The following information is taken from www.regal.ca
Regal History
Regal was first established in 1928, when a young Canadian envelope salesman named William McCartney first put his entrepreneurial vision to the test.
Intrigued with the idea of manufacturing his own greeting cards, he approached a small card company in Toronto, and with the support of a $500 investment from the woman who would later become his wife, William McCartney launched Regal (a name chosen by his soon-to-be bride!).
Since those early days, Regal has continued to stand for the business values young Mr. McCartney set as his guideposts:
- A great selection of unique, quality, value-priced products,
- A commitment to providing Member Representatives with the means to earn extra money,
- And an unwavering commitment to customer service excellence.
In August of 2005 Regal began a restructuring the closed down the Retail stores across Canada and re-established the company heritage of “direct selling” through a huge base of Independent Sales Representatives in every province and territory.
Regal Future (Today)
Regal Gifts Corporation is an e-commerce, catalogue and direct marketing company operating in Canada using the Regal brand which has been part of the Canadian landscape for 8 decades. Regal Gifts re-entered the market in February of 2006, as the dominant player in the gift and gadget market for the direct selling industry in Canada.
The Regal catalogue is a true “institution” in Canada, with over 80% brand recognition. The brand is emotive, holding a strong, warm, connection with hundreds of thousands of direct member customers and millions of consumers. A large segment of the Canadian population has fond memories of selling, fundraising and shopping with the Regal catalogue.
Regal is known for its unique products that include greeting cards & gift wrap, handy household helpers, kitchen gadgets, home & seasonal décor and unique family gifts, all sold at great prices with average item pricing below $20. There is no other catalogue like it in the Canadian market.
The new Regal is growing quickly through a unique business model that utilizes a virtual product warehouse. Owning no inventory, instead partnering with third-party product and fulfillment vendors, Regal leverages the inventory and operating efficiencies of these product vendors to their significant base of customers.
The brand is sold through three main customer (or member) channels that are proven profitable:
- Direct selling members
- Group buying members
- Fundraising members
Almost 60,000 Regal members returned after the new Regal re-launched in March 2006 and over 250,000 customers have purchased within the last 36 months, going back into 2005.
Regal’s direct selling members in turn have a base of over 1 million consumers, an incredible 8.1% of Canada’s 12 million households. Direct selling is one of the most vigorous and dynamic segments of the Canadian economy, representing retail sales of CAD$1.3 billion in 2004 and the industry association reports recent growth rates in the 9-12% yearly range.
Regal is an integral and irreplaceable source of income for thousands of Canadians. Made up primarily of women, they operate their own small business selling Regal as an independent representative.
Following the March 2005 re-launch Regal Gifts, recruited a talented new team of direct marketing veterans and opened its new headquarters in Barrie, Ontario, in November of 2006.
