Cards for Star Wars Day (and other ‘holidays’ you’ve never heard of)

CHRISTMAS, birthdays and Valentine’s Day may seem more than enough to keep the greetings card industry going.

But a glance at the new stock of one high street retailer suggests it is stretching to more and more niche occasions to stay afloat.

Clintons is to sell cards for ‘Ed Balls Day’ and ‘Star Wars Day’ in a desperate bid to win back customers. The struggling chain unveiled a list of new celebrations, many inspired by online fads.

Ed Balls Day, April 28, recalls the date the former shadow chancellor embarrassed himself by accidentally tweeting his own name.

And today has been named Star Wars Day as the film’s famous slogan ‘May the Force be with you’ sounds like ‘May the 4th be with you’.

Clintons, which was rescued from administration by US firm American Greetings in 2011, sells more than 1,000 types of card at Christmas. But it has struggled to keep up with rivals such as Card Factory and online sellers including Moonpig which offer personalised services.

Other occasions listed include International Respect for Chickens Day, Root Canal Appreciation Day and Hug Your Cat Day.

Nicola Miller, head of cards at Clintons, said traditional occasions were ‘always extremely popular’ but more customers were picking out blank cards to celebrate alternative events.

‘We’re closely monitoring hashtags on Twitter to get a sense of the offbeat occasions that people are choosing to celebrate,’ she added.

‘It makes perfect sense for us to think about the possibility of cards and gifts to reflect this … we ramped up our stocks of Star Wars merchandise in anticipation of May 4.’