Pen and paper perfection
For many kids out there, there’s a silver lining in the cloudy reality of back to school season, and that’s the shiny new stationery, pencil cases and other bits and pieces that they’ll amass while preparing to return to classes, writes Doug Whelan
Print10 July 2015
In the annual hunt for new stationery, the ‘fun factor’ still reigns supreme amongst younger consumers who are seeking out innovative, brightly-packaged stationery products to add those extra flourishing touches to all their arts and crafts projects this school term. For older pupils and secondary and third-level students meanwhile, practicality and price will be the key factors in their decision-making process when stocking up for the new term.
New lines and iconic brands have all bases covered
Ireland’s leading stationery brand, Bic, has unveiled new packaging for its Bic Kids range, proudly displaying a ‘Recommended by teachers’* stamp, just in time for the back to school selling period.
Recently released market data shows that the Bic Kids Tropicolors 2 colouring pencils, Bic Kids Visa felt pens and Bic Kids Plastidecor crayons lines are all key market sellers**. Teachers were impressed by the quality of the range as some felt tip pens can be left uncapped for up to three months without drying out and colouring pencils are made out of resin so they won’t shatter if broken to keep fingers safe from splinters, making them an essential addition to pencil cases.
“Having such a robust packaging design is great for our retailers,” says Jonathan Skyrme, general manager at Bic UK and Ireland, “and we have also produced a range of till toppers to maximize on the opportunities to drive sell-out through impulse purchase.”
This range covers a variety of essential back to school products, including a reliable classroom choice, the Bic Cristal Original ballpoint pens; Tipp-Ex Rapid correction liquid and another of the best sellers, the iconic Bic4 Colours retractable pen. The variety of counter style displays are easily accessible for retailers, who simply order from their chosen wholesaler or distribution partner. Store displays have proven to give much more visibility to Bic products and, as a result, have boosted sales considerably. With some preparation, retailers can make the most of this sales period.
Comprehensive range and online system offers variety and ease of use
For the past four years, Newspread has been developing a comprehensive stationery range offering everyday branded lines along with value own brand range – all very competitively priced. Top brands include Aisling, Staedtler, Bic, Silvine and Tipp ex. Newspread’s “Notes” range will deliver superb value to your customers whilst offering a great margin at the same time. Newspread’s online ordering system makes back to school ordering very easy and convenient. Users simply log onto www.newspread.ie and access their personal account using an account number and unique pin. From there, they can order anything from a top up on a line that’s out of stock to a complete back to school order. Any orders placed before 1pm will qualify for next day delivery. Newspread has a series of promotional back to school offers including branded Staedtler FSDUs and promotions on their own value brand Notes. Watch out for flash price promotions on A4 80gsm copier paper during the Back to School season too where the price of a box of copier paper gets reduced dramatically.
Licensed to write!
In addition to a core stationery range, Newspread has also introduced a fantastic licensed stationery range, not currently available through any other wholesaler. This range includes anything from pencil and eraser packs to large stationery sets by bestselling licenses such as Disney Frozen, Despicable Me, Minions, Marvel Superheroes, and many more. These lines are sure to be hot favourites with kids this back to school season and can be simply ordered online at www.newspread.ie under the category “Licensed stationery”. Again, all orders placed before 1pm qualify for next day delivery, and there are no minimum quantities.
Key features:
– Full stationery range including top brands and value brand “Notes”
– Order online before 1pm and get next day delivery
– No minimum orders
*(Source: Average score of 88% product recommendation in BIC KIDS colouring range, based on two studies conducted by Markteffect research firm in France in January 11, 2013 (with 227 teachers) and May 6, 2014 -with 387 teachers)
**(Source: GFK UK Mkt data – Sales Unit – MAT December 2014)
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