WHO'S GOT MAIL?

MARK HAMSTRA

Christmas and death by anthrax just don't go together.

But this year, consumers are facing a dilemma. The nationwide increase in sentimentality spurred by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has already caused a spike in the sale of "support and encouragement" greeting cards, and the trend could carry over into the holiday mailing season. At the same time, however, many consumers could be wary of using the U.S. mail system, which itself has been hijacked as a vehicle of terror.

A recent survey by Euro RSCG, New York, predicted that 13% of men and 9% of women would mail fewer cards this year because of the anthrax scares.

That has retailers -- some of whom have taken extra steps this year to become gift destinations -- wondering how the year-end holiday greeting card season might shape up.

"There's a lot of unanswered questions out there," said Mike Peterson, buyer for direct-to-store merchandise, North State Grocery, Cottonwood, Calif., which operates 25 supermarkets under the Holiday Quality Foods banner. He said it was too early last week to forecast how the greeting card category might perform at his stores this year.

Some industry observers have predicted an increase in greeting card volume, along with an early mailing season because people might mail their greeting cards sooner than usual to avoid possible delays in the poisoned postal system.

"I think people will think about mailing early," said Marianne McDermott, executive vice president, Greeting Card Association, Washington.

She said GCA is anticipating a strong year for greeting card sales, despite some lingering fears about anthrax.

"We had expected this holiday season to be very good for the industry," she said. "There's no question that historically during hard times -- wartime, depression, whatever -- people tend to send more cards."

Out of the seven billion greeting cards that are purchased annually, about two billion are Christmas cards, McDermott said, and to that can be added Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's cards that all help anchor the post-Thanksgiving holiday card season.

This year the association is asking its members to merchandise return-address labels near displays of greeting cards to remind consumers that they should include a return address on all mailings. The U.S. Postmaster General recently warned consumers through a nationwide mailing to be wary of envelopes with no return address or an unfamiliar return address.

Some supermarket retailers said they expect this to be a busy year for gifts and greeting cards whether people use the mail or not.

"Our predictions are that there's going to be a lot of family time," said Mike Houser, vice chairman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Fresh Brands, Sheboygan, Wis. "I think that whether the cards or gifts or floral arrangements are mailed out, there's going to be just as much interaction with families, where people will just give them at parties, or in an entertainment mode."

He also said he expected people to continue the trend toward more eating at home, which could lead to increased supermarket sales of seasonal general merchandise like greeting cards and gift wrap.

Fresh Brands' new Piggly Wiggly prototype store in Sheboygan, Wis., is designed to maximize sales from the gift and greeting card department, which curves around the floral area. In the store's round design, each major department is positioned in a circular layout beneath a natural-light dome.

A service desk centers the floral department, and about 400 square feet of greeting cards and gifts are shelved in an arc around the flower displays. The current seasonal cards are positioned at the entrance to the section, alongside other seasonal fare. The store merchandises wines and spirits adjacent to the card and floral area, accompanied by some upscale food items that, like the potables, also could be purchased as gifts.

He said the card and seasonal area did well during the Halloween season.

Although many supermarket greeting-card aisles bear the supplier's brand name, Houser said the Piggly Wiggly prototype store's card department, which is stocked by American Greetings, Cleveland, is unbranded.

"We really didn't want it to be like a licensed department," he said. "We wanted to do something different within the store, and the branding part of it was not something we wanted to be... tied into."

Fresh Brands is gearing up to open its second curvy Piggly Wiggly prototype in Kenosha, Wis. Plans call for that store to incorporate a similar design for the floral/greeting card department.

Another retailer hoping to become more of a gift destination this year is Giant Food, Landover, Md., which recently opened branded Toys R Us aisles inside several stores.

Although Giant relocated the greeting-card departments in some stores to make room for the new toy sections, the chain also added some gift wrap and other items near the area to build on the impulse sales that the toys are generating, according to the chain's card and party goods supplier.

"We actually have more space than we had before," said Dan Moraczewski, vice president, supermarket channel, American Greetings. "We added 12 feet of juvenile party goods and gift wrap."

Giant declined to provide additional details on the test locations.

At Holiday Quality Foods, Peterson said the stores usually merchandise their card sections, which are supplied by Hallmark, Kansas City, Mo., in high-traffic areas of the store and in the floral area.

Although he said he had not placed any patriotically themed greeting-card displays in his stores in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, he is exploring the possibility of doing so.

Several greeting-card companies have unveiled patriotically themed cards, and some retailers said the items have been selling well.

American Greetings rolled out an "America Forever" greeting-card series, and is donating 10% of the proceeds to the American Red Cross.

Hallmark, meanwhile, is rolling out four patriotic holiday-card designs and is making charitable donations separate from the sale of the items.

Tree-Free Greetings, Marlborough, N.H., last month rolled out a line of brightly colored patriotic cards in six different designs, along with patriotic envelopes. Profits from the sale of the Patriotic Unity series, which carry a suggested retail price of $2.25, will be used to pay the salary of one of the Sept. 11 victims for the next five years.

Another environmentally friendly card maker, Recycled Paper Greetings, Chicago, rolled out a 16-title line bearing patriotic symbols but not tied to the holidays. At least 10% of the proceeds from each card will go to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, according to Rick Baldwin, spokesman, Recycled Paper Greetings.

The company also is debating whether to introduce patriotic holiday cards.

Meanwhile, Moraczewski of American Greetings said another of that company's lines that has been gaining popularity is a religious set called "In His Name," which is available in both boxed sets and as individual Christmas cards.

"We've seen a real movement back to more religious-type cards," he said.