RETAILINTERVIEW / HEART TO HEART
Heart of the matter
Chris and Lynn Mitchell have had to take tough
decisions on the way to retail success.
Lewis Eckett found out more at their Heart to
Heart store in Didcot.
settled down he would have to move his “From stocking, for example, four foot of
store into the new shopping centre or face a publisher’s humorous range or a minimum
extinction. of two foot of a specifi c line extension,
‘Looking back we wouldn’t have we now embrace more suppliers by doing
survived if we had stayed in the original perhaps two rows of a range (although,
site. The footfall has moved down to the obviously, we’d need an extra presence
shopping centre and we had to go with it.” from that supplier-either on the main control
Instincts are great – when you follow or with a further line extension to justify
them to a successful conclusion. Not minimum ticket send),” he says.
many people manage it however and it’s “We’ve needed to embrace quads instead
a testament to Chris’ convictions that he of rows in many cases, which enables us to
made the transition to a brand new site. For give a wider choice and better look within a
a start he had to get rid of the original store, basic theme of maybe two foot of space.
which took a while, as well as take on tough The introduction of hand-made or
competition in the new retail development in hand-assembled counter cards into so many
the shape of Card Factory and Woolworths. publishers’ offers, particularly on main
hris and Lynn Mitchell’s
“We’re a
The key to the move was securing a control product, which carry higher price
C
journey to greetings cards
top-end
Thorntons franchise – the signing of such points, used to scare us a bit but we tend to
began in Stoke on Trent with
a strong brand was instrumental in getting fi nd that if our customers like the product,
news agency and ended up
card an independent operation like Heart to they’ll buy it without questioning the price.”
(for the time being) a 100 or
retailer
Heart into the retail centre alongside all Joining Cardgains was another milestone.
so miles south in Oxfordshire.
that got
the multiples. It also helped that Thorntons “We thought it was a good idea and it’s
They’ve been running their two-store
delivered a major boost to the bottom line been a resounding success for us. The most
empire in Didcot and Wantage since 1986
behind and provided a key draw for consumers in attractive element is the extra discount – I
and endured a few upheavals along the way.
strong
the new High Street. don’t buy just because of that but I enjoy the
The pair looked all over the UK
brands”
“Thorntons provides 40 per cent of our savings on the product I know will sell.”
for a business but in the end settled on
sales at Didcot,” says Chris. ‘Which makes And having been through one recession,
Oxfordshire because they thought it had the
us one of the top performing Thorntons he is fi nding the second a different affair.
potential. Wantage was their fi rst outlet but
outlets in the UK,” “We’re actually about nine per cent up
within two years of opening, an opportunity
With the move to Didcot’s new retail this year,” he states matter of factly. “That’s
in Didcot arose and Chris went for it.
heart, Chris also made a conscious decision probably due to the loss of Woolworths but
“The culture in greetings in those days
to change the retail split of Heart to Heart it’s also a refl ection of the hard work we
was that everyone wanted to expand,”
to refl ect the importance of gifts and key are putting in to make us a one-stop shop
explains Chris. “And I thought I could make
brands like Yankee Candle, Tatty Teddy, destinations store, with a wide choice of
money at it.”
Willow Tree, Bedazzled jewellery and even product and personal service.”
The Heart to Heart site in Didcot was
handbags from Fiorelli and Quintessential.
much bigger than Wantage but the town
This now means that the sales ratio is
had a poor retail provision. However, Chris
now 52/48 per cent in favour of gifts but
knew that Didcot had been designated as a
as Chris points out: “I still think of us as a
development area so they took on the lease
mainstream, top-end card retailer that has
and set up shop and walked straight into the
tried to get behind strong brands.”
teeth of the recession of the early 90s.
Inside the Heart to Heart store, the feel
“Didcot was only retaining around 19%
is light and spacious with a defi nite ‘less
.co.uk
of its retail spend at the time,” says Chris.
is more’ style to the fi xtures. To the right
“And the recession caused all manner of
of the door is the Thorntons zone while at
fi nancial implications. Fortunately our
the rear of the store sits the Yankee fi xture.
landlord was helpful and reduced the rent
Cards take the left hand side of the shop
for a lower turnover but I never felt we were
with over 64 foot of control from UK
in a strong position and we even put Didcot
Greetings, which has just been replanned in
eetingstoday
up for sale at one point.”
tune with the New Model Line, plus 34 line
Fortunately, Chris knew that a new retail
.
gr
extensions.
development in Didcot was on the cards and
At Heart to Heart, Chris has overseen a
he also know that when things eventually
lot of changes to how he ranges cards.
www
20 www.greetingstoday.co.uk
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