Postmark, the independent retailer of greeting cards, has reached agreement with Network Rail to open stores in five of its 20 managed stations across Britain.

After Paperchase went into administration earlier this year, Postmark, which retails premium stationery, has taken the opportunity to open stores with a total retail space 3,755sq ft for the first time within Network Rail’s estate.

Postmark’s first store to open was at London King’s Cross, followed by London Bridge, London Waterloo, Birmingham New Street and London Victoria this summer.

Network Rail and Postmark agreed on the new leases in just two weeks, so that the five could continue operating. So that the stores could reopen in such a short time and to minimise wastage of the existing shop fittings, the original store fixtures were recycled.

Postmark’ is a family-run brand that specialises in British-designed products. It opened its first store in 2004 Balham in southwest London in 2004, and before the recent openings in railway stations, it had six stores.

Opening the stores in stations marks its entry into the travel retail market, which helped the company to win the ‘Best Greeting Card Retailer 2023’ and ‘Best Small Multiple’2023′ in the ‘Retas’ Greeting Card Retail awards held last week.

Network Rail owns and manages a huge amount of prime retail space, with 500,000sq ft within major city centre stations covering over 145 brands that generate £60 million in monthly sales. Each year, more than 650 million customers visit its stations.

Hamish Kiernan, Commercial Director, Property for Network Rail said: “There is still strong customer appetite for a premium card and stationery operator and Postmark has been an excellent addition to our retail mix. With Postmark making its debut in travel hubs, the opportunity to work with a successful independent brand ensures our destinations continue to deliver a refreshed and engaging offer for customers. This is an essential part of our retail strategy.”

Mark Janson-Smith, Director Postmark added: “Opening five retail units in six weeks was always going to be an ambitious plan, particularly given it was our first time working within a station environment, so we feel incredibly proud of our team and all the hard work they have put into achieving this goal.

“Throughout the process, from pitching to inducting our colleagues, the support and guidance we’ve received from the Network Rail team has been instrumental in achieving a successful launch and initial trading period. We have been pleased by the reaction from customers, especially in Birmingham, outside of our London home catchment.”