India’s per capita consumption is express an emotion best articulated in the

minuscule compared to these written form. These observations are supported

Market
Today, most urban and semi-urban Indians tend
to follow international trends where gifts and
greeting cards are concerned. This is largely
because of the pioneering entrepreneurship and
ingenuity of a company widely acknowledged as
the king of the ‘social expressions’ or ‘emotions’
or ‘feel good factor’ industry – Archies. The
organisation, through its mushrooming
franchises, has been manufacturing and selling its
products since 1979. In fact, it has virtually
created this industry in India and changed the
way Indians express themselves.
Archies is India’s leader in this business with
over 50% market share and the competition
hardly anywhere in sight. (Source: IndiaInfoline)
The country’s social expression industry is
valued at about Rs. 500 crore (US$ 111.1
million) with the greeting card market estimated
to be around Rs. 300 crore (US$ 66.7 million)
at retail value. Of this, the organised sector
accounts for approximately Rs. 150 crore
(US$ 33.3 million) – and Archies, projected for
fiscal ending March 2007, at Rs. 100 crore
(US$ 22.3 million) accounts for a little over half
of the organised sector (Source: industry
estimates). At 50% of the organised segment
market Archies sits comfortably on top of
the pyramid.
In comparison to the West, however, India is
still a growing greeting and gifting market. But it
brims with a limitless potential for growth. The
per capita consumption of greeting card usage
in the US and the UK is between 40 and 50.
figures. But Archies is now poised
for another mega take-off that will
add to its already gigantic
dimension in the market. There are
67 company-owned Archies
Galleries and ten Stupid Cupid
stores across all the major malls
and shopping areas in fourteen
cities in India. This is in addition
to its reach of over 400
franchisees in more than 100
cities and six countries.
Archies is now on an aggressive
expansion spree focusing on the
mall opportunity and B and C class
towns. The company is planning to
open an additional 150 company-
owned stores in fifteen
additional
cities by the
end of
2007/08.
The
marketing
challenge from
e-greetings is a
reality. But market
analysts do not
foresee them
replacing the
physical act of
choosing and sending cards.
According to experts who have
studied the impact of e-cards in developed
economies believe e-greetings have an
impersonal feel. They rubbish the argument that
emails have virtually displaced the hand written
letter with the counter argument that telephony
has made easy the exchange of information,
which is what letters were all about. Greetings
they argue are different in as much as they
by the ground realities of the booming
American and European greeting cards industry.
Analysts benchmarked 1995 as the first full
internet year for the US market; American
greeting card sales grew from US$ 6.5 billion
(Rs. 29,250 crore) to US$ 7.2 billion (Rs. 32,400
crore) in 1997. In short, the physical nature of
sending cards will remain with no perceptible
threat seen from the internet version of
greeting cards.
Achievements
The company’s most notable achievement
has a purely psycho-emotional dimension to
it: when at a loss for
words think of
Archies.
The company has
successfully
engraved itself in
the minds of
consumers as a
living and caring
entity that
speaks the right
words at the
right time and
helps find a card for every
cause and reason and a gift for every
occasion. It is hardly surprising then, that this
once small company, launched in a staid
environment should be classified a Consumer
Superbrand two years in a row.
Thanks to its spirit of innovation Archies
has been the market leader since its very
inception. Today, the company boasts several
collaborations and licensing arrangements.
These include Walt Disney characters, Archie
comics; licensing arrangements with the world’s
largest publicly owned greeting card company,
American Greetings, in addition to those like

24 SUPERBRANDS

Anne Geddes, Simon Elvin and Kim Anderson.
The year 1996 still stands as a testimonial to
the company’s commercial vibrancy and vitality.
Its public issue that year was oversubscribed
four times. Three years later the company’s
share price with an original offering of Rs. 70
zoomed to a meteoric Rs. 1,400.
History
Anil Moolchandani whose family owned a sari
shop in Kamla Nagar, Delhi, founded Archies.
One fateful day, a customer presented him with
two posters that he had brought back from the
US. Anil displayed these posters in the shop and
was amazed when visitors inquired whether
they were for sale. Not one to pass up a
business opportunity, Anil started putting up
posters for sale in his shop. In 1979, Anil set up
Archies, a mail order poster shop and started
operating from a mezzanine office measuring
200 square feet.
The other products on offer included
songbooks and leather patches. Archies received
its first mail order worth Rs.12 from a customer
in Lucknow.
In 1980 the company introduced its first line
of greeting cards called the Poster Series (P-
Series). The success of the P-Series, which
continue to be sold even today, led to Archies
setting up a distribution channel. Penetration of
Archies greeting cards continued to grow and in
1981, the company held its first distributors'
meet in New Delhi.
As sales grew, the company explored new
ways of expanding its business and establishing
itself as the market leader. It procured its first
ever foreign license from Walt Disney in 1984.
Next in line was the establishment of the
Archies Gallery chain. The first of its kind
concept-store opened its doors in Kamla Nagar,
Delhi, in 1987 and was an instant hit. As the
market environment continued to evolve and
internet became an important aspect of urban
life, Archies has kept pace by introducing e-cards
and offering online gifting opportunities through
its e-commerce portal.
Product
The Archies’ range includes greeting cards,
posters, social expression stationery and gifts.
Its unmatched quality and unique variety
provides customers a plethora of choices
ranging from a three-inch mini-greeting
card for just Rs. 4 and a five-and-a half-foot
teddy bear for Rs. 10,000 to elegant crystal
masterpieces at over Rs. 25,000. Its exclusive
and trendy products are selected and sourced
from all over the world.
Archies has always provided its customers
with premium quality greetings and gifting
collections such as curios, photo albums, soft
toys, mugs, quotations and key chains. Archies
maintains a strong back-end support to
ensure that its galleries never run out of
supplies. It has a highly efficient supply chain
management system that helps build an
effective retailing structure.
Recent Developments
Shopping malls have given Indian consumers a
one-stop shopping experience and Archies,
being present in most of them, has proverbially
been at the right place at the right time.
Being aware of the huge potential in the
fashion accessories market, the company has
also ventured into this arena with Stupid Cupid
– a range of trendy jewellery, handbags,
sunglasses, hats and funky belts. The brand
is aimed at those who want to look different
and do not hesitate to experiment when it
comes to fashion and lifestyle. Stupid Cupid
has opened nine stores in Delhi and one
in Mumbai, in addition to Shop-
in-Shop counters within large
format Archies Galleries.
Promotion
Greeting card occasions in
India have almost single-
handedly been created by
Archies. It has Indianised
hitherto foreign events like
Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day,
Father’s Day and Teacher’s Day
amongst others. It also created
a day of its own – Friendship
Day. Over time, Archies’
promotions have married the
medium and message to reap
rich returns and to inch closer
to its customers.
The company has also ventured into in-film
advertising with the Hindi film, Waqt: a race
against time. This was preceded by a vast array
of movie merchandise for widely acclaimed films
like Speed, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Devdas and
Lagaan. Not to miss out on the growing FM
radio craze, Archies has been airing promotional
activities on radio.
Brand Values
Touching the emotional chord and feelings of
people around India has been a trademark that
is very specially Archies. It promises ‘the most
special way to say you care’. It has kept this
promise with an outpouring of desirable and
unique gifting ideas. Its customers can always
luxuriate in the constant variety the brand
churns out.
As a brand, Archies is committed to providing
its customers with opportunities to vent their
innermost sentiments. Throughout the year, they
can say it with a card or a gift no matter where
they live in India.
As part of its core belief in social
responsibility, the company has also extended a
helping hand to foster the causes of some of
the best known and highly regarded social
institutions across the country. These initiatives
include ties with HelpAge India, an organisation
that works for the well-being of the deprived
and desolate elderly, as well as Archies’
collaboration with Child Relief and You (CRY),
that reaches out to the needs of the deprived
and underprivileged children.
www.archiesonline.com
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
Archies
Archies is an Indian company that started in
1979 as a mail order company.
In 1985 the company changed the
misconception that India was a slow and
traditional market.The ‘Archies Explosion’ event
at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi drew over
10,000 people.
Archies exports greeting cards to Western
Europe and Russia.
Archies galleries exist in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Nepal, the UAE and Bahrain.
A new promotional tool is Geri Giraffe – a
cuddly character now spun off into multiple
variants.
SUPERBRANDS 25