Schurman Retail has revealed its plans to Property Week to turn the business around and keep pressure on landlords.

It plans to trim down rents across its 400 Clinton stores. However, it does not plan any closures.

The US retail group is to manage and operate Clinton Cards on behalf of US card company American Greetings, which purchased the chain this week through a subsidiary company called Lakeshore Lending Limited.

Schurman boss Dominique Schurman will become the new Clinton Cards chief executive, and told Property Week that bringing store rents back in line with market rates is a “top priority”.

“It’s very important for the ongoing success of the business to align the rents to market rates,” she said. “That’s a top priority for us in order to set the company up for success in the long term. There has been an incredible amount of time and effort looking at every store and situation. We want to establish long term positive relationship with the landlord community while positioning Clinton Cards for long term success.”

Meetings with landlords are scheduled for next week, and Schurman has retained Savills to lead negotiations.

The company, which operates more than 500 stores in North America under several different brands, including American Greetings, intends to use its retail experience in the US market to refresh the ailing Clinton brand.

“We believe we have a lot of resources in terms of infrastructure and systems that will enable this business to perform more successfully,” said Schurman. “Our goal is to work with the existing team at Clinton Cards to rebuild a vibrant business.

“The stores look a little bit tired, so our strategy is to invest capital, improve the look and feel of the stores, provide some fresh merchandising ideas, streamline the pricing which is very confusing for the customer and deliver the expectation that the customer has for a quality experience.”

The company says it intends to keep all of the 400 stores it has purchased from administrators Zolfo Cooper, and keep them trading under the Clinton Cards brand.

“Our priority in the short term is to stabilise the business, make necessary investments in the stores and then over time we’ll assess if there is an opportunity to open new locations or introduce other brands into the market,” says Schurman.

“Our view is that there will be a long term ongoing presence of the Clinton brand – we don’t intend to change the name as it is very well known. However, we are exploring some refinements to the branding and I do think there is an opportunity to update it so it is a little but more current.”

The US retail group is taking on the UK market in what is a particularly tough time for the British high street, but says it is well aware of the challenges ahead.

“I think we have a realistic view of the current market conditions,” says Schurman. “We understand that these are challenging economic times. It is a tough environment, but that being said, we believe there is a place for Clinton Cards on the high street if appropriately positioned. While we don’t have incredibly aggressive expectations in terms of growth, we believe with proper investment and the right positioning we can deliver great quality and great value for people in a tough economic time.”