Are American men secure enough in their own masculinity to give greeting cards to other guys?
Women in the U.S. spend a lot of time picking out just the right greeting cards for family and friends. They also spend a great deal of money in the process of buying approximately 5.6 million of the 7 million greeting cards purchased each year.
Lisa Collins, co-owner of Nutz & Boltz Card Company, which creates a line of cards for men, told RetailWire she loves the gender sales breakout of greeting cards because it points to a present market of 1.4 million cards purchased by men.
Ms. Collins and her partner, Nguyen Le, are counting on getting their share of the men's market
and believe their approach can help make men card givers, too.
In a separate interview with the Daily Breeze, Ms. Collins said the Nutz & Boltz creative approach is "slightly above the belt, not trashy or dirty."
One card, for example, shows a man in a doghouse with the message, "I'm Sorry."
Another shows a baby on a changing table with a man and woman holding their noses. The message:
"Your house will never smell the same - Congratulation," goes with the memorable graphic.
A third shows two fists coming together as a sign of solidarity with the message: "Thanks for having my back."
Ms. Collins sees her company's products going after a market niche that has yet to be adequately addressed.
"There really is a gap (for men's greeting cards)," she said. "We kept hearing that."
Erik Thoresen, an analyst with Mintel International Group, is less certain about the market need.
"It's the chicken and the egg question," he told the Daily Breeze. "It will be a useful experiment. It may spark interest."
One of the benefits of the approach Nutz & Boltz is taking, said Mr. Thoresen, is that the company can come in under the radar of the large greeting card manufacturers.
Nutz & Boltz is pricing the company's greeting cards, which are printed on recycled paper, at $2.75. According to the Greeting Card Association, the typical price range for cards falls between $2 and $4.
So far, Nutz & Boltz cards are sold at three stores in the Los Angeles area, but Ms. Collins sees it as only "the tip of the iceberg."
The company is looking to place their cards in hardware stores, liquor stores, car washes in addition to traditional settings, such as drugstores, supermarkets, etc.
Mintel's Thoresen, although not predicting success for Nutz & Boltz, said, "If they got distribution through Home Depot, a place where the other guys aren't ... the hardware store idea might work."
Discussion Questions: Do you see a market opportunity for greeting cards targeted to male consumers? What are the keys for small manufacturers such as Nutz & Boltz to gain placement in retail locations?