ITC ties up with NGO to push card sales

With the personal greetings card business taking a hit from e-cards, SMS and MMS, ITC Ltd, which markets Expressions greeting cards, is looking at pushing sales of cards and gifts in the corporate segment during the upcoming festival season.

"The corporate market constitutes about 15 per cent of the total Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) consumer spends on cards. This segment is the fastest growing and that's where we are seeing growth,' Chand Das, ITC Ltd Greetings, gifting and stationary business chief executive said in New Delhi.

"With more corporates willing to support a cause and express it while sending greetings, this tie-up gives us a good business opportunity, over and above our own participation in support of a social cause," Das said.

ITC, which sells its cards and gifts under the 'Expressions' umbrella has also recently launched a new corporate gift line called 'Regalia', he said.

As part of its new strategy, the company tied up with non-government organisation SOS Children's Villages of India to launch 82 new card designs, 13 assorted boxes and five desktop calendars.

He said the growth of personal greetings card sales has been stagnant in the last couple of years, mainly due to the e-cards, mobile SMS, MMS and crashing telephone tariffs.

ITC, which has a market share of about 25 per cent and is second only to Archies in the overall cards market, is looking at the corporate segment to drive it further, he said, without specifying a target.

Das said the company was expecting a 100 per cent growth in its stationary business this year to touch a turnover close to Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million).