Back to school is not just about school uniforms.
Pencil cases and their contents are an important part of the market as are lunchboxes and juice bottles and more importantly, they sell well all year round. Unsurprisingly, stationery suppliers are convinced that supermarkets are missing a trick by not devoting more space to stationery.
Baptiste Chièze, Pritt producer Henkel's category management director for consumer adhesives, claims the mults are losing out on stationery sales to the high street. Both Henkel and pen manufacturer BiC are working with retailers to promote stationery.
"This year Mr Pritt is going out on the road to meet shoppers," says Chièze. The supermarkets too are keen to cash in on stationery. In a bid to repeat the success of its lunchboxes in the stationery fixture, Sainsbury's has hit on the idea of carrying branding across the two areas.
"Kids like to buy into one theme, so we replicate the licenses sold in the lunchbox ranges within stationery. This season we'll be stocking Cars 2, Transformers 3, Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty stationery," says a spokeswoman.
It's a canny move. In lunchbox terms, branded products are increasingly popular, particularly with smaller children. Tesco offers a three-piece plastic High School Musical set for £11.99, featuring large and small snap 'n' shut containers and a snack 'n' sip to-go cup. The retailer also offers a personalised gift service, where children can have their names added to Dora the Explorer-branded lunchbags at a cost of £16.
Fluid World, the UK agent for Sanrio (whose characters include Hello Kitty), says back to school is an important part of its product offering, particularly in targeting younger girls.
"Our tween market includes fashion stationery, lunchbags and school bags," says brand director Libby Grant. This area is now being driven by the grocers, says Paul Bufton, general manager at Warner Bros consumer products UK.
"They give more space and importance to the back to school categories at key times, with lunchboxes and backpacks driving sales, although they are reluctant to trial new characters," he says.
Focus On Back To School
Pencil cases and their contents are an important part of the market as are lunchboxes and juice bottles and more importantly, they sell well all year round. Unsurprisingly, stationery suppliers are convinced that supermarkets are missing a trick by not devoting more space to stationery.
Baptiste Chièze, Pritt producer Henkel's category management director for consumer adhesives, claims the mults are losing out on stationery sales to the high street. Both Henkel and pen manufacturer BiC are working with retailers to promote stationery.
"This year Mr Pritt is going out on the road to meet shoppers," says Chièze. The supermarkets too are keen to cash in on stationery. In a bid to repeat the success of its lunchboxes in the stationery fixture, Sainsbury's has hit on the idea of carrying branding across the two areas.
"Kids like to buy into one theme, so we replicate the licenses sold in the lunchbox ranges within stationery. This season we'll be stocking Cars 2, Transformers 3, Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, SpongeBob SquarePants and Hello Kitty stationery," says a spokeswoman.
It's a canny move. In lunchbox terms, branded products are increasingly popular, particularly with smaller children. Tesco offers a three-piece plastic High School Musical set for £11.99, featuring large and small snap 'n' shut containers and a snack 'n' sip to-go cup. The retailer also offers a personalised gift service, where children can have their names added to Dora the Explorer-branded lunchbags at a cost of £16.
Fluid World, the UK agent for Sanrio (whose characters include Hello Kitty), says back to school is an important part of its product offering, particularly in targeting younger girls.
"Our tween market includes fashion stationery, lunchbags and school bags," says brand director Libby Grant. This area is now being driven by the grocers, says Paul Bufton, general manager at Warner Bros consumer products UK.
"They give more space and importance to the back to school categories at key times, with lunchboxes and backpacks driving sales, although they are reluctant to trial new characters," he says.
Focus On Back To School
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