Waterstones to stock black-owned greeting card brand Afrotouch Design
Afrotouch Design, founded by Georgina Fihosy, will soon be available to buy from the major bookshop chain.
The African-inspired stationery will be stocked and ready for sale at the end of the month - Afrotouch Design has made history with the retail giant by becoming the first black-owned brand in partnership with Waterstones.
Fihosy, who is a mother of three, will soon have nine of her brand's best-selling greeting card designs on sale at Waterstones stores.
Afrotouch Design was first launched in 2015 and is a strong voice behind the campaign to urge mainstream greeting card shops to stock more products aimed at people within the BAME community.
Senior buyer for Waterstones, Hazel Walker, approached Fihosy about Afrotouch Design's card after reading an article about her business on industry website PG Buzz. After a review of the brand's best-selling designs, a deal was agreed to stock them at 12 Waterstones outlets across London.
Fihosy has stated that she is "delighted that my African-inspired greetings cards will be stocked in some of the biggest shops in the country. This is a real step in the right direction when it comes to the representation of the black community in the industry".
While 13 per cent of the UK population identifies as black, it is near impossible to find cards specifically designed for people of colour in mainstream shops.
Waterstones has also announced plans to introduce products from black-owned greeting card brand KitsCH Noir.
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