SPRING//SUMMER 2018 81 80 SPRING//SUMMER 2018 STATIONERY BIZ STATIONERY BIZ IT HAS been a tough trading year for most retailers, especially those who have been trading for a while and remain dependant on trend growth to increase sales and EBIDTA. Christmas 2017 has also been tough, with many retailers seeing a decline in sales. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), spending fell by 1.5% in December. I visited four different stationery stores at the end of January 2018 to see how they had started their spring journey. Sale was still hanging around in many of the stores, which was surprising, bearing in mind that it had already been out for a month. Paperchase Valentines was the main offer as you walked into the store. The offer was split into two, one targeted for a teenage market, and the other more general. The range as a whole felt eclectic. Overall, the offer didn’t feel coherent, as if they were trying to target too many customers under one banner. The Bloomin’ Lovely range featured traditional florals, but also included feminist flags which didn’t really fit. The Mothers Day range had some nice pieces, like ‘Notes for Mum’ or ‘Tokens for Mum’. Their notebook table was a success – piled high with notebook covers featuring inspirational and motivational statements, although even this could have been better merchandised. WHSmith Spring definitely didn’t feel like it had sprung for Whsmith! The first POS which grabbed your attention was the ‘New Furry & Funky’, however this wasn’t really new. I saw this on my travels back in August 2017. This was the pervading feeling as you walked around the store. Sale was still in pieces, and newness was hidden amongst older products. POS was lingering on from last summer, focused around the ‘mixing your colours’ concept. The accessories wall looked strong, featuring key rings, bookmarks, pass cases and so on. Their birthday cards on the end of a MFU looked strong as well, showing consistency. Smiggle Smiggle was one of the most shopped of all the stores I saw. It’s a small store in Bluewater, and therefore hard to navigate. The offer was consistent with what I associate with the Smiggle brand. They still had sale out which affected how the store looked and felt. Some of the beauty cases looked new and tailored for their audience. The pencil case wall stood out, with an abundance of design-led product featuring lots of different 3D effects. They had a crafting set, ‘Sparkling art sand, glitter and foil’ which was packaged well and you could instantly see the appeal. One of the issues you have in a Smiggle store is the vast amount of SKUs in such a small space, which does make it hard to see what is new and what has changed. It also doesn’t lend itself to a great customer experience sometimes when this tightly shopped. Typo This was my first visit to a Typo store and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The store didn’t have windows. It didn’t need them, the product showcased itself. Most of the product lent itself to the teen age group/mid 20s, and this was the consistent brand identity. Ranges weren’t displayed as ranges, but more as collections of product which worked well together. I noticed lots of pastels, the fixtures themselves looked great and showcased the product well. Typo was the only store with an interactive feature, allowing you to test headphones in store. New arrivals stood out, glitter featured heavily. I thought the diaries had a nice touch with the Typo paper band FAIKA KHURRAM on what the big stationery brands are showcasing this spring SPRING INTO STORE around them, helping to enhance brand identity. Last but not least were the oversized props which stood at the top of the fixtures. A massive pencil and sharpener won the day for me for innovation. In summary, Typo definitely felt the strongest. The store felt fresh and consistent, with clean lines, and they had added bold features to its assortment. Typo also had an offer which clearly targeted its customer demographic, and that’s where it won out for me. It was good to see fresh product in many other stores, but overall it wasn’t the strongest spring launch I’ve ever seen. It will be interesting to see how stationery retailers fare throughout 2018. Photo:Faika Khurram Paperchase Photo:Faika Khurram Smiggle Photo:Faika Khurram Typo Photo:Faika Khurram Photo:Faika Khurram WHSmith