Gifts & Greetings Review was delighted to attend The Retas greeting card retail awards yesterday afternoon, as a guest of organiser Max Publishing. This lovely event was held in the magnificent surroundings of London’s Dorchester Hotel, with a suitably stylish Great Gatsby theme. The UK’s greeting card publishers and service provided gathered here as sponsors to honour their valued customers, the UK’s finest retailers of greetings.
The coveted Greeting Card Retailer of the Year Award, sponsored by The Art File, went to Paperchase, which also won the Best Specialist Multiple Greeting Card Retailer Award. The rest of the 2013 award winners are as follows:
Greeting Card Retail Employee of the Year, sponsored by Hallmark, Gill Morrison, sales advisor for Fenwick, Brent Cross, London
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer London, sponsored by the London Stationery Show: Just Write, Wood Green and North Finchley
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer Home Counties, sponsored by Xpressions 4 U, The Stationery & Gift Boutique, Ampthill
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer East Anglia, sponsored by International Greetings: Love It, Bury St Edmonds and Stamford
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer South West, sponsored by Thorntons: The Card Collection, Bath, Salisbury, Oxford and Hereford
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer Wales & Midlands, sponsored by Second Nature: RSVP Greetings, Porthcawl and Caldicot
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer North & Northern Ireland, sponsored by UK Greetings: Dragonfly Cards & Gifts, Knaresborough
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer, Scotland, sponsored by Progressive Greetings Live: Bijou, Elgin
Best Greeting Newcomer, south, sponsored by Spring Fair International: SWALK, Lindfield
Best Greeting Newcomer, north, sponsored by Cherry Orchard Publishing: Wish, Leeds
Best Non-Specialist Independent Retailer of Greeting Cards, sponsored by Pigment Productions: The Wisley Shop, RHS Wiskey, Woking
Best Greeting Card Small Multiple (4 – 20 branches), sponsored by The Great British Card Company: House of Cards – seven shops in the south of England
Best Department Store Retailer of Greeting Cards, sponsored by Abacus Cards: De Gruchys, Jersey
Best Supermarket Retailer of Greeting Cards, sponsored by Woodmansterne: Tesco
Best Non-Specialist Multiple Card Retailer, sponsored by UK Greetings: National Trust – 200+ stores nationwide
Best Specialist Multiple Greeting Card Retailer (20+ branches), sponsored by Paperlink: Paperchase – 100+ outlets nationwide
Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards, sponsored by Noel Tatt: Garden & Leisure, seven centres in the south
Best Greeting Card Retailer Initiative, sponsored by Carte Blanche: B Cards, London – for its Totally Locally Forest Hill and Fiver Fest activity
Best Greeting Card Wholesaler, sponsored by Regent: Crosswear Trading, Enfield
