Go write ahead!

Alongside all the back to school must-haves that kids need to fully kit out their new school bags; post and packaging stationery has benefitted from the growth in online home trading, while arts and crafts and adult colouring likewise continue to perform strongly as shoppers young and old let their creativity thrive, writes Gillian Hamill

Brand Central

28 August 2023

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At this time of year, it will be essential for school kids of all ages to get stocked up on all the back to school stationery essentials, encompassing everything from a snazzy new pencil case, pens, pencils and felt tips to files, folders and even protractors for those trickier maths questions!

Across the full range of stationery must-haves, value and long-lasting quality will be more important than ever this year. New research published in July showed the expected costs involved for parents during the back to school season. The research, commissioned by Talon in Ireland and conducted by Spark Market Research, reveals that despite the government’s release of its new free primary book policy, parents still envisage an increased level of spend for the back-to-school essentials in 2023 with spend increases across the board in comparison to the same period in 2022. Most respondents (56%) plan on spending between €100-€499. Nearly a quarter (24%) answered €500-€999, followed by 11% answering €50-€99, with 8% revealing they would spend upwards of €1,500.

The survey also found that consumers will be shopping across a variety of stores. Just over half (52%) of Irish respondents are once again choosing to keep things local by spending in local school supply stores in their area.

Brick-and-mortar stores are the preferred means of shopping in September in comparison to online channels, according to Talon’s study. The research shows that 58% of consumers anticipate that they will shop in shopping centres and 40% said they would choose local shops. A further 21% will be shopping on the high street while only 35% of consumers said they’d be heading online.

With that in mind, it’s vital for all retailers – even smaller stores – to ensure they have a varied stationery offering to meet the strong demand at this time of year.

Reach the heights!

Reach offers an extensive range of market-leading stationery brands

Reach Stationery is a leading supplier of stationery lines to retail. Reach boasts an extensive range of market-leading brands including Supreme, BIC, Staedtler, Crayola, Pukka, Stabilo, Milan, Sellotape and more. They offer competitive pricing with next day delivery and ease of online ordering.

From school bags to staplers, calculators to copy books and maths sets to multi-colour pens, Reach Stationery has everything you need to cater for primary, secondary and third level students. Reach Stationery also offers great prices on copier paper, till and Visa roll all year round.

To view the full range offered by Reach Stationery, go to www.reachstationery.ie. If you don’t already have an account, the online account set up process is simple, enabling you to start shopping right away.

Solving your stationery needs

Solv-X’s post and pack range benefits from the growth in online home trading, with an increased focus on prepacks of envelopes, padded bags, and mailing bags

Solv-X offers convenience retailers a combination of over 150 stationery lines that make up its largest 3m planogram, combining quality own brand products plus brands such as BIC, Papermate, Loctite, Sellotape, and Helix to maximise retailer sales and profitability. With own brand sales growing strongly in all categories, the Solv-X own brand range allows retailers to be highly competitive on quality and value with specialist stationery retailers and discounters.

The Solv-X own brand range allows retailers to be highly competitive on quality and value

The Solv-X Field Sales team are experts in working with retailers to look at store profile and space to agree the optimum stationery range for each store, and this is supported by free loan installation of fixtures/displays as required.

The two subcategories within stationery seeing the most growth in recent years have been ‘post and pack’ plus ‘arts and crafts’. Solv-X’s recently launched new post and pack range benefits from the growth in online home trading, with an increased focus on prepacks of envelopes, padded bags, and mailing bags. Similarly, the arts and crafts subcategory continues to grow strongly with parents keen to develop their children’s creativity.

The full range of Solv-X stationery can be ordered via your local area manager, online at www.solv-x.com or by phoning 042 9377055.

Be everything you can imagine!

Pritt’s ‘When I Grow Up’ theme allows its young crafters to dream into becoming who they want

Pritt offers a natural and strong formula, along with ecofriendly packaging

Kids’ unlimited creativity can flourish with the long-lasting and child friendly Pritt stick; whose marketing centres around the messaging that children can “be everything [they] can imagine with Pritt!”

This year as part of its back to school campaign, Pritt has introduced the new ‘When I Grow Up’ theme that allows its young crafters to dream into becoming who they want. With five exciting new characters including, a scientist, chef and pilot, the sky is the limit. For the first time in the UK and Ireland, Pritt has introduced exciting new limited edition glitter sticks as part of the campaign.

Pritt’s iconic glue stick is still made of 96% natural ingredients*, with no microplastic, even with the addition of glitter and colour in the formula.

To provide young crafters along with their parents or guardians an immersive digital experience, the Pritt website (prittworld.co.uk) has two new exciting features. Exclusive Instagram filters and Augmented Reality allow visitors to visualise different professions. With a natural and strong formula, along with ecofriendly packaging, Pritt is a must-have for back-to-school shopping.

*(Including water)

A pen for every side of you!

With consumers becoming increasingly savvy and seeking strong value for money offerings, BIC continues to grow its share of market and number one leading market position as a trusted full line stationery provider.

Research shows consumers are increasingly seeking ‘trusted’, ‘value for money’ and ‘known brands’, with BIC hitting the consumer sweet spot of needs being market leader for each.

The BIC 4 Colours® campaign,‘A Pen For Every Side of You’ is now live across the UK and Ireland

The iconic 4 Colours® range continues to reach record performance, with the 360 campaign ‘A Pen For Every Side of You’ now live across the United Kingdom and Ireland, seen on TV, social media, billboards and online. Showcasing consumers’ love of expressing their personality through the variety of vibrant designs, the range is available with a wide variety of designs loved by consumers from Rose Gold and Silver, to new product launches like Gradient, Wood Effect and Pastel. Consumers love to collect the range, so it’s important to keep a wide variety of designs to suit the broad consumer needs.

As the colouring segments continue to grow, BIC also offers new launches and excitement through Intensity (adult colouring) and Kids colouring, with exciting and modern new designs, campaigns and innovation to bring further excitement and impulse to the growing and vibrant category.

As a full line supplier, BIC offers products for all stationery segments, from ball pens and gels, to colouring and accessories, to maximise the opportunity, orders can be made via your local BIC sales manager or via uksales@bicworld.com.

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