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Playing the race card

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“I passionately believe that Britain’s diversity has enriched our nation in many ways. This is certainly true of the important contribution of the communities of African and Caribbean origin to the UK economy and to our wider cultural life,” - Tony Blair’s message to the African Caribbean Business Federation (ACBF) Annual Awards Dinner 2006.

Black and Minority ethnic (BME) people in the UK represent a significant cultural consumer force but many advertisers and businesses are failing to target ethnic minority communities and are missing out on a market with a combined disposable income of approximately £32billion, according to research by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.

Black and Minority ethnic businesses create consumer segments which contribute greatly to the UK economy. They offer quality products and more consumer choice whilst struggling to win back the ‘brown pound’ from multi-national companies such as Nike and Reebok but through self belief and determination they are finding ways to re-address the balance. The Afro Card Company whose main focus is to provide quality African Caribbean greeting cards for the UK population is one such company.

“The Afro greeting card industry is still very much unchartered territory in the UK. Where do Africans or Afro-Caribbeans buy greeting cards? The UK greeting card industry is very lucrative with the big companies enjoying the benefits of their investments, they do not want to service small accounts and are not willing to take the risk. At present Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain is the only chain that attempts to supply the growing needs of the Afro-Caribbean community by providing basic tinned and bottled food and drinks. That’s where The Afro Card Company comes in. We want to give people what they want. We feel it is our duty to penetrate the mainstream market by offering products that are fashionable, unique and that reflect the personality, taste, lifestyle and diversity of the African Caribbean community,” states Frederick Wisdom, Managing Director of the The Afro Card Company.

It is important to look at the US afro greeting market as a comparison and as a possible hint at the future UK afro-greeting card market, bearing in mind that just over 2.65% of the UK population is black and this figure is growing each year. In the US, consumers purchase approximately 7 billion greeting cards per annum, generating nearly $7.5 billion dollars in sales. The average US household purchases 30 individual greeting cards each year. The ‘big three’ – Hallmark, American Greetings and Gibson greetings own 80-85% of the US greeting card market and the rest of the market is divided between independent greeting card companies including several Afro-American greeting card publishers. With a projected total income of $347.3 million and $238 billion in spending power, Afro-Americans are an attractive force. According to market research Afro-Americans purchase an estimated 52 million cards each month, with the average card retailing at $1.50, working out at $78 million per month or $936 million annually.*

“It is our aim to fill this niche in the UK market and meet the needs of the growing African Caribbean community by securing mainstream outlets for the purchasers of quality afro-greeting cards in the UK and re-address the balance between US and UK afro card sales relatively speaking. We’re going from strength to strength – we were awarded ‘Business of the Year 2006’ by the African Caribbean Business Federation (ACBF) at a ceremony endorsed by Prime Minister Tony Blair. We represented black businesses in the House of Lords at the Greeting Card Association AGM this year indeed we see ourselves as pioneers, as are Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, The Black Farmer, Alexander Amosu, ring-tone millionaire and Timothy Campbell, winner of The Apprentice, 2005 in their own industries. We now even have imitators which is a sure sign that we are creating the right waves.

“The rise of The Afro Card Company and Black British entrepreneurs is continuing proof that BME companies are at the forefront of product development and innovation in the UK’s creative sector. Entrepreneurialism is the wave of the future of the African Caribbean community; very often minorities have difficult times getting jobs or acquiring the skills to help pave their futures but with more BME entrepreneurs we will create more jobs in our communities – our only limits in achieving success are the limits we place on ourselves.”

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