I noticed an Angus & Robertson bookshop with a card display at the front of the shop. I’ve never seen cards in an A&R store before – but maybe I have missed them. The display of John Sands cards is right at the front. Later, a colleague newsagent told me the A&R near him has cards, Cadbury chocolates as well as Cool Ridge water. This represents a shift in range for A&R. Whereas in the past the offer has been book focused, it now has more newsagency type lines. The question is how far the changes will go?
A&R and Supa News newsagent are owned by the same company you will find this will happen more in the future.
A+R have on different levels been ranging cards for a decade and have long negotiated to increase sales in other lines as their book market changes. They are part of an increasing group of chains and channels looking hard at greeting cards and how to get more sales and profit from these products to pay rents. The number of card stockists in Australia continues to grow at an incredible rate well above consumption.