MUSIC MANIA HITS SUPERMARKETS' GREETING CARDS

STEPHANIE LOUGHRAN

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- The nation's top musical acts are now reaching out to their fans in supermarkets' greeting card departments like Bashas' Markets, based here.

American Greetings, Cleveland, Ohio, has rolled out a new line of licensed greeting cards called Music Mania, depicting images of three popular musical properties: Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Ricky Martin.

While he has not seen the cards, Bashas' vice president of general merchandise, George Fiscus said back-to-school items and Christmas ornaments featuring the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync sold well "in stores driven by households with children." He added, "This has been a great year for tie-ins with the 'boy bands' craze."

Lynn Johnston, general merchandise buyer at a Price Chopper store in Watertown, N.Y., said the cards will sell well, based upon large teen appeal. "They are located next to the magazine section, where a lot of teen-agers go," she said. The store just put them on display last month.

"Exposure is the biggest thing -- I think the line will do OK in grocery stores, but not great," one source at a Southern-based retailer said. "It will bring new life to the category though."

According to Margey Lowery, American Greetings' product manager, the line was introduced in November to retailers such as Albertson's, Boise, Idaho; H.E. Butt Grocery Co., San Antonio, Texas; Price Chopper, Schenectady, N.Y.; and Wegmans, Rochester, N.Y.

Lowery said, "Teens have serious spending power, they're in supermarkets either accompanied by their parents or shopping themselves for their family, and we think we found the formula that is capturing this market -- we've hit upon something that really matters to them in these musicians."

The Southern-based retailer does not think supermarkets are a spending outlet for teens. "[The line] would be great in a music shop," said the source.

The 41 different designs feature both the boy bands as a group and individually, because "everyone has their favorite 'N Sync guy," said Lowery, adding that the beauty of the line lies in the musical talents' popularity and assortment, where teen consumers have many opportunities to make repeat purchases.

The line consists of 35 stockkeeping units of standard birthday, friendship and blank cards, as well as six larger 11-by-7-inch cards. They feature "Fun Facts" on the backs of the cards, such as "['N Sync's] first album sold over 10 million copies and had four number-one singles." Lowery said the collectible cards sell for $2.25 and $3.85, respectively.

She said American Greetings and their licenser, Winterland, San Leandro, Calif., plan to update images of the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Ricky Martin as needed, and offer other artists. "We plan to refresh the line with either new images of the artists we've previously sold that are still hot, as well as any new musical group that we now have the legal rights to."