Our History

Begins in 1906 in the USA with a young entrepreneur named Jacob Sapirstein. With just $50, Jacob’s tiny business, selling Penny Postcards from a handcart on the streets of Cleveland Ohio, became the world’s largest publicly owned, direct-to-retail greetings card, personal expression & gifts company with worldwide sales of $2 billion and a portfolio including such brand luminaries as the Care Bears, Holly Hobbie and Strawberry Shortcake.

American Greetings’ UK operations began in the early 1980's with the purchase of three long-established UK greeting card industry names – Rust Craft, Celebration Arts Group and Andrew Valentine. In the late 80’s the companies were merged to form one company, Carlton Cards Ltd. UK acquisitions continued in the late 1990s and 2000, resulting in the creation of the UK Greetings Group, the holding company for American Greetings interests in the UK.

These acquisitions brought together winning product portfolios and a wealth of operational and retailing experience. The UK portfolio now comprised famous brand names Hanson White (Humour), Camden Graphics (Fine Art & Contemporary), Gibson Greetings (Traditional & Cute), the Xpressions Gift Company, Special Editions (Own Brand and Charity Cards), Collage (design-led Gift Wrap) and of course Carlton Cards.

On March 1st 2008, UK Greetings Ltd. became the legal entity of all American Greetings operations in the UK. In March 2008, the company also acquired Card Connection Limited - the market leader in the franchised distribution of greeting cards, gift wrap and some gift items. Card Connection was established in 1992 and has quickly grown to become the UK's largest and most successful company supplying cards on a consignment basis.

On March 1st 2011, Watermark, supplier of bespoke and exclusive product became part of the UK Greetings family.

UK Greetings has operating sites at several locations in the UK:

Dewsbury – Mill Street East
Head office for UK Greetings Ltd, Carlton Cards & Special Editions

Dewsbury – Cannon Way
UKG manufacturing & distribution

Croydon
Hanson White & Camden Graphics studios

Nottingham
Xpressions Card & Gift Company.

Ipswich
Collage studio

Corby
Distribution centre.

Watermark Publishing Design Studio.

Italy
Gift wrap manufacture

Farnham – Card Connection Ltd.

The company currently employs circa 3500 people in the UK and the core business remains the design, manufacture and sale of greeting cards on a direct-to-retail basis. UK Greetings has the highest market share in the UK, which in 2007 was 35% of the direct to retail market and this continues to grow. Our manufacturing facility has the capacity to produce over 6 million cards per week.

To find out more about our parent company, visit
www.corporate.americangreetings.com