Greeting card and stationery firms receive Christmas export boost
Midlands businesses are benefitting from increasing international demand for British stationery and greeting cards, according to recently revealed data.
Last year, the UK exported £63 million worth of greeting cards to destinations across the globe. Between 2015 and 2018, sales to the US grew by 87.8 per cent to £3.9 million, while exports to Australia doubled.
One Midlands firm reaping the rewards of this upturn in global demand is Stamford-based Old English Company.
The stationery and giftware company was established in 2012, and has since become a successful global e-commerce brand.
Its exports to the US have increased by nearly 100 per cent since 2016, and the firm has recently signed a three-year contract with American card giant Papyrus which will see it design a variety of greeting cards for the retailer.
Loughborough-based stationery company Ohh Deer has also benefitted from the growing demand for stationery and greeting cards.
The firm, which works with more than 100 new and upcoming illustrators to create quirky, arty and funny illustrated products, exports to over 51 countries, with overseas sales accounting for 37 per cent of its annual turnover.
Laura Philbin, sales manager at Ohh Deer, said: “In the lead up to Christmas we see a big increase in sales particularly from the end of November onwards, as Black Friday becomes more of a key trading period in the UK.
“We have also seen an increase in international customers over this period. Last Christmas we saw 15 per cent of our overall sales attributed to exports with the US, Germany and Scandinavia being our biggest export markets.”
Ian Harrison, director of exports in The Midlands at the DIT, added: “It is great to see innovative brands like Old English Company and Ohh Deer capitalising on seasonal trade overseas.
“Success stories such as these illustrate just how profitable exporting globally can be with overseas consumers increasingly looking for British products and premium quality brands.”
