American Greetings nabs managers' nod - top selling greeting cards brands at discount stores - Top Brands, Part 1: Store Manager Survey

Discount Store News, Oct 1, 1990

American Greetings Nabs Managers' Nod

American Greetings emerged as the No. 1 greeting card brand at discount stores, outperforming No. 2 Ambassador by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

DSN's 1990 Top Brands Survey represents the first time the greeting cards category has been examined for brand preference.

Since 1986 when DSN started Top Brands, greeting cards were included in the stationery survey and was represented by at least one brand. But last year, four greeting card labels made the Top 10 stationery list--American Greetings, Ambassador, Gibson and Hallmark--and DSN decided to make it a separate category in 1990 so brand performance can be better examined.

Store managers were asked the same battery of questions on greeting cards as they were for the other 17 merchandise categories in the survey including which brands performed best in their stores and what are the attribute of their top sellers.

Often, discounters have just one greeting card brand on their shelves. Others may split the category between two greeting card manufacturers and possibly a third in a minor role. But unlike categories such as H&BA or toys, for example, multiple brands are not represented in greeting card programs. Therefore, the results of the greeting card brands survey could change annually as the makers gain or lose retail accounts or the nature of the business changes dramatically.

For example, Sangamon, the No. 5 ranked greeting card brand would be hard-pressed to improve its standing in the survey unless Target, Ames and Wal-Mart take on the label.

Consequently, what managers identify as a best performing brand in the greeting card category primarily rests with the brand being the only one carried. More than three-fourths of the respondents attributed their lone brand as a best performer because it was their only choice. Variety of merchandise was often cited as the second most important attribute of their top performing brand. Advertising was a very distant third and brand recognition was fourth.

Overall, American Greetings was the No. 1 greeting card brand followed by Ambassador in second place. Gibson, came in third; Sangamon, fourth; and Hallmark, fifth.

Hallmark, of course, does not service discount stores. Instead, Hallmark is represented by Ambassador, its mass market division.

American Greetings made a clean sweep of first place among conventional and upscale discounters, the Big Four chains, and in all four regions. Its fared best at Ames where nearly eight out of 10 managers named American Greetings a top performer. Its worst results came at the hands of "other conventional discounters." Only one-third of those managers named American Greetings a top performer, outpacing Ambassador and Gibson.

Ambassador was the No. 2 greeting card label with one-fifth the managers naming it a top performer, results that were nearly three times the responses for Gibson.

Target managers were the most enthusiastic about Ambassador. More than four in 10 managers named it a top performer, 11 percentage points behind American Greetings. Ambassador was not a factor at K mart.

Gibson, in the No. 3 spot, performed best among other conventional discounters but was not a factor at any chain.

Sangamon, in fourth, made the top brands list because of its presence at K mart. One-fifth the managers named Sangamon a best performer, second to American Greetings. Sangamon should improve among K mart managers in the 1991 survey since the greeting card company is gaining more emphasis at the chain.

At No. 5, Hallmark made the top brands list due to responses by "other upscale discounters."

In the regions, American Greetings had its best showing in the Northeast. Nearly two-thirds the store managers called American Greetings a top performer, five times more than the No. 2 Ambassador.

Ambassador's best showing was in the South where more than one-fourth the managers named it a top performer, about half the response level for American Greetings.

American Greeting's weakest regional result was in the West. Four in 10 managers named it a top performer. Ambassador and Gibson tied for second place followed closely by Hallmark in fourth. For Gibson these results were its best.

Sangamon was not a factor in the Northeast, according to manager responses, but was No. 3 in the North Central region behind American Greetings and Ambassador.

PHOTO : American Greetings took first place among both conventional and upscale discounters,

PHOTO : followed by Ambassador.