Card Factory is set to enter the US market with the acquisition of Minnesota-based Garven Holdings in a $25m (£20m) deal.
The move marks a major milestone in the UK retailer’s international growth ambitions, providing a foothold in the £70bn US celebration market and accelerating its “partnerships strategy in one of our key international target markets.”
Garven, which trades under the brands Garven Design and Cadence Packaging, specialises in the design and wholesale of gifts and celebration essentials.
Its established customer base of general and specialty retailers offers Card Factory opportunities to explore “design and buying synergies, alongside opportunities to introduce its own ranges into the US wholesale market.”
Chief operating officer Anne Schulze and chief financial officer Walter Jungbauer will remain in their roles to manage the Garven business.
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Card Factory CEO Darcy Willson-Rymer said: “The acquisition of Garven is an important strategic milestone in our partnerships strategy. Together with our separate wholesale supply agreement covering over 1,100 stores across the US, it establishes a physical presence in the US market.
“Over a number of years, Garven has built a reputation as a trusted brand known for its quality products and impressive design capabilities, with Anne and Walter building an excellent customer proposition. We are excited to welcome the Garven team to Card Factory and look forward to building upon their existing commercial relationships, as well as forging new ones.
“International partnerships are a key component of our growth strategy. This acquisition is a key step in delivering the growth from partnerships as we guided at our Capital Markets Update in May last year. Garven represents an exciting opportunity for cardfactory to build scale in the world’s biggest celebration occasions market.”
The card and gift specialist also provided an update on its trading performance, reporting that the second half of the year has been “in line with our expectations.”
It noted a strong start to Christmas trading and said that its programme of productivity and efficiency savings “remains on track.”
Card Factory added: “Our expectations for the full year are unchanged, albeit we are yet to trade through the peak Christmas trading period.”
A further update will be provided in its January trading statement.
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