Office supply retailing

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The interior of an Office Depot store in Wyoming, United States. Office Depot interior in Gillette, Wyoming.jpg
The interior of an Office Depot store in Wyoming, United States.
The interior of a stationer in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vanphongpham-InsideStationeryShop03012009606.jpg
The interior of a stationer in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Office supply retailing is the commercial trade of stationery and other office supplies.

Contents

An office supply retailer, stationer, stationery retailer or business solutions retailer sells things typically found in an office or classroom, such as computers, monitors, printers, paper writing instruments, books, desks, office chairs and lamps, as well as novelty items like picture frames, artworks and pot plants. [1] Many provide a range of printing, photography, lamination and binding services. [2] Some may provide repair and recovery services. [3]

The term 'stationery' originally referred to all products sold by a medieval stationer, a "stationary" storekeeper who kept a fixed location near a university rather than others who travelled to markets or fairs. [4] These stores bound, copied, published and lent out books, often providing a greater range of books than university libraries. [5]

Modern office supply stores usually sell supplies for school students, particularly at the start of school years. Historically, this includes like exercise books, pens, pencils, coloured pencils, crayons and other art supplies which students are often required to bring to class. In markets where bring your own device and remote learning is more common, it includes the technology students are required to provide for themselves. [6] [7]

Retailers also supply products required for a range of businesses and activities. Historically, desk stationery and printing services were major sources of revenue. In the 21st century, revenue has increasingly come from technology and furniture instead. [8]

Many retailers have experienced a loss of revenue from major business clients due to the growth of working from home, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retailers have shifted their focus to selling home office products direct to consumers, such as by offering a broader range of styles and home delivery. [1] [9]

By market

Australia

Officeworks, Smiggle, Typo and Winc sell stationery and office supplies in Australia.

Canada

Canadian stationers include Dollarama, Grand & Toy and Staples Canada.

United Kingdom

Office supply retailers in the United Kingdom include Ryman, Vasanta Group and Viking Direct.

A chain of stationers called Office World existed until 2005. [10] [11]

United States

The exterior of a Staples store in California, United States. Staplesstore.jpg
The exterior of a Staples store in California, United States.

Office Depot and Staples are major companies with the office retailing sector in the United States.

Other retailers include IBM Product Center, InkStop, The ODP Corporation, Office 1 Superstore, Office Zone, OfficeMax, Quill Corporation, ReStockIt, Shoplet and W.B. Mason.

Asia

The Rong Bao Zhai stationery shop has been operating in Beijing, China since 1672. [12] [13]

M&G Stationery has stores around China and Singapore. [14] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand or by equipment such as computer printers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Distribution (marketing)</span> Making products available to customers

Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it, and a distributor is a business involved in the distribution stage of the value chain. Distribution can be done directly by the producer or service provider or by using indirect channels with distributors or intermediaries. Distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix: the other three elements being product, pricing, and promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office supplies</span> Consumables and equipment regularly used in offices

Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies or data. The range of items classified as office supplies varies, and typically includes small, expendable, daily use items, consumable products, small machines, higher cost equipment such as computers, as well as office furniture and art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staples Inc.</span> American multinational office supply retailing corporation

Staples Inc. is an American office supply retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryman</span> Stationery retail company

Ryman is a stationery retail company with 205 outlets nationwide in the United Kingdom. The website and stores provide a wide range of stationery and office supplies for homes and businesses, with its headquarters in Crewe, Cheshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merchandising</span> Promotion of product sales

Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more items or products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardware store</span> Store that sells household hardware for home improvement

Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies. The five largest hardware retailers in the world are The Home Depot, Lowe's, Kingfisher of the United Kingdom, Obi of Germany, and Leroy Merlin of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Warehouse Group</span> New Zealand retail group

The Warehouse Group (TWG) was established by Stephen Tindall in 1982 and is the largest retail group in operation in New Zealand. It is a corporate conglomerate that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, 1-day, and TheMarket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesfarmers</span> Australian conglomerate

Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue of A$43.5 billion in the 2023 financial year, it is one of Australia's largest companies by revenue. Wesfarmers is also one of the largest private employers in Australia, with approximately 107,000 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Officeworks</span> Australian office supply store chain owned by Wesfarmers

Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dymocks</span> Australian company

Dymocks Booksellers is an Australian-founded privately owned bookstore chain, that also specialise in CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, e-books and related merchandising. As of June 2022, the chain has about 50 stores in Australia.

Harvey Norman is an Australian multinational retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2022, there are 304 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essendant</span> American office supply distributor

Essendant, formerly known as United Stationers, is a national wholesale distributor of office supplies, with consolidated net sales of $5.3 billion. Essendant stocks over 160,000 items, including traditional office products, office furniture, janitorial and break room supplies, and technology products. Essendant is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and also has operations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quill Corporation</span> Office supply retailer based in Lincolnshire, Illinois

Quill Corporation is an American office supply retailer, founded in 1956, and headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois. A wholly owned subsidiary of Staples, Quill serves more than one million small and mid-sized U.S. business customers, with access to over one million assorted products.

Crayons to Computers (C2C) is a non-profit free school supply store for teachers who work at schools in the 15-county area of greater Cincinnati. Founded in 1997, C2C operates a 41,000-square-foot (3,800 m2) retail store and warehouse where teachers can obtain stationery, educational tools and incentive items at no charge. The 501 (c)(3) supports teachers from over 400 schools in the Cincinnati area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper Plus Group</span>

The Paper Plus Group is a group of three brands in New Zealand. The group is a three brand co-operative franchise business model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotton On Group</span> Australian multinational retail company

Cotton On Group is an Australian retail company known for its fashion, clothing and stationery brands. As of 2020, it has over 1,500 stores in 18 countries employing 22,000 people across eight brands: Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Cotton On Body, Factorie, Typo, Rubi, Supré, Ceres and Cotton On Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smiggle</span> Australian stationery store chain

Smiggle is an Australian-based retail store chain that sells stationery and related accessories. It was founded in Melbourne by Stephen Meurs and Peter Pausewang in 2003 and acquired by the Just Group in July 2007. As of February 2016, the chain has stores located across Australia (135), New Zealand (23), Singapore (17), United Kingdom (100), Hong Kong (14), Malaysia (22) and the Republic of Ireland (3). Smiggle is renowned for its use of vibrant bold colours and quirky graphics on most of its branded products.

The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.

ResenePaints LTD is a New Zealand paint and building materials manufacturer and retailer.

References

  1. 1 2 Hagerty, Kyle (25 September 2021). "Workplace Office Equipment Sales Surge Due to Work-From-Home Battle Stations". Propmodo, Inc. propmodo.
  2. Clark, Mitchell (3 November 2021). "How to print a document when you don't own a printer". Vox Media. The Verge.
  3. Pattabiraman, Rakshnna (10 February 2022). "Officeworks acquires Brisbane-based enterprise to launch Circonomy". Octomedia. Inside Retail.
  4. Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing. pp.  65–66. ISBN   9781602397064.
  5. Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 56. ISBN   9781628733228 . Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  6. Goldschmidt, Bridget (31 August 2021). "U.S. Office Supply Revenue to Rise 8% in 2021". Progressive Grocer.
  7. Petrak, Lynn (7 August 2021). "Parents Spend More, Back to School Survey Finds". EnsembleIQ. Progressive Retail.
  8. Pattabiraman, Rakshnna (17 February 2022). "Wesfarmers warns of more Covid disruption after first-half profit dives". Octomedia. Inside Retail.
  9. Wassel, Bryan (7 March 2022). "Office Depot Launches On-Demand Delivery at 1,000 Locations to Tap Home Office Demand". Emerald X. Retail Touch Points.
  10. "OFT publishes clearance decision in acquisition by Staples of Globus Office World". uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com. 5 August 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  11. "Staples Office World Conversion". www.ukelectrical.co.uk. November 2005. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  12. "Rong Bao Zhai". The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.
  13. "榮寶齋香港旗艦店 重新啟業傳承文化". Prnasia.
  14. "Company Overview of Shanghai M&G Stationery Inc." Businessweek . Retrieved on April 20, 2014.
  15. "Contact Us Archived 2014-04-19 at the Wayback Machine ." M&G Singapore. Retrieved on April 19, 2014. "Office: 921, Upper Bukit Timah Road, #04-02, Singapore 678202"