Papyrus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• Papyrus, a mall staple known for selling stationery and greeting cards, is out of business.
• Schurman Fine Paper, who owned the brand, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the company closed all its 254 of its US and Canada stores.
• Dominique Schurman said in a statement,”Despite our Herculean efforts to realign our Papyrus and American Greetings stores to fits today’s shopping environment, Schurman Retail Group had to make the difficult decision to close all 254 of our stores in North America.”

Papyrus blamed an overexpansion of stores.

• The company blamed its overexpansion of its brick-and-mortar for its downturn.
• Schurman tried to save the business by negotiating with landlords for a decrease in rent and with its suppliers, but the company was not able to establish a secure deal to keep its stores operating.

Flawed business model.

• The company had struggled with its business models for years, the company had 40% more liabilities than assets resulting in a deficient business model.
• In a Forbes article by Shelly E.Kohan pointed out that Papyrus business model was flawed and she said it was out of step with today’s consumer.
• Digital-based subscriptions and social media are the reasons behind for the decline in demands for greeting cards.
• Roberto Ramos, CEO and founder of The Ideatelier, a lifestyle branding and innovations agency, stated,”Papyrus had focused almost exclusively on physical greeting cards, a diminishing category as younger consumers send fewer as they simply are not used to it, don’t think it’s environmentally responsible or opt out instead for much more personal customized formats such as personalized statements from sites like Etsy.”

Lack of diversified strategy.

• According to USA Today, an analyst said that many Americans choose digital cards as an alternative, or they bought fewer cards for major holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s day.
• The rising cost of paper with lower customer demand leads to low margins and fewer profits, therefore, the business model for greeting cards needs to include digital options, customization, diversified products and collaborations to reduce a negative return.
• Roberto Ramos pointed out, “The (Papyrus brand has also missed taking creative lead and ownership around big celebratory moments and bringing that emotional point of entry into adjacent experiences such as in-store events, co-branded partnerships and collaborations. In essence, there is an emotional scale to the business they’re in which is very experiential and goes beyond selling physical greeting cards.”