Ten new jobs have been created at The Card Factory in Strand Street, Douglas which has been officially opened by the capital’s mayor Jon Joughin.

The store occupies the former Shoe Zone at 1 – 3 Strand Street.

It marks a renaissance for the Card Factory name in the island. During lockdown another shop called The Card Factory, run by a different operator, closed its Strand Centre shop.

The new Card Factory shop is operated as a franchise by Sandpiper CI whose brand director Caroline Slowey-Dickinson joined the mayor in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

She said: ‘It was a great opening and an honour to have the mayor, who was extremely helpful, with us to open our new Card Factory.

‘We’re looking to grow our franchise presence in the island and in October will be launching an iQ Apple Authorised Premium Reseller outlet – an Apple store – in Douglas, an investment that’s very much a vote of confidence in the Isle of Man.’

Sandpiper CI runs Card Factory stores in Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar.

The opening of the Strand Street store has created 10 new job roles and the newly trained staff will be selling a wide range of cards, celebration gifts, wrapping paper, balloons, gift bags and boxes.

Ms Slowey-Dickinson added: ‘We have been looking forward to opening a Card Factory store in the Isle of Man for some time. We opened a similar store in Jersey nearly two years ago and in Guernsey last year and as soon as the doors opened, consumers started flooding in to take advantage of the wide range of great value cards and products.

‘Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day have all exceeded our sales expectations and we believe the Douglas store will have the same success.

‘We’re also delighted with the help we’ve had from local contractors and shopfitters who have helped us create a superb store.’

In an interview with Business News last month, Mike Rutter, retail manager of Sandpiper CI, said he was looking forward to forging strong business links with a significant investment in the island. He remains a firm believer in the power of ’bricks and mortar’ shops even though many have taken a hammering in recent months.