Phoenix Trading Review and Profile

Phoenix Trading no longer appears to be active as a direct sales company.

Phoenix Trading was a British greeting-card and stationery MLM that closed in August 2017. Its successor, Flamingo Paperie, operated from 2018 until May 2023 and has also closed.

Original Npros business profile for Phoenix Trading, preserved below for archival purposes:

Phoenix Trading was a British direct-selling company founded in South London in 1995 by three mothers identified in company histories as Robin, Susie, and Vanessa. Robin Bradley became the company's founder and art director, while Sheila Shaw served as operations director. Phoenix developed into an international greeting-card publisher with independent sales organizations in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

The company sold greeting cards, Christmas cards, postcards, notecards, gift wrap, stationery, calendars, advent calendars, organizers, and related paper products. Designs were commissioned from independent artists, and much of the company's printing and production was sourced in the United Kingdom. Phoenix stated that more than 150 million cards had been sold through its network and that it had more than 8,000 to 10,000 independent Phoenix Traders during its principal growth period.

Independent Phoenix Traders sold through catalogs, home parties, school and charity fundraisers, craft fairs, workplace displays, social media, and personalized company websites. Traders purchased products directly from Phoenix and generally earned a retail margin of at least 30%. Historical opportunity information listed a joining cost of approximately £45. Traders could advance into Senior Trader and Executive Trader positions by sponsoring and supporting other representatives, earning additional commissions based on the orders generated by their teams. The program therefore operated as a network-marketing structure rather than solely as a single-level retail opportunity.

Phoenix also maintained a substantial charitable program. The company and its Traders raised money through Christmas-card sales, fundraising events, and direct donations. Historical company accounts reported more than £1.9 million donated to charities and community organizations worldwide. The Phoenix International Charity continued supporting fundraising efforts under both Phoenix Trading and its later successor.