Having helped develop the newsXpress newsagent group to 95 stores, I and my fellow Directors have been developing a second franchise group, sophie randall cards and gifts. This will be a complimentary retail offering which will appeal to newsXpress franchisees as an additional business as well as providing a model for existing and new entrants into the card and gift space under a new brand.
I mention this new business here because some in the industry are already gossiping about Sophie Randall. By sharing some details here I can exert some control over what you hear about this exciting new initiative.
sophie randall cards & gifts is a fresh approach to helping owners of card and gift shops to unlock greater value from their businesses. Using a franchise model, existing and new card and gift shops will have access to the benefits of a national brand without having to give up their own branding if they wish. We will provide access to product rebates hitherto unattainable by individual stores. We will also deliver significant operational cost cutting opportunities as well as access to products previously not available to individual card and gift shops. Franchisee stores will be supported with professional consistent marketing collateral and support materials designed to increase traffic and boost sales.
Sophie Randall, the inspiration for this business, is a forty-something greeting card and social stationery designer. Sophie worries that technology makes it too easy for people to stop putting their feelings in writing. She got into greeting card design because she felt the world was becoming impersonal and that people were losing the art of sharing their feelings. Part designer, part philosopher and part raconteur, Sophie is on a mission to help people express themselves, in writing. Sophie is feisty – never afraid to share an opinion. She is also caring and always ready with a word of encouragement.
Sophie Randall is a fictional character, created to bring this retail concept to life, to provide us with exclusive and valuable Intellectual Property. She is a character people, particularly card and gift buyers, will respect and turn to for inspiration.
We are naming the business after a person because it removes any barrier a product based name causes and allows us more control over the IP surrounding the whole concept. We own Sophie, who she is, what she thinks and how she acts. Her name makes our business more unique and valuable.
We expect Sophie Randall stores to provide an opportunity for newsagents to spread their risk – to establish second and third retail outlets and thereby not rely on the traditional newsagency model for all their income. It also provides tenants with greater leveraging with landlords – two stores in a centre is better than one.
We’ll have more details soon at the Sophie Randall website.