Opening The Memory Box The Atlantic Drift

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GCA AGM
Opening The Memory Box
It was a big draw, clinching Dominique Schurman, ceo of
Clintons and Schurman Retail Group as a keynote speaker. Just
what would she reveal about the plans for Clintons? How much
depth would she go into about the challenges of trading for
the UK specialist?
The actuality was, apart from a few choice nuggets of information
as to the similarities and differences between the card markets in
the UK and the US, which she revealed, and a passing mention of
Clintons, to all intents Dominique’s speech was a very personal
‘TED talk’ as to why greeting cards mean so much to her - and to
other people.
Tight-lipped as she was about any Clintons business talk,
Dominique Schurman was abundantly
open-hearted about insights into her
personal life and times of growing up in
the ‘house of cards’, aka Marcel
Schurman, the card publishing company
formed by her parents in the 1950s.
“People don't buy what you do.
They buy WHY you do it,” said
Dominique passionately, echoing the
title of Simon Sinek’s famous TED talk, an
excerpt of which was shown at the
AGM. “Each of us has our own personal
‘WHY’ – and for me, it starts with this,”
Dominique said as the image of a
patterned box appeared on the
screen. “How many of you have one of
these at home? It is a memory box,
filled with treasures that I cherish that
capture the magic of WHY.”
In what was a somewhat
unexpected intimate moment,
Dominique read a portion of a letter
written by her great, great
grandmother to her daughter that has endured through the
generations and now resides in her memory box.
‘Avoid the artificiality which does not bring happiness, but
instead distorts - particularly a young woman.
Stay simple and good, my daughter, and
you will be a joy to your parents and create the
greater happiness for yourself.’
The Atlantic Drift
Some facts and figures Dominique shared as part of
her presentation:
Respective card market sizes: US - 330 million people: $56
billion. 1% market growth in last year, 18 cards per capita.
UK - 60 million people: $2.2 billion. 3% market growth in last
year, 39 cards per capita.
Single Christmas Cards: Account for 22% of the UK market,
while in the US, they only account for 10%.
Retail treatment of Christmas cards: While Clintons in the UK
dedicates 100’ to Christmas singles in the States, a typical
Papyrus (SRG’s specialist stores) would only dedicate 12’ to
Christmas singles. The picture changes for boxed cards. In the
UK these only account for 5% of the total market, while in the
States they account for more than double
that (11%).
Power of the grocers: In the UK, the
grocery channel accounts for around 29%
of the greeting card market, whereas in the
US it is somewhat less than this (20%).
Left: (Right) Dominique Schurman, ceo of Schurman Retail Group and ceo
of Clintons paid tribute to her parents (founders of Marcel Schurman) in
her enlightening address, while the next generation, her son Chris
Magam (who also works for SRG) was all ears in the audience, hearing
his mother’s speech for the first time.
Below left: Dominique’s treasured memories box.
This was a personal reminder of the
power of the written word and where letters
once were, so now cards have followed.
“Our role in people’s lives is to offer a
sanctuary... an oasis of inspiration that link us
together with tangible connections,” said Dominique in an
engaging Californian accent which now has a British tinge thanks to
the last few years of her transatlantic commute every month.
“We live in a complex world, made up of complex individuals,
with complex, multi-faceted needs. The pace of our world today is
accelerated and amped up beyond what we could ever have
imagined even 20 years ago,” she relayed. Yet for all these changes,
Dominique really believes that greeting cards will continue to have
a role as they are a potent means to “enable our ability to genuinely
connect with other people.”
Adding an historic context, she said: “Going
back to Mesopotamia... 5,000 years ago, people
felt compelled to communicate through the
written word or symbols and pictographs. Really,
not that differently from what we do now. The
drive that we have to create lasting, heirloomworthy connections is why we are inspired to do
what we do. The remarkable blend of art and message is the
magic that we create... capturing the emotion and the
imagination of our customers, inspiring them to spark and
punctuate connections with others that will endure through
the generations.”
As she reminded, the written word is something we can hold
onto, save and cherish. The spoken word is transient, often forgotten,
Above: The screen shared Simon and the emailed word is mostly deleted.
Sinek’s belief.
“Greeting cards... ink, paper, art, and words - are
Left: A visual showing
Dominique’s commute from SRG’s the spark that inspire us to keep the torch alight...
San Fran office to Clintons’
for 5,000 years and counting,” ended Dominique on
Essex premises.
a triumphant note.
PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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