Friday, January 1st, 2010
Q&A
BY SCOTT S. SMITH
HALLMARK CARDS, INC. turns 100 this year. The greeting card industry giant famous for its “personal expressions” business has annual revenues in excess of $4 billion, is carried in more than 41,000 retailers across the nation and has nearly 8,500 U.S. employees. In 2002, Donald J. Hall, Jr., a grandson of the founder, became president and CEO, having worked his way up in multiple areas of the business, such as manufacturing, sales and product development, after joining the family-owned, Kansas City-based company in 1971.
This is the centenary for Hallmark Cards, Inc. What are some of the things the company has done to stay successful? “Three crucial keys to Hallmark’s success over time have been a keen understanding of our role in people’s lives, a passion for anticipating and meeting their changing needs, and a steadfast commitment to values that underpin everything we do. My grandfather founded this company believing that a quality product filling a genuine need would be the secret to success. It was—along with a vision that spurred a constant search for the new and better. His bold decisions made our brand synonymous with quality and caring.”
What have been the most important business lessons you’ve learned since you became CEO? “Of the lessons I’ve taken to heart so far, the most important are that you must be persistent in challenging those around you to push the boundaries of their thinking, that every challenge is an opportunity and that the success of your business partners—for us, retailers who carry our products—is also essential to your own success. And the most difficult decisions are less so if you make them through the filter of your values.”
Hallmark does a lot of research on social trends. What are some important discoveries? “A trend typically lasts five to 10 years. Among the ones we highlighted in our most recent survey were these: The desire for value will accelerate as consumers continue to use relevance, accessibility and ease of use as filters for their product and lifestyle choices; though totally plugged in, more people will become “tech AWOL” for a while, to experience nature, eat local, cook slow, recycle now, buy less and live more; merchandising will move to a whole new level as people expect their retail experience to be more delightful, which will help customers be subliminally drawn to return. For Hallmark, though, it’s less about trends, and more about listening to our customers, being open to what they say and able to look beyond their words to understand the needs underlying their comments. There’s no better way to stay ahead of what people expect than to talk to them.”
