Leading greeting card publisher and franchisor, Card Connection, has today announced the availability of two franchise territories in Scotland.

The drive to recruit two new franchisees for Ayr/Kilmarnock and Dundee/Kirkcaldy coincides with the launch of The Scottish Franchising week, organised by the British Franchise Association, which begins today. 

“These franchise sales represent opportunities to acquire established businesses, earning income from day one,” confirms Michael Johnson, managing director of Card Connection. “The franchises are for sale with the good will of an existing retail client base and new franchisees will be trained and supported to learn all the aspects of Card Connection’s highly regarded franchise model.”

Card Connection, which celebrates 21 years in operation this year, has developed a system where franchisees place greeting cards on a consignment basis in retail outlets. Cards and display equipment are supplied on ‘free loan’ to retailers and they only pay for what they sell. The award winning merchandising service has grown in popularity over the years and Card Connection franchisees now distribute greeting cards to around 14,000 outlets through its network of around 70 UK franchisees.

Scottish Card Connection franchisee, Elaine Anderson comments: “A visit to the Franchise exhibition in Scotland initially sparked my interest in franchising and I joined Card Connection in 2012, taking over the established territory of Glasgow and Fort William. I now deliver Card Connection’s extensive range of high-quality greeting cards and party-ware to retailers across the region. The business offered me a solid cash-flow opportunity and stunning products. Because I bought an established franchise, I was making money from the outset. I have around 200 retail customers which I visit on a regular basis. I’ve been so busy that my son has also started helping me full time!”

Andrew Orr, deep sea fisherman turned greeting card franchisee has now run his Card Connection franchise in the Aberdeen and Inverness area for 16 years. He explains: “I have seen a growth in my business of 18% in the past 12 months. My aim, with the help of Card Connection, has been to maximise sales in each retail outlet and this strategy has been particularly successful. The growth I’ve seen over the past year, despite the continuing economic difficulties faced by many, has been inspiring and I am looking forward to continuing to find new way to grow my franchise in the years to come.”

Card Connection is part of UK Greetings, which is a subsidiary of the largest publicly owned greeting card publisher in the world and has limited vacancies for franchisees that are keen to run an expanding business. Suitable candidates would ideally have some management experience as, once established, and depending on the size of the territory, they could be expected to employ a small team, operate a small warehouse and have several liveried vans on the road.

Since the franchise network in the UK is complete, the available opportunities now consist of acquiring an already-established territory from an existing franchisee. These vary in price according to their level of development, but start at £7k (+stock) with earnings potential in excess of £50k per annum.