cardfactory opens first store in the Middle East
cardfactory, the UK’s leading specialist retailer of greeting cards, gifts and celebration essentials, is opening its first cardfactory store in the Middle East as part of its long-term master franchise agreement with Liwa Trading Enterprises.
The opening of the new store in the Bawabat Al Sharq Mall in Abu Dhabi, marks the highly-anticipated entry of the cardfactory brand into the Middle East, following the exclusive franchise partnership agreement announced in May.
The agreement with Liwa aims to open around 36 stores across the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, supporting the growth of cardfactory’s international presence. A further three stores are scheduled to open in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in August.
Enabled by the Group’s specialist in-house design and manufacturing capability, cardfactory’s range of greetings cards, celebrations essentials and gifts, will be tailored to the local market to offer customers a differentiated product range to meet a host of celebration needs at competitive prices.
cardfactory’s entry into the Middle Eastern market follows the Group’s expansion into South Africa through the acquisition of SA Greetings in April, and the Group continues to target partnerships in its seven international target markets of the USA, Canada, the Middle East, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. The agreements with Liwa and SA Greetings bolster cardfactory’s already established partnership credentials with existing UK agreements with Aldi, Matalan and The Reject Shop in Australia.
Syed Kazmi, Executive Director, Business Development at cardfactory, said: “cardfactory is delighted to be partnering with Liwa on this highly exciting expansion in the Middle East, taking our international expansion into a new phase. We look forward to offering customers in the UAE great quality and value when celebrating all of life’s moments and are confident that our expertise and authority in greetings cards, celebration essentials and gifting will help us quickly become a well-loved brand of customers in the Middle East.”
Darcy Willson-Rymer, Chief Executive Officer at cardfactory, commented: “We are excited to be opening our first stores in the Middle East as we continue to deliver on our ambitious ‘Opening Our New Future’ growth strategy. Our entry into the Middle East will underpin our position as a global competitor and help drive our transition to becoming the market leading omnichannel retailer of cards and gifts.”
