Phil Taylor closing at the end of this month?

I have been told by two sources this afternoon that card and wrap supplier Phil Taylor is closing at the end of this month. Word has got out as staff have been advised. This is sad news for them, tough, too.

There were indications of challenges when Henderson Greetings picked up the local representation of products from Paper Rose, successful publisher of ranges such as Designers Guild, Avocado, The Art Group, Mozaic, Artisan, Daisy Patch plus more.

While this is sad news, if true, for those working for Phil Taylor, it is equally challenging for other card companies as well as card retailers. We must all recalibrate our businesses when changes occur, even changes in supplier businesses not core to our operation.

Card and wrap remains a strong category for our channel with newsagency businesses accounting for close to 30% of all retail sales.  I think we can grow this percentage by being more engaged ourselves in our own businesses rather than expecting our suppliers to do everything for us.

The current trend is flat to modest, 2% – 4% – year-on-year revenue same-store growth in this category in newsagencies. While some are enjoying double-digit growth, they are balanced baby others experiencing double-digit decline, and this brings the channel average down.

Keys to growth, in my view are shop floor engagement inside and outside the card department, out of store engagement and focus on adding value to the card shopper experience.

Too often, newsagents do not engage with the category in a meaningful way. Too often they expect their card supplier(s) to do all the work. While this was okay in the past, it is not okay today.

The newsagents I see enjoying double-digit growth are deeply engaged with the category, running a card offer equal to or better than the truly specialist card retailers. Any newsagent can do this. however, it takes change in everyday operation and engagement with cards to be a destination focus of the business.

Less choice in suppliers benefits big business. This is what we must push back against. we need more Australians thinking of newsagencies first as the place to buy cards. Once way we can do this is to grow the card buying population … however, that is a topic for another time.

In the meantime, we’re thinking of the Phil Taylor family.