February 2012

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An exterior view of a Norman’s Hallmark.

he Norman, of Norman’s Hallmark, is long gone, but the Howard is here. Howard is Howard Henschel, the president and chairman of Norman’s Hallmark—a 27- store chain of Hallmark shops dotting New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Howard Henschel loves the greeting card/gift market, and the greeting card/gift market loves him. But, like most lasting love affairs, it had a rocky start. In 1963, Howard was a graduate student with plans of going into anything else but retailing. His uncle, David Norman, founded the business with a single store in Bristol, Pa., in 1929. His father, Ted, joined David Norman shortly after World War II and became the company’s owner in the early 1950s. Howard saw the time and dedication his father put into the business and was leaning toward other pursuits. Then fate stepped in. While studying for an MBA in Business Administration, Howard was faced with a grim reality. His father died unexpectedly. It left him at a cross roads. How does he handle his future? How does he handle his father’s business? The dutiful son decided he would close the store and move on in whatever direction fate brings him. Little did he then know that fate put him right where he was — in Norman’s Gift Shop.

Bright shades with candles and flowers and at left, colorful clogs, make for an inviting window display at a Norman’s.

In the midst of trying to close his father’s shop Howard became fascinated with the aspects of running the business. He realized that it was a combination of art and science, plus a challenge he couldn’t’ resist. After all, what better place to put his business education to work than in his own shop!

Armed with a keen business sense, a delightfully curious personality and a will to succeed, Howard learned the ropes from the inside out. In record time he started to scout out more locations, expanded the Hallmark Cards system and struck gold--- many times over. His stores are among Hallmark’s prized upper echelon. Speaking of prizes, Henschel is the recipient of many of them. His office is a treasure trove of trophies from various retailing groups, magazines, and business organizations. All were rightfully deserved. Howard accepts the accolades graciously while looking forward to the next challenge. In all of this, he maintains a wonderful relationship with his family, superb working conditions for his family of employees, and a dedicated interest in the Yankees baseball team.

Norman’s Hallmark stores come in a wide range of sizes— from about 3,000 square feet to almost 8,000 square feet. As strange as it sounds, in a few places, he has multiple stores in the same town—and in the same mall! With the exception of one store in downtown Trenton N.J., all of the stores are in enclosed or strip centers. When asked why he doesn’t have more free-standing locations or stores in center-oftown, on-the-street sites, Howard replies,” We just don’t.” He plans on opening more stores, still in enclosed or strip centers. His success record shows that the formula works.

Trendy plastic gardening clogs are complemented by plush and flowers in this pinkthemed display at a Norman’s shop.

While the size and merchandise mix of each store varies, there are commonalities in layout, design and service. Each store is laid out so the customer can get a capsulated view of each department upon entering the store, and designed to allow uncluttered flows of traffic throughout the location. Each store is immaculate, and has a friendly atmosphere. The displays are colorful and conducive to customers’ handling the product. “Why shouldn’t they be able to touch everything?” was Howard’s reply when asked about having all displays in easy-to-reach areas. There are no “You break it, you bought it” signs in the Norman’s Hallmark stores. Everything is as open and friendly as the boss.

Howard delights in his merchandise. While taking me for a tour of two shops, he was like the proverbial kid in a candy store. The thrill of the products and atmosphere showed on his face. He also proved to be the ultimate salesperson, even if it was by default. While walking through one shop, Howard and I encountered two women shopping for a birthday gift. They were pensively considering a few items. Howard greeted them and moved on, taking me to another department to see more merchandise. The other department happened to have an item he really enjoys—a clown doll that plays and moves to the tune Happy Birthday. Before the song was done, the two aforementioned shoppers ran over and grabbed the toy off the shelf, buying it right from under Howard’s nose. He was surprised but delighted. So too were the customers.

“Yankee” is a word that’s dear to Howard’s heart. In addition to his beloved baseball team, he notes that outside of Hallmark-produced merchandise, Yankee Candles is his best selling line. The line is so successful that one might think they “sell themselves,” but don’t be fooled. Howard’s staff knows their merchandise. No sale is taken for granted.

Glass shelving keeps the environment light and airy at this Norman’s location.

Depending on the location, other outstanding lines might include Demdaco, Ty plush, Crazy Mountain Imports, Ganz, Crabtree and Evelyn, Vera Bradley, Precious Moments, and Lenox. In all, Howard buys from about 200 vendors, of which he considers 20 to be key suppliers. Of that number, he does 80% of his business with products from just ten vendors. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t always looking for new products and suppliers, or ways to do more business with his current suppliers. Howard is always looking for new products and ideas. This is why he and his staff frequently shop the major trade shows—especially those in Atlanta, New York and the greater Philadelphia area.

Business wise, the most common thread in all of Howard’s locations is that Christmas can account for as much as 25% of the store’s business. Generally speaking, Mother’s Day is second and Valentine’s Day is third. But, Howard sees great expansions in business around, what he calls, “smaller holiday and occasions.” He’s seen sales for First Communion, Confirmation, graduation, and St. Patrick’s Day escalate over the last few years.

How does he manage to have climbing sales when other stores are either in decline or out of business? He’s an astute student of listening and watching. He listens to customer’s comments; he knows that they want often before they realize it. He watches how they shop his stores and what they buy — and what they don’t buy. Every Norman’s Hallmark is a work in progress, armed with technology, experienced staff on both sides of the counter and a state of the art warehouse operation.

He also gives full credit to the Hallmark Corporation. Howard follows their advice, and participates in as many marketing programs as possible. All of his stores are Hallmark Gold Crown locations.

Howard participates in the Ideation syndicated catalogs and Palmer Marketing Group’s marketing programs, too. Direct mail is a major marketing tool for him--- a point underscored by his mailing list of 300,000! Other forms of advertising haven’t met his expectations.

As for trends, economically speaking, he sees a wider division between socio economic classes. Luxury products and price-conscious products are gaining sales; middle of the road is in a holding pattern. His product selection, especially greeting cards, mirrors that. Cards that sell for $5 or so do equally well as those marked for ninety-nine cents—in the same stores! He handles both ends of the spectrum on all fronts.

Howard remarks, “We know our markets and we know our customers.” On that note, it’s easy to understand why Howard’s been referred to as “The best of the best.”