Subhash Mohanti

KOLKATA 22 NOVEMBER

RECESSION HAS hit corporate gifts this year. And because the bottomlines are bludgeoned by rising costs, their friends and associates will have to be satisfied with just greeting cards this Christmas and New Year.

Like they say, one man’s food is another man’s poison. For the greeting cards industry, the business recession may have come as a boon.

Greeting card manufacturers are pitching strongly to get a piece of the corporate cake as their executives and managers set about planning the manner in which they hope to send their appreciation to friends and business associates.

ITC, which is the latest entrant to this market for such sentimental accessories, is turning its charm on fellow corporates for edging past competitors in the greeting cards market.

Chand Das, CEO of ITC’s greeting card business, said : "While it is true that we are new in the retail segment and therefore need to gradually build our strengths, we are also aggressively pursuing corporates. These companies are either associated with us business-wise or we simply know them. It is certainly yielding good results."

For making inroads into the corporate sector, ITC is leveraging its new association with the SOS Children’s village. "Often, companies want to fulfil their social responsibility by offering assistance to non-governmental organisations involved in different kinds of services to the society," Mr Das said.

ITC chose to tie up with SOS Children’s Village because this was a good opportunity to do its bit for the children of a lesser god. "And there are quite a few corporate entities which are attracted by issues pertaining to children,"Mr Das said.

The tie-up means ITC will completely take over the job of printing greeting cards and marketing them from SOS. The NGO will be given a lump sum fund as well as a royalty on the cards.

ITC’s greeting card business has also decided to leverage the group’s core skills in paper and paperboard, printing and packaging and distribution. "We are also planning to enter the business of office as well as education stationery, which has a very good market in the country," Mr Das said.

Plans are also afoot to enter ethnic greeting cards in a big way. "We are hoping to capitalise on the opportunity which is beginning to present itself in a big way," Mr Das said.

He felt that greeting cards in different Indian languages for different events, including religious events, is becoming increasingly popular. This promises to become big business in the future.