Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection has today announced that Dublin based franchisee, Simon Linscheid, has been shortlisted for two Irish Franchise Association Awards. This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Irish Franchise Awards and, as one of the longest running business award ceremonies in Ireland, the awards recognise excellence in franchising and reward outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals in the franchise industry.

“We are very proud that Simon Linscheid has been shortlisted for both the Outstanding Growth award, plus the Franchisee of the Year award for service,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director, Card Connection. “Simon’s previous experience as a retail manager and focus as a former professional athlete has ensured as a franchisee, he has been well placed to understand and respond to his customers’ needs and his results speak for themselves.

“His strategic approach to servicing and improving the retail accounts has increased profitability per customer and he has also increased the number of retail stores he supplies,” continues Johnson. “This simple yet effective approach has ensured he has almost doubled the size of his greetings card franchise within four years, which against the continued challenging economic environment in Ireland, is a significant achievement.”

Prior to entering the world of franchising, Simon Linscheid was a hammer and discus specialist before being selected to represent Ireland in the four-man bobsleigh team which competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Japan. After that, Simon worked as a Texaco franchisee for eight years, when he was introduced to Card Connection as a retail customer. He joined Card Connection as a franchisee in 2011 and now, working with his team of six employees, supplies around 250 stores including forecourts and convenience stores around Dublin with Card Connection’s extensive range of quality greeting cards and accessories.

The Irish Franchise Awards will be presented at a formal black-tie ceremony at The Clyde Court Hotel in Ballsbridge on Friday 27 March 2015. The evening is anticipated to be an impressive business event reflecting the strength of the franchise sector over the last two decades.

David Killeen, chairman of the Irish Franchise Association said: “The awards are an opportunity for us to formally acknowledge the excellent work being done by all franchise practitioners in growing the sector, consolidating existing businesses and contributing significant new sustainable jobs. We look forward with excitement to sharing the results of the current all-Ireland Franchise Survey underway in partnership with AIB. I’d like to personally thank all entrants to the awards and wish all of the finalists the very best of luck.”

Card Connection is one of the UK & Ireland’s largest card publishers and is the market leader in the franchised distribution of greeting cards. The business’ unique model of consignment sales has resulted in a strong brand and established reputation which has been proven over many years. Through its franchisees Card Connection supplies over 1,000 retailers in Ireland and a further 12,000 throughout the UK.