Cheers to more than 25 years

In 1994 Paul Breen was sitting in his cubicle at a big Australian company, frustrated and disgruntled. With the threat of retrenchment hanging over his head and bills to pay he needed an escape plan. But what to do? 

A few years before, while backpacking around the Greek Islands, he met an American named Tex. Tex loved calendars (yeah, I know….) and worked for a fledgling business in the USA called Calendar Club. 

 Paul, ever the opportunist, and desperate to leave the corporate life, hatched a plan to bring the Club to Oz and the Land of the Long White Cloud. In 1995, while moonlighting from his day job and running his “empire” from the lounge room of his one bedroom apartment, opened 3 kiosks in Melbourne.

 The first calendar ever sold was to a wrestling fan with no teeth. Thanks Mary for supporting us when we needed it most. Like any start-up there were ups and downs in the early days but the company kept growing and expanding its reach. In what seemed like the blink of an eye Calendar Club was opening 140 stores and selling over a million calendars a year. And wouldn’t you know it…..!The big guys came calling and the business was sold to Angus & Robertson and Borders in 2002. Paul ‘retired’, got married and had a family. But the story doesn’t end there…In 2011 Angus & Robertson and Borders went broke. Ugly business really. But fortuitously Paul took control of Calendar Club again and ever since the calendar kiosks have continued to roll out the door every year. Fast forward to now and from humble beginnings with 3 stores in 1995 to over 4,500 stores opened since then it has been quite a ride! 30 years trading in Australia and New Zealand and going strong! Geez, people must really love calendars….