Cards Plus
Cards Plus is family owned and is managed by Erville Hughes. Cards Plus was opened in February 2007. It is situated on the ground floor of Tomac Plaza, Water Swamp and is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am-6 pm. It is the #1 retail greeting cards and gift shop with an emphasis on party supplies and social stationery.
Cards Plus came about when the family recognised that there was a gap in the market for quality, yet affordable, greeting cards and other social stationery. After careful assessment of the market and bouncing the idea on quite a number of potential customers and family members they developed a business plan, crunched some figures and planned their strategy for penetrating the market. Fortunately, this family all had experience in running businesses either in Anguilla or overseas and they knew they were equipped with the necessary skills and acumen required to manage the operations of the business.
Cards Plus offers cards for all occasions including birthday cards, seasonal cards including Easter and Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day , Father’s Day, humorous cards (best seller), thank you and get well cards, graduation, confirmation, christening, first communion, baby shower, birth announcement and congratulations, sympathy cards, general and relatives, wedding day and anniversary cards, inspirational, love and friendship cards. They also provide party invitations and banners, birthday badges, variety of birthday candles, crystal glassware, and boxed glassware for milestone birthdays, tissue paper, gift bags/boxes/wrap paper, books on the history of Anguilla, journals, children’s books, and much more.
They are proud that that they have created a brand that is unique and that brings pleasure to so many persons when they choose a card which matches what they really want to say. A benefit for the family is when customers upon reading a card would exclaim “that’s it”, the perfect card, but then they would say “you have some lovely cards here, I don’t know which one to choose.” That gives a sense of satisfaction. Another benefit is the opportunity to identify customer requests and trends and expand the product range to meet customers’ needs.
They were cautioned that doing business in Anguilla was risky because of market size. Their answer to this was priceless. They said ‘doing business anywhere is risky, but if you are selling quality products at a reasonable price, and have good customer service, you are then in a better position to make a sustained return on your investment.’
One challenge identified by the family is market size. They explained that most suppliers have a minimum order quantity. This means that Cards Plus must carry a bigger stock of certain products so that they are able to provide the variety of products our customers need. They shared ‘we know we are doing our job right when a customer says “I tried you first, because I know if you don’t have it I wouldn’t get it anywhere else!”
A second challenge is the cost of getting goods to Anguilla. They shared “as part of our gift selection, for example, we had a really good demand for quality chocolates but we had to discontinue stocking the product, except on a seasonal basis because of the cost (e.g. high customs duties) associated with getting them to Anguilla quickly and in good condition.”
The family did not have any difficulty in setting up the business. They expressed, however, that except for their Saturday staff, finding the right staff with good work ethics and an appreciation of the value of good customer service has been difficult.
Their advice to persons wishing to start a business is to stay focussed. They said “treat the business like you would treat a new born baby and remember cash is king.” Build up a good cash reserve. Borrow only if you have to and only what you need for the business. In marketing terms “stick to your knitting” that is, know what you are good at and work to excel in that area.
They acknowledged that their competitors are well established. They shared “however we make it our business to know our market. We specialise in selling mainly “paper” greeting cards as our primary product! We have carved out a niche market for our business in terms of quality and variety of products.”
The response from the general public has been really great, and Cards Plus thanks all customers for their kind words and support and for telling their friends and family about Cards Plus.
In ten years, they hope the economy will be in much better shape and envision expansion of the business with increased market share.
To the General Public they said
“If you have an idea, put your plans on paper, talk to friends/family and go for it. We need more small businesses. Small businesses, with help from government or some other agency can give a major boost to our economy. Stay connected to your customers; test the market with new products. Also, remember if you need a card, do visit Cards Plus.
