The Hindu Business Line : Jubilee resolutions

AFTER having pioneered innumerable occasions to celebrate in the country, Archies Ltd is looking to redefine its focus in its twenty-fifth year of operations.

Not that the company is going to tone down its greeting cards business. Surely, Friendship Day, Valentine's Day, or even the birthdays wouldn't have been the same without the "festive" feel put behind it by Archies.

Says Anil Moolchandani, Chairman and Managing Director of Archies: "Greeting cards are a form of social expression. We have tried to introduce a number of occasion-based days; however, their success eventually depends on the consumer and on the investment which companies put into the day. For instance, we tried to introduce `Forgiveness Day.' However, it did not go down too well with the consumers. With growing awareness among school kids and also due to the emergence of call centres, we will put our efforts into promoting Halloween this year."

But while the greeting cards business would continue to exist, it is the gifting and retailing segments which Archies believes will help take its turnover upwards. "The explosion in the retail space spells opportunity, with about 200-odd malls set to come up 2007 across the country. We are aiming to be present in about 40 per cent of the malls. Moving forward, we want to be seen more as a retail-oriented company than one of greeting cards," says Moolchandani.

The company currently has 480 stores in about 180 locations. Archies is also moving towards the gifting arena in a major way. In fact, the company is working on developing an exclusive supplier base for its gifting products, and has already signed on 10 suppliers in the Far East. "We will not be limiting ourselves to teenagers anymore. In fact, the price band for our gifts would be going up to Rs 2,000-3,000. We are looking at more occasion-based gifting such as weddings and so on," Moolchandani says.

With the new gifting products being high-value items, the company is hoping to notch up a higher turnover in the current fiscal through this strategy. Incidentally, gifts already account for about 60 per cent of sales through the exclusive Archies outlets.

But does the changed focus have anything to do with the slump in the greeting cards industry, particularly with the ascent of the Internet and SMS? "Sales were affected initially, with e-cards catching on, however the industry is not declining any more. People realised that there was no personalisation in sending an e-card, which can be forwarded to lots of other persons at the same time. Similarly, we believe that sending greetings through emerging technologies such as SMS and even MMS will prove to be only a passing fad. The greeting cards industry will not fall further, but we need more number of players to make the category grow," says Moolchandani.

Incidentally, Archies had also tried to make an impact by providing paid e-card services. The venture, the company claims, is resulting in regular (though not sizeable) business for it.

The recent rejig of Archies' portfolio also saw the company exit the loss-making perfumes business. The company has since inked an agreement with a third party for a licence to use the `Archies Parfum' brand name on a royalty basis.

Due to its exit from the Rs 10-crore perfume business last year, the company's fiscal 2003-04 sales may not be indicative of the initiatives taken in the year. "However, we do expect a 10 per cent growth in turnover in the current fiscal," says Moolchandani.

Surely, greeting or gifting, Archies is busy giving reason enough for consumers to celebrate.

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