WILD CARDS 1996

JOEL ELSON

Alternative cards keep energizing supermarkets' greeting card sales.

An ever-increasing selection of alternative cards has been introduced over the last decade, with card companies able to reach out to every conceivable demographic. Alternative greetings provide a fresh and topical slant to retailers' greeting card departments, said nonfood executives.

"Alternative cards are the fastest growth category in our American Greetings card departments," said Jim Denny, nonfood buyer at Dierbergs Markets, Chesterfield, Mo. The chain enjoyed a 25% increase in the segment's sales last year, he said.

"Greeting card companies have done an excellent job in keeping cards current," said Nelson Rodenmayer, director of marketing and advertising at the Louisville, Ky., division of Winn-Dixie Stores, Jacksonville, Fla.

Last year, for example, American Greetings, Cleveland, produced cards relating to the O.J. Simpson trial featuring Judge Lance Ito and Kato Kaelin under its 78th Street humorous card umbrella. The line, which the company said is one of its top three alternative sellers, is updated monthly with topical themes.

"The major manufacturers have done a super job with cards that key into events in our lives above and beyond the holidays. There are cards for someone who has quit smoking and for pet owners after the loss of a pet," said Jan Winn, director of health and beauty care and general merchandise at Big Y Supermarkets, Springfield, Mass.

Alternative cards fit almost any store location, Winn said. She has contacted Big Y's card supplier, Ambassador Cards, Kansas City, Mo., to request pet sympathy cards for all stores. "Pets are a big deal to people," she said. The line includes cards for pet owners, pet care givers, sitters and vets.

"Lifestyle trends also support the growth of alternative cards as people change the way they communicate in response to the pace of life and changes in family structures," said Denny of Dierbergs.

Denny, who relies on shopper and demographic studies conducted by its card supplier, said baby boomers, younger consumers and affluent shoppers are drawn to alternative racks. He expects continued growth in the segment, especially with more people entering the 55- to 64-year-old age bracket.

Dierbergs devotes 32 to 40 feet to alternative cards in-line and at endcaps. The chain increases this space to 58 feet when it replaces space used for seasonal occasions with additional alternative selections.

New lines for Dierbergs were Coffeehouse, a serious card line; Love Talk, a romantic line, and Baobab Tree, designed for African-Americans.

Dierbergs displays alternative cards outside the in-line department on freestanding fixtures, at checkout racks, in floral sections and on endcaps to maximize impulse sales. The chain outposts alternatives in the floral department in some stores on sleek, angled fixtures that have a narrow footprint. Denny said they also like to introduce new assortments to generate interest.

John C. Grubb Co., Seymour, Ind., is increasing alternative card display space with new spinner racks placed at an endcap "to keep up with the increased demand we're experiencing," said Carl Lang, general merchandise buyer.

The added fixtures will increase Grubb's alternative display space 25% in the 8- to 12-foot sets.

Lang said customers consider alternatives a new twist on social expression and more contemporary than traditional cards.

Rosauers Supermarkets, Spokane, Wash., devotes about 12% of its 100-foot American Greetings card sections to alternatives. It also has additional choices on freestanding spinner racks by floral and in produce at four stores for more incremental card volume, according to Norm Carpenter, director of general merchandise.

The chain's alternative assortment includes Kid Zone, cards for children ages 1 to 12, cards of appreciation in a hand-drawn design; Victorian cards, and spinner racks that display romantic, contemporary and blank cards expressing various thoughts.

Alternative card sales are growing at Harmon's City, West Valley City, Utah, said Kyle Holdaway, nonfood manager. As demand for the alternatives grows, Harmon's will enlarge the set beyond the 4-foot section.