Hallmark sends out message for second century of success

INNOVATION will continue to drive growth for Hallmark Cards’ Yorkshire-based UK operation, its chief executive said during a visit to the region to celebrate the world’s biggest greetings card company’s centenary.

Donald J Hall, a third generation descendent of Joyce Clyde Hall who founded the company in Kansas City in 1910, visited Hallmark’s Bradford operation yesterday.

Mr Hall said Hallmark Cards’ growth to become a business which in the UK alone produces around 200m greetings cards a year was based on people’s continuing need to express their feelings to others.

Speaking to TheBusinessDesk.com, Mr Hall said: “We’ve always been focused on driving that emotional need. We care about the need to help people to communicate on an emotional level.

“A greeting card is a brilliant way of expressing feelings through images and words and it contributes to the need to emotionally communicate.”

Hallmark UK was established in 1958 and is now the UK’s leading greeting card publisher.

In the UK Hallmark has 3,500 employees, 2,000 of whom are based across three sites, including design, sales and marketing and manufacturing, in the Bradford district.

The company has contracts to supply major retailers, including Asda and Marks & Spencer, and has also recently won a contract with Disney.

Hallmark’s greeting cards, gift wrappings and products are translated into more than 30 languages and sold in more than 100 countries.

Mr Hall, who said he believed cards would always prove popular despite the Internet making it easier for people to get in touch and communicate, said Hallmark’s Bradford operation had an important part to play in continuing to lead the way in greetings card design and innovation.

“We see an opportunity to to find new ways and more relevant ways for people to express their feelings,” he added. “Never has that need been greater than it is today.”

Ian Stuart, international president of Hallmark Cards, ruled out the need for Hallmark UK to make any acquisitions in the near future.

Mr Stuart said: “We’re big enough as it is and you would never say never but I don’t see any companies out there that we would need to buy. We’d be very selective.

“In the past we needed to get critical mass quickly so made acquisitions. When you’ve already got that, as Hallmark has now, is there any point in making other acquisitions?”

Mr Stuart added that Hallmark had continued to trade positively through the recession.

Mr Hall met employees in Bradford, shared some of the Hallmark family history with them and also explained plans for the company’s future.

All Hallmark employees have received specially commissioned gifts to mark the centenary, including a commemorative hard back book covering the full 100 year history of the company.

Mr Hall added: “It is fantastic to be able to celebrate our 100th birthday in the UK with the employees who have all contributed to our continued success.

“Our UK operations are a significant part of the Hallmark International business. The UK is an extremely influential and growing market for us so it was great to be immersed in the innovative work going on in our head office here.

“Our business has adapted to the changing needs of our customers over the past 100 years and will continue to do so. It is an exciting time for us as we look to the future, continue to innovate and offer our customers new ways to share their feelings.”