53 BUSINESS ADVICE At first glance, it could be easy to assume the height of summer is a relatively quiet time to be the CEO of a body representing the UK’s greeting cards industry. Of course, greeting cards are an allyear-round affair – it’s not just about waiting for Christmas to roll around, and here at the Greeting Card Association (GCA) we have been working overtime to make sure the postal service, upon which our members and small businesses across the UK rely, remains national, affordable and reliable. We’re also looking forward to Thinking of You Week, 15th-21st September, when we encourage everyone to connect with loved ones with a card to share a memory, joke or just to say thinking of you! This year has been a crunch year for our industry, and industry watchdog Ofcom is set to publish its decision on postal reforms proposed by the Royal Mail in July. If approved, these proposals would see second-class post be delivered on as few as two days per week and Saturday deliveries scrapped entirely. This would leave the British public even more reliant on first class postage – the price of which, unlike second class post, is not pegged to inflation. The cost of first-class stamps has skyrocketed in recent years - up 170 percent over the last decade spurred by six price increases in the last three years alone to a current price of £1.70. This has presented significant challenges to the small businesses we represent, who rely on the postal service both to deliver their products to customers, and to allow people across the length and breadth of the UK to send cards affordably. Our members are a creative bunch – we’ve got creators like Jen King, who designs QR stickers connecting to a voice note from a loved one which customers can stick to cards, or Bexy Hassett, who decorates cards with Scrabble tiles and fish forks. It’s a community I’m proud to advocate for through my work as CEO of the GCA – and one which has tackled the obstacles the Royal Mail has put in their way in recent years with resourcefulness, tenacity and humour. We have self-confessed ‘stationery geek’ Sarah Laker, owner of Stationery Supplies in Marple, who has written a love letter to Royal Mail asking them to get the UK’s beloved postal service working again. Or Matt Simpson, founder of The Letter Arty in Manchester, who offers a handwritten service to customers to save on postage costs and last year began Amanda Fergusson, CEO of the Greeting Card Association chats to Gift Focus to highlight small businesses reliance on a national, reliable and affordable postal service SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
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