Please do NOT buy a Mother’s Day card at Coles or Woolworths. Instead, I urge Australians to shop small business, to buy your Mother’s Day card at your local card retailer. While I hope it is a newsagency, I’m encouraging your support of any local small business card retailer.
Coles and Woolworths have made billions in additional revenue from COVID-19. Let’s not give them extra money by buying a Mother’s Day card from either.
Local card retailers offer better, more personal service. They are more likely to support YOUR community. Thank you! #SmallBusiness #ShopLocal #MothersDay #SocialResponsibility
Thank you Mark, unfortunately customers are becoming lazy and do the one stop shop in the supermarkets. My other problem this year was that John Sands has let me down by again not giving me the mix of cards i requested. Only four units of wife cards but there was excess supply of garbage one of which said on the front”ONE DAY I WILL CHANGE YOUR NAPPY” obviously none of these have sold it is low class humour that is totally inappropriate for a mother on Mothers Day. It appears someone makes decisions on what my shop requirements are, and this is happening year after year. By thursday i did not have one Mothers Day card for wife left. Is anyone else having similar problems with their supply?
Same with Hallmarks, they never send us enough wife’s cards on Mothers Day, Valentines Day, and Christmas, we ask for more every year, but they reject our request. I’m thinking change to other supplier after the five years contract
I guess there is a problem with signing a 5 year contract for anything in retail these days.
No way known would I do it.
Rui, with all card companies, the retailer controls what they get.
Mark, maybe because we are just a small community shop. They treat us different to the shops in the big shopping centre. We sold out all the Mother’s Day cards this year, and some customers had to buy a birthday card or blank card and made it to a Mother’s Day one. Most of our customers are from the local community, we feel really sorry to our customers. Almost every year we can’t get enough cards for Mother’s Day and Christmas. We talked to the account manger every year, and it never changes.
No Rui, every retailer can control their order. You can manage the relationship to not sell out.
Hi Mark, i feel like you that the retailer can control what his stores requirements are. However in recent times this seems to have changed, i discuss my requirements with the territory manager specify how many units i require in each category only to see that when the order comes in is totally different to our previous discussion. The excuse varies from that they have no control and that the ordering may be controlled from somewhere else.
This year i had four units of Mothers Day for wife sent out in the order from John Sands way under my requirements thank God Hendersons supplied me another 12 units of wife and partner mothers day cards.I sold out of these titles by thursday with the peak sales days to come. The only cards left were the rubbish that i did not order from Sands that were totally inapropriate for mothers day and the ugliest mothers day cards i have seen in thirty years as a Newsagent wake up John Sands and other card companies the customer who buys the card is the one that controls the order through the Newsagent who has a better idea what his stores requirement not someone in the Ivory Towers who has not been to the store.
Colin, I think card companies producing product in Australia have demonstrated, over recent weeks, the value of local production. They have been more able and nimble than those importing cards from overseas. I suspect there will be lessons being costed over the next few weeks in Australia.