution franchise territory to include the Colchester area.

Prior to becoming a Card Connection franchisee Paul gained valuable business management experience working for Shell garages. At one time he was in charge of four garages, responsible for merchandise, stocking the shop and selling fuel.

'Originally I bought a small Card Connection territory for my wife,' says Paul. 'I had been particularly impressed by the level of support provided by Card Connection's head office. When we visited, the staff were all very professional and genuinely upbeat. The enthusiasm they showed for helping the franchisees was refreshing and I quickly realised the potential of the business.

'Many of the skills I acquired while managing the Shell garages are applicable to greeting card distribution. Dealing with customers, managing staff, merchandising stock and ordering are all involved, as is the ability to look at the bigger picture and see where the market opportunities exist for expansion. It became clear one way to grow the business was to buy more Card Connection franchise regions and so when Chelmsford's neighbouring territory, Colchester became available earlier this year it was the opportunity we had been looking for.'

Despite the economic instability Paul is positive about the future. He continues: 'It's early days with the new territory but there is a huge amount of potential in what is essentially a recession-proof industry. Everyone buys greeting cards and this trend is set to continue. Card Connection's product range is also very popular and we simply need to ensure that our retail customers are provided with the highest level of service to make sure the consumers keep coming back for more!'