For this episode we are taking more than a Hallmark moment to get to know Carolyn Spriet, the President of Hallmark Canada. In a wide-ranging interview we get to learn more about the Hallmark business. From humble beginnings in 1910, the Hallmark brand continues to evolve across its business portfolios. From the Hallmark Channel content on the W Network in Canada, to the company’s Crayola subsidiary - hey did you know they owned Crayola?? and of course on the greeting card, gifts, ornaments and innovative interactive solutions all found in over 3,300 locations in Canada alone.
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
For this episode we are taking more than a Hallmark moment to get to know Carolyn Spriet, the President of Hallmark Canada. In a wide-ranging interview we get to learn more about the Hallmark business. From humble beginnings in 1910, the Hallmark brand continues to evolve across its business portfolios. From the Hallmark Channel content on the W Network in Canada, to the company’s Crayola subsidiary - hey did you know they owned Crayola?? and of course on the greeting card, gifts, ornaments and innovative interactive solutions all found in over 3,300 locations in Canada alone.
Carolyn shares her perspective with over 25 years of experience on retail strategy, differentiation, partnership and direct to consumer retail, the future of work, and insights from her day at the Odgers Berndtson Future Leaders of Tomorrow summit where she met and talked with youth from across Canada to learn and share ideas.
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven’t already, be sure and click subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically twice a week, and check out my other retail industry media properties; the Remarkable Retail podcast, the Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast. Last but not least, if you are into BBQ, check out my all new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbeque, with new episodes each and every week!
I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company & Maven Media, and if you’re looking for more content, or want to chat follow me on LinkedIn, or visit my website meleblanc.co! Have a safe week everyone!
About Carolyn
Carolyn Spriet is a consumer-packaged goods executive with 25+ years’ experience leading Private, Private Equity and Tier One Multinational organizations and championing the growth of many of Canada’s most recognized household and retailer brands. She is currently the President of Hallmark Canada, responsible for local strategy and operations, and driving sales in the Drug/Mass/Club/Grocery channels and the Hallmark Gold Crown independent retail stores.
Prior to joining Hallmark, Carolyn was General Manager of Sun Products Canada, a division of the $2B North American private equity-backed consumer products company that was formed with the acquisition of Unilever’s laundry business. Carolyn was responsible for the 2008 start-up of the Canadian company and built that organization for eight years until its successful sale to Henkel AG, a global CPG Multinational. As General Manager, Carolyn was responsible for the stand-alone $200 MM Canadian operation, including all functional strategy development, financial results, and leadership of the 70-person team.
Prior to Sun Products, Carolyn had a successful 16-year career at Unilever Canada. During this time, she held progressive marketing and sales leadership roles in all three company business units: Food (Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Lipton), Personal Care (Dove, Degree, Axe) and Homecare (Sunlight, Vim, Snuggle). As a lead of the Unilever Laundry Divestiture team, Carolyn and her colleagues led the sale process with prospective buyers and ultimately executed the transfer of the business to private equity.
Carolyn holds an Honours Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University. She lives in Toronto with her husband, Jeff, and three children. Outside of work, Carolyn enjoys anything that gets her outdoors and active - skiing, snowboarding, hiking and travel.
About Michael
Michael is the Founder & President of M.E. LeBlanc & Company Inc and a Senior Advisor to Retail Council of Canada as part of his advisory and consulting practice. He brings 25+ years of brand/retail/marketing & eCommerce leadership experience and has been on the front lines of retail industry change for his entire career. He has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions with C-level executives and participated on thought leadership panels worldwide. Michael was recently added to ReThink Retail’s prestigious Top 100 Global Retail Influencers for a second year in 2022.
Michael is also the producer and host of a network of leading podcasts, including Canada’s top retail industry podcast, The Voice of Retail, plus the Remarkable Retail with author Steve Dennis, Global E-Commerce Tech Talks and The Food Professor with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Most recently, Michael launched Conversations with CommerceNext, a podcast focussed on retail eCommerce, digital marketing and retail careers - all available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music and all major podcast platforms. Michael is also the producer and host of the “Last Request Barbeque” channel on YouTube where he cooks meals to die for and influencer riches.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to The Voice of Retail. I'm your host Michael LeBlanc. This podcast is brought to you in conjunction with the Retail Council of Canada.
For this episode, we are taking more than a Hallmark moment to get to know Carolyn Spriet, President of Hallmark Canada. In a wide-ranging interview, we get to learn more about the Hallmark business.
From humble beginnings in 1910, the Hallmark brand continues to evolve across its business portfolios. From the Hallmark Channel content on the W Network, to the company's Crayola subsidiary - hey, did you know they own Crayola? And of course, on greeting card front, gifts, ornaments and innovative interactive solutions, all found in over 3300 locations in Canada alone.
Carolyn shares her perspective of over 25 years of experience on retail strategy, differentiation, partnership and direct and consumer retail, the future of work, and insights from her day at the Odgers Berndtson Future Leaders of Tomorrow summit where she met and talked with youth across Canada to learn to share ideas.
Carolyn Spriet 00:56
You know, when it comes to attracting a talent and being able to maintain key talent. I just think that you're not going to be competitive if you wanted to go back to the old way. But on the more positive side. I, I just think that I believe we're actually getting more of the heart and soul out of people.
Michael LeBlanc 01:15
Carolyn, welcome to The Voice of Retail podcast. How are you doing this afternoon?
Carolyn Spriet 01:18
Great. Thanks, Michael, thanks for having me today.
Michael LeBlanc 01:21
Well, I'm excited about the conversation because I've been working up myself all week to say this. I'm looking forward to my Hallmark moment with you.
Carolyn Spriet 01:29
Oh, I love it. I love it. This is gonna be a good call.
Michael LeBlanc 01:34
Listen, listen. Thanks again for, for joining me. Let's jump right in. Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your role at the Hallmark Canada?
Carolyn Spriet 01:42
Sure. Yeah, I, I'm a homegrown Canadian. I had a 25-year career in the consumer goods industry, largely in Toronto. My functional back, background is sales and marketing. But I've been involved for the past 15 years in general management roles. My, my early years were spent at Unilever, which you might know is a, a large multinational CPG company. And then following that, I led a, a Canadian startup with a private equity organization. And that was called Sun Products. It was also in the consumer brand and space and ran that organization for about 8 years until we sold that to a global multinational. And then I took a little break did some traveling and joined Hallmark as the Canadian President in 2019. So, I've had the pleasure of leading this team in this business here in Toronto for, for the last few years.
Michael LeBlanc 02:34
So, as you reflect on your past experience, let's call it on the wholesale or the vendor side. You've got a bit of a hybrid role. I think we’ll, we'll get into it a little bit more. But what's it been like sitting on both sides of the table, so to speak at the same time?
Carolyn Spriet 02:47
Yeah, it's, it's great, because, when we take a look at the retail space. When I came and joined Hallmark in 2019, there was so much going on in the retail space, I was only around for a year before COVID hit. And of course, that just changed everything in terms of how do you ready your products to be sold in a very, very different environment. So had to learn pretty quickly all the changing consumer and shopper behaviors. And then of course, keeping true to how you present your brand to consumers at the same time. So, the combination of the two has, has been helpful, for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 03:22
Well, that's a big remit, trying to figure out consumers in the COVID and post COVID-era. I don't think many of us have quite figured it out. So, just gonna be a great interviewer. If you figured it out, share, share, share.
Carolyn Spriet 03:32
No, no it's just the beginning of finding it out and realizing.
Michael LeBlanc 03:36
Yeah.
Carolyn Spriet 03:36
That we started, this has just been the beginning for consumers to redefine and have their voice and how they want things done from here on in. So, we're needing to pivot and listen a lot more than we ever did.
Michael LeBlanc 03:47
Right. Let's, let’s talk about Hallmark. So, I mean, I no, no one who's listening wouldn't know the name. But, you know, it's a household name. That being said, they may not be aware of the scope and scale of the company. I mean, you're, you're in retail, you're in wholesale, you've got TV, you know, you've got entertainment. Talk about the business in Canada and, and around the world, just so that everybody kind of understands scope and scale of Hallmark.
Carolyn Spriet 04:10
Yeah, sure. So, so Hallmark is still a privately held company. It was founded more than 100 years ago. And it has a, you know significant market share in over 100 countries around the world. It’s the number one brand, and it's in the top 2% of, of the most loved brands in the world. So, it's a very, very strong brand to work for.
The, the division that I work in is, is the greetings division. Which is the division that sells cards and gift wrap and packaged expressions and gifting and home decor and that's where our retail space is. And our mission is really about helping people live caring and connected lives. And our goal is to try to help people make their moments meaningful, we can talk about that a little bit after.
Also, within Hallmark though, we have two other big divisions. And you mentioned one, the Hallmark Channel, is a very important part of our way to, to help people live caring, connected lives. And I think you've probably seen some of that programming on the W Channel in, in Canada. And then we also have Crayola, which is another business that's really about unleashing children's potential and creativity. So, the company is really very, very dedicated to consumer experience. And in Canada, we have a, a, a dedicated cross functional team that's headquartered here in Toronto. And we sell to the mass channels that you'd recognize, grocery drug, mass merch, the clubs. But we also have an independent retail network of stores that specialize in unique offerings, including a lot of our specialized gifting and gold crown merchandise. So that's the brick and mortar [inaudible] business in Canada.
And then this past year, in October of 2021, we launched hallmark.ca, which was a digital shopping platform. So, that's been really great for us. And pretty important, as we've seen, retailers really shift to online purchases. So, that's a little bit about Hallmark Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 06:05
Yeah, let me double click on a couple of those things. So, did you say you owned Crayola? Like the crayons?
Carolyn Spriet 06:10
Yes. Yeah, Crayola.
Michael LeBlanc 06:11
I had no idea. I had no idea that, that, that was the case [inaudible].
Carolyn Spriet 06:14
Yeah, also, also owned by the Hall the Hall family. Yes. So that's one of the, one of our three divisions.
Michael LeBlanc 06:19
And in the stores, is it corporate owned, or franchisees? I mean, you prob, you have shop and shop kind of wholesale relationships. But are these corporate owned stores that you have? And how many of those do you have in Canada?
Carolyn Spriet 06:30
No, we don't have any more corporate owned stores. All of our stores are independents. And so, we've had long standing relationships with these folks. And so, you know, we work very much with them on all parts of their partnership, whether it's helping with leases, whether it's helping with product assortment, staffing, training. So, it's a very, very tight relationship, but they are independently owned.
Michael LeBlanc 06:51
You foreshadowed a bit of our conversation at the beginning, just talking about what is my next question. You know, when you, when you first took the role on, versus how you think about the role today, post COVID? What, what do you think? What changed in your mind in terms of retail strategies as you assess the business before you took the opportunity? Just when you took, sat in that chair and you said, okay, then COVID hit. How are you thinking at all differently now than you would have been two years ago?
Carolyn Spriet 07:20
Yeah, I mean, I think that the biggest piece is that there's massive changes in terms of consumer expectations, and shopping behaviors. And when I can touch on a few of those, but those have radically changed how we set our own objectives and operate our business. For the first thing in cards, for example, COVID actually was a really positive thing for our industry because people were really feeling very disconnected and, and isolated on a personal level from people. And they were very, very clear that they wanted to connect more in more personal meaningful ways than the zoom and the teams calls that they were having. So, the first thing is, as we started looking at the content of our cards and trying to determine whether or not the messaging that we had available was still appropriate, based on how people were feeling. We also knew that people were wanting to not go into stores for fear of safety, or for they didn't want to touch a bunch of cards that people might have had before them. So, the online really, really pivoted quickly.
Michael LeBlanc 08:21
And that shop and just to, you know, that shop, pull on that thread a bit, that shopping journey is really, I, I, you know, now that I think of it. What we heard from a lot of retailers, what I heard was that, you know, customers are very mission oriented. They knew what they wanted, they were going in, they weren't lingering, they weren't browsing, they got what they came to get. And that's kind of almost the antithesis in my mind of shopping for a great card. I mean, you want to linger and look at different cards, and boy that I, I hadn't thought of it that way. But that's a real, a real gnarly one to take on right.
Carolyn Spriet 08:48
Well, you know. You know, it's interesting, because people will say they want to hurry. And, and there are occasions when they do want to get in and get out. But at the same time, they feel intense pressure to get the exact right card that says the right thing. So, our job is to be very, very helpful in how to navigate them to where they're going to want to go. And so that's where signage, and that's where layout and really thinking through how to maximize the, the, the positive experience, but minimize the negative of it taking too long. So it is, it is a bit of a different category that way for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 09:19
Well, you're gonna have to tune in next week, I'm interviewing a, a professor from Columbia, Eric Johnson, on his book, "The Elements of Choice", and he's written apparently the Bible on how people make choices. So, tune in to that.
Carolyn Spriet 09:32
Aw, that sounds fantastic.
Michael LeBlanc 09:33
Let's talk about this interesting transition between, or and amongst, being both direct and a wholesale. I had a great conversation with Wendy Benison, who was a board member of Retail Council of Canada, and, and now she's at Saxx, which is men's apparel. And they both sell direct to consumers but have great wholesale relationships. And, and we talked about that art and science of managing that relationship, those relationships. So, it's one plus one equals three. Talk about how you approach that now that you're, you know, particularly with a .ca in, in that game.
Carolyn Spriet 10:04
Right. So, I mean, I think more than ever, you really have to start with understanding your retailer strategies and needs because you do have to find and create unique shopping experiences that are different by retailer. And they can't be competing and, and really, you know, overlapping. So, when I think about independent retailers, for example, a lot of our independent retailers tend to be in smaller communities. And they do really, really well with gifting and keepsake products. So, we really try to offer them a range of products that are not available anywhere else. So, there's some exclusivity plays there.
But there's also some assortment generally in the whole Hallmark line. So, we sort of look at independence as being the premium experience on, on Hallmark product offering. And we make sure that when people go in the store, they feel that way. When we take a look at mass merch, you know, our biggest mass merch customer is interested in really driving their online business. So, in that case, we're really partnering to be the first to market in, in Canada to have cards online available in a pickup and either a delivery or a pickup in store. So, we really are getting very much behind that for that retailer because that is serving their corporate objectives.
When we take a look at grocery, you know, they're looking for ways to cross merchandise, to be able to pick up that extra revenue when it comes from an impulse purchase. So, for those customers, we have different displays and approaches to hit them. And in dollar stores, they're looking for value. And so, we have to figure out how to provide them with the assortment that they need.
So, I would say compared to all the other categories I've ever worked, it's a little bit easier at Hallmark because our product range is so wide. And our ability to create different presentation materials, whether it's displays or other, is so varied you really can have a very different look. It's a lot harder when you're selling a single unit. Right, that just is on another shelf.
Michael LeBlanc 12:01
Yeah. Which, which size of detergent would you like in which channel kind of?
Carolyn Spriet 12:05
Exactly, I did that for 13 years, yes.
Michael LeBlanc 12:08
Yeah, I know. Okay, you get the one with the red cap, you get the one with the blue cap. They're very, they're very different products. I, how many products would, you how many skews would you have? I mean, I was thinking about that. There must be a tremendous amount of cards, and there must be a tremendous turn. And do you do drops and seasonal things? Like if in, in any given year, how, how many? What's your choice? How many products do you have within the, within the category?
Carolyn Spriet 12:32
Oh, it's, it's, it's, it's insane.
Michael LeBlanc 12:34
Thousands right, gotta be thousands, right.
Carolyn Spriet 12:35
For like, I mean, our total card line that we draw from can be upwards of 4,000.
Michael LeBlanc 12:40
Yeah.
Carolyn Spriet 12:41
So, our job really is to take the card line, and then to make smart subsets based on the channel of trade and based on the goals of the, the retailer to be able to set that up. So, for example, in drug you might really heavy up on care and concern and wellness and health.
Michael LeBlanc 12:58
Wellness, yeah.
Carolyn Spriet 12:59
And then you know, others you might have higher birthday if that's a birthday destination. So that's what I really learned moving from sort of traditional CPG into Hallmark, is that the level of depth and detail to be able to deliver very customized products is just it's mind boggling. And I'm, you know, still learning every day how to do it. That's for sure.
Michael LeBlanc 13:19
It's such an interesting category. Because if I, if I cast my mind back to when I first got into .com, in the 2000s, early 2000s. You know, it was all print cards, like books were going to go away. Life didn't turn out that way. Because consumers appreciate what you do, right? You get you, you guys must do a fair bit of research. Is that a growing trend that this kind of pull in one way drawn towards online shopping and other way pulling back from online experiences to a more physical experience, you know?
Carolyn Spriet 13:48
Well, there's some interesting things. For example, as you know, a lot of people say to me, well, why don't you just have it all digital online? You know, do you need a hard card? Well, consumer research will tell you very clearly that people believe that the actual card and the process of writing a handwritten note into a card and either giving it or mailing it, is part of the care that they show. And most people would say my mother would never accept the card or my husband would never accept, or my wife would never accept the card, because there is a bunch of care that comes from that.
So, the, the hard card itself, absolutely has relevance. Because if it didn't, I think you wouldn't see them you would see a digital. But that is not considered by consumers to be a substitution. We are doing some cool innovation, though, that's kind of bringing in digital and the hard card together, which is we have some digital greeting cards where you can through our website. Actually, create a video that goes along with the QR code in your card so that you are giving the hard card, you're writing the message and then you're also able to create a really cool video with a bunch of people in it together. So, there's ways to innovate but certainly, the hard card still is very much a value. And the online shopping experience, I think we thought that, you know, it'd be hard for people to buy cards online. But we're really finding very, very easy ways of selecting the top 10 birthday cards and helping people to really zero in and, and make sure that the card that they get is not being compromised because of choice or because of inability to access.
Michael LeBlanc 15:19
Let's talk about what brought us here today, actually, initially. You participated in the Odgers Berndtson Future Leaders of Tomorrow Summit. So, that's what actually got each, each of us on our respective radar screens. Tell me about what that was all about, and, and why you participated and, and what you learned?
Carolyn Spriet 15:34
Yeah, I, I, I felt so lucky to be asked to be a part of this program. I was really impressed. Essentially, what it is, is, it's a program that's designed to help students connect in with business leaders. And these students are chosen as sort of the promising future leaders, the top 50. And they were brought into a session where they had all sorts of learning sessions and speaker panels. And then also time with a CEO to have hands on learning, not only doing a case, but it could have been talking about a specific topic or asking questions.
So, this is a, it's global initiative that Odgers Berndtson has put together, and it's been running in Canada for I guess, for the last 8 years. But they have matched I guess it's like 126 students, and 124 CEOs across, you know, from across multiple countries. So, this is the first virtual year. And that meant that, you know, there was more students that can participate. So, I had 8 students. And I, I, I was really excited to be a part of it. Because I actually also have three adult age children.
One of my, my one son just graduated from university and is navigating his first job. And I also have a daughter in the program in third year program who's trying to figure out career. So, I know firsthand how hard it is to figure that out, especially if you don't have role models at home to be able to kind of help you get there. So, I, I, I felt like this is a such a great thing to be able to give back. I've been given so much opportunity by mentors and different people to help me along the way. So, I just was really interested in being a part of it.
Michael LeBlanc 17:10
Now, when you reflect on what you heard from, from these bright young folks, anything jump out at you, do you, did you walk away. Did you turn that computer screen on feeling very positive? I mean, you're, you're, of course, also talking to some, some very, some very high potential people. But that doesn't mean everything's gonna work out, right. But what did you hear from them?
Carolyn Spriet 17:30
You know, I think the thing that I really picked up really quickly was just the great energy that was coming from, you know, these young leaders. They're super enthusiastic. These were people that were willing to kind of work to educate themselves on how to get better. So, I was dealing with people that were just really positive, optimistic kind of go getters. They were very, very verbal about their perspectives, I think their ideas are modern. And I think they're important to consider, you know, they had a lot to say in terms of work life balance, and their expectations on flexibility and training.
And, you know, we talked a little bit about, you know, how to manage all of these things, and also, to accept, though, that you are going into a workplace where it's not always easy to manage those things. So, I think it was a really good dialogue for both sides to sort of see how they're looking at it. I think the other thing that really struck me was just that I realized that a lot of students really don't have a lot of personal networks to help them penetrate the job market. There's a lot of students who have parents that are new Canadians that you know, you know, can't direct them in how do you find a business job in Canada. And so, I just, I just found it was just an exciting place to imagine the possibilities to help people and to, to mentor and train some of these really fantastic kids that are looking for work.
Michael LeBlanc 18:51
Do you think about, or do you reflect on you mentioned it work from home? I mean, it clearly in my mind, one of the biggest structural changes, post COVID, is, is working. Is the workplace, work from home is I think, in some way, shape or form, has refashioned work potentially, irrevocably so. But the challenge, of course, is there's, there's you know, it's very productive or can be productive for some, but there's not a lot of adhesion to the workplace, or brand or coworkers. Are, are you starting to reflect on how, how to structure a business to get the best of both worlds, to get that both productivity and people can live their lifestyles, but at the same time, feel like they're part of something and not just, you know, on another snap channel that, you know, they turn off and on based on the employer?
Carolyn Spriet 19:35
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I, I think that my opinion now having worked and I think our organization, having worked successfully for two years in a work, work from home scenario, has radically changed my view of what risks and opportunities exist. And I would say that I, I would have no interest in going back to a five day a week sort of old school way. And the reason for that is that I think that, you know, when it comes to attracting a talent, and being able to maintain key talent. I just think that you're not going to be competitive if you wanted to go back to the old way.
But on the more positive side, I, I just think that at the end of the day, I believe we're actually getting more of the heart and soul out of people in the work, work from home environment. I mean, I think that some people might argue that the boundaries have made it difficult for them to operate, because where does work end and where does work start? I would say there has been no downside to the company, I would say that we have to manage people's mental health, though we need to manage and help people be able to figure out. Especially younger people of how to navigate. When, when I was at the CEO Day, I shared that when I reflected back on my career, I realized that the first 10 years of my life, in work, I was just sponging off of you know, listening to leaders, watching people do their work and learning. And I feel like that is probably the biggest reason why I do want to bring a back to work element to, to the company. Because I think a lot of young people are not able to see that. And a lot of new hires are not feeling connected. So, there's that. And then I also think that work is very, you know, it's challenging business environment we're all living in. And I think that camaraderie that comes from good relationships and having a little bit of fun and blowing off steam together, goes a long way for people to kind of maintain the challenge of work. So, I, I think there's a lot of smart reasons to go back. But I also think there's a lot of smart reasons to say, how do we find a way that's a bit of a hybrid, and that's really, I have a very strong view on that one.
Michael LeBlanc 21:42
Is, is there room in your thinking for an environment where you get the high productivity that you've described, but at the same time, you, you build to a cohesive team. And it isn't taking place in a traditional work setting or office setting. Maybe more frequently, you're doing off sites together, or something, what we used to call off sites, I don't know what we call them anymore. You know, where you, you say, well, let's all go to this conference together. And it used to be one person would go and then report back. But let's all go and let's, let's spend the day together. And that instead of getting together in, in an office for meetings becomes a proxy for team building. Are you thinking about those kinds of different dimensions as well?
Carolyn Spriet 22:20
Yeah, I mean, I think when you think about off sites, those are energy building, energy receiving sessions. They're learning sessions, they are an opportunity for you to bring a fresh perspective. So, I actually do think maybe you go back to the office, and it's not a traditional work environment. Maybe you have tables like Starbucks style, and maybe there is a component that's you’re in store, and you're in retail more often. And you're finding ways to be able to do your catch ups, in, in coffee shops, but you're really just trying to make sure that you're staying close to your business. And I'm feeling more and more and more that we were never really close to our business sitting out in a head office, you know, on the far end of town. I mean, finding ways to be connected actually makes a lot of sense. And to stay close to your, your top sales leaders and your top people that are coming up with the ideas.
Michael LeBlanc 23:10
Well, it sounds like a great experience. Let's pivot to advice perhaps for some of the listeners around your experience, and what you've experienced and, and your great experience on both sides of the table. Two starts, I'm gonna phrase it in a two start and one stop. Based on what you learned about consumers, the retail game over your career and what you're thinking is going to be important for the next couple of years. Two things the listeners, retailers should start doing and one thing maybe they should stop if they're doing it. Maybe the environments changed. How, can you give me some advice?
Carolyn Spriet 23:38
Alright, two starts? Well, if I think about what I've really learned in the last two COVID years in retail, is that you want to get out earlier on your seasonal sales. So, we are really seeing that people are moving on we there's a trend of people wanting to buy early. I think we've seen everybody talk about the, the focus on building your home and, and creating home decor and family traditions. And all these things that are been playing as trends through COVID are causing people to really want to celebrate the seasons. So, we are seeing people now buying more than double twice as fast as they used to. As opposed to the day before. So, we want to make sure our product is out. We want to think about having Christmas ready in the summertime. Hallmark has a huge Christmas business. And we're just seeing every year when we advance it by 30 days. We're, we're, we're selling more and more and more. So, it's kind of trying to get ahead of the curve. Think about I mean Costco has been doing that for years, which is you know, being in advance of the season and we are just seeing huge benefits. So, so that'd be the first one and doing it in a way that's you know, make it exciting for them and make it feel like they're really getting an edge against people that aren't buying early. So better product, specialty project product up front. So that's the first thing.
Carolyn Spriet 24:57
I think the other start, maybe this one seems like obvious, but it's just really hitting me how, it's more convenient to develop your strategies off of what your corporate strategies are. But your strategies have to be developed on the changing consumer or shopper mindset. So, I think we need to be clearer more than ever, on what specifically are the changing needs? And are we making companies strategies to support those? So, for example, online, you know, we there are things we've done in there with regards to testing things like free shipping and testing things like products we didn't really want to, we weren't quite ready for but we said we were going to do because we need to be there at the right time. The other piece would be, you know, do we have more care and concern cards? You know, are we pivoting fast enough? Do we need to figure out how to get manufacturing of those done, and we need to make other shifts in our business, because that's what they want. I think the other piece is having gifting products where they want, it's convenient for us to have them in certain locations. But if we really want to be where they're shopping, we need to adjust that. So, I, I think it's just convenient to want to keep doing the same things. And I think that there is a general fatigue that people are feeling about the constant change that's happening. But at the end of the day, your consumer has to be driving what you're doing. And so, I'd say, keep that shopper consumer mindset, even when it's inconvenient. Because I think in the end, that's, that's how you're gonna be successful.
Carolyn Spriet 26:28
I mean, I think the stop would have to be just stop waiting for the perfect time to make the changes you know you need in your business. Again, I think we're running hard. A lot of us feel that we don't have a lot of time to be as reflective as we want to. But I think we have to keep assessing our plans and our operations. And if we can change the mindset from it being, you know, a liberating and positive experience to imagine doing things differently as opposed to a chore. Whether that's, you know, making investments in your leadership, or changes in your leadership or changes in process or technology. Starting that hard, but important initiative. I mean, I, I think that sometimes we keep pushing things off that just seem too onerous to start, but I think we got to remember to do it because somebody else will do it first.
Michael LeBlanc 27:17
Well, it's great advice. Last question for you. What's, what's next? I mean, there's a lot of next going on. So, it's sometimes it's a funny question, but it's anything you want to call out that's, that's, that's top of mind in terms of what's next for the business that you wanted to share.
Carolyn Spriet 27:30
Yeah, I mean, I, I think for us, it's just really more about how do we keep launching, you know, innovation that allows us to keep with the mission of being able to help people care and connect. I, I talked to you about things like video greetings. And we're really upping our online capability and our assortment. So, we're really excited about that. And there'll be some announcements on that on our website soon.
And lots of new gifts, lots of new approaches to help people to better their home, both inside and outside. That is very much what consumers are looking for. But I think if you if you want to learn more, I mean hallmark.ca is a is a great resource for all things Hallmark. You can see our full product line, we can yeah, there's lots of cool ideas on, on tips for party planning, and D DIY crafting and the history of holidays. There's recipes, there's all sorts of things, even teaching you how to write a thank you card or condolence card or general messages. So, I mean, I think what we want to do is keep inspiring people with, with, with new ideas and fresh ideas so that they're really able to connect. Especially as we come, after two years of people feeling really isolated and, and disconnected from the people that they love.
Michael LeBlanc 28:39
No better timing to think about reconnecting and connecting people and no better organization. So, thanks so much for joining me on The Voice of Retail. It's great to meet you and great to hear all about the business and, and your perspectives and what you're learning from the youth. It's very exciting. And, and like I said, thanks again for joining me on The Voice of Retail.
Carolyn Spriet 28:58
Thanks so much, Michael. It was great. Appreciate it.
Michael LeBlanc 29:01
Thanks for tuning into this special episode of The Voice of Retail. If you haven't already, be sure and clicking subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so new episodes will land automatically, twice a week.
And check out my other retail industry media properties; The Remarkable Retail podcast, Conversations with CommerceNext podcast, and the Food Professor podcast with Dr. Sylvain Charlebois. Last but not least, if you're into barbecue, check out my all-new YouTube barbecue show, Last Request Barbecue, with new episodes each and every week!
Michael LeBlanc 29:30
I'm your host Michael LeBlanc, president of M.E. LeBlanc & Company and Maven Media. And if you're looking for more content or want to chat, follow me on LinkedIn or visit my website at meleblanc.co!
Have a safe week everyone!
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
people, hallmark, card, business, consumer, retail, canada, learning, Crayola, years, stores, feeling, day, bit, gifting, retailer, products, changed, students, assortment