Leading greetings card firm Riverside Greetings has rebranded to build on its ‘significant’ like-for-like growth in partnered convenience stores.

Its new vibrant raspberry pink style is to feature prominently on its marketing material, signage and point of sale material to help highlight the ranges available in store. The firm’s new fleet of vans and work wear will also sport the new branding.

The move follows significant investment by the firm last year in new ranges supported by new point of sale delivered every month, which Riverside Greetings managing director Andrew Glen said was already showing results. “We are driving significant like-for-like growth for existing customers,” he explained. Riverside also acquired several stores earlier this year, now used as testbeds for concepts to be rolled out in independent shops.

The company promises more than 50% profit on return across its products with an offer specifically designed for convenience stores and forecourts. A base planogram of stock is provided to stores with no upfront cost, with display equipment also available on loan free of charge.

Riverside Greetings said its success laid in ‘understanding what retailers want’ through testing merchandising concepts and its products in a group of stores within a fortnight  “This enables us to go from an approved design to being on the shelf, on test, in less than a week,” said Glen.

The rebrand follows a strong year for card sales in convenience stores, with retailers including Pembrokeshire store owner Peter Robinson reporting heightened sales partly due to the closure of non-essential speciality greeting cards shops during lockdowns. The trend was also seen in online, with card specialists Moonpig, which reported a 137% increase in annual profits.

Describing the Riverside’s rebrand, Glen said: “It seemed sensible that we made changes in line with convenience and forecourts sector. In the fast-paced environment that we operate in, it is important to keep ahead of the game – innovation is key to this. The rebranding means our retail customers are left in no doubt about who we are and our long-term commitment to growing our presence in the sector.”