June Newsletter

• Editorial
  - Happiness without a credit limit,
• A Book Look!
  - Perfect for Father’s Day,
• The Power of Promotion
  - Attracting the Right Sort of Attention
• Enhancing the Home
  - Homeware & decor style and colour trends.
• Designer Dress and Desk
  - desktop items for the NOW generation
• Imagination Movers
  - Spring And Summer Toy And Game Trends To Inspire The Imaginations Of Young Artists.

Designer Dress and Desk

desktop items of the ‘now’ generation

Fashions change from season to season. One year everyone’s opting for mustard-coloured blazers, the next it’s all about metallics, and the season after that everyone is donning military-style vests and three-quarter pants. Many pre-Gen Y shoppers often choose to hold onto what’s in their wardrobes, because some garments do tend to swing back into fashion later down the track. But unlike clothing attire, block-coloured, standard-as black, red or green desktop items – like the diaries, journals and address books of old – needn’t be saved for a later date, say stationery specialists, because their heyday has come and gone.

Mathew Bray, marketing manager of John Sands, firmly believes desktop and social stationery items have to be extremely fashion-conscious nowadays in order to make an impact on consumers and ring in the sales. “Overall, the ‘social expression’ stationery business is highly influenced by, and should be thought of as, a fashion business,” he says. “Just like fashion, women look for what suits their taste, style and sensibilities: some are traditional, some are contemporary and some love cute. Customers look for what is fresh, new and that which surprises. Most are drawn to trendy, clever and innovative ideas.”

Similar fashionista desktop trends are echoed by Amanda Robinson of Spank Stationery and New Holland Publishing. “A pen is no longer simply a writing utensil. It’s a fashion accessory, an ornament – it’s a statement,” she says. “There is a myriad of textures, designs, colours, shapes and sizes in desktop stationery items available on the market that are catering to a new generation inof consumers. These shoppers are aptly aware that their choices reflect their style and identity. By reinventing everyday desktop essentials, consumers are able to reinvent themselves.”

But not everyone is looking to reinvent themselves via paper and pens, says Helen Harvey, director of Livewires New Zealand. “Personally, I still think only specific groups of consumers, e.g. women who work from home, might put more emphasis on buying matching desktop items or items that are fashionably sound. I feel many business people are more pragmatic – you have things you write on and things you don’t,” she says. “However, if you’re talking journals specifically, I do believe you can judge a book by its cover. Classically beautiful journals, quirky journals and now, particularly, lined journals all sell well. There’s something for every taste and desire journal-wise on the market. People like a good journal, something they can keep adding to and going back to time and time again.”

Robinson is in journal agreement. “A felt journal with a chic chandelier-style print reflects elegance. A tattoo-printed journal reflects punk rocker edge,” she says. “Consumers do make a choice based on their own personal style, but I also believe the influences of the fashion world play a major role in dictating that choice. It’s only logical to ensure that a consumer’s tastes in fashion can be transferred to something as basic as their stationery essentials.”

Giving customers what they want is sometimes easier said than done, particularly when there’s more than one distinct trend line to follow. However, Robinson believes where possible, retailers should offer their customers a collection of age-old and season-specific desktop items. “While customers may seek out the same familiar styles/colours of a particular season, they’re also aware that with every season comes a new trend,” she says. “Offering them the same ‘elegant pink’ notebook they purchased a season ago isn’t in-keeping with this theory. Offering them a notebook that is still in-keeping with the style of elegance is. If a range is good, it will have added value every season, with new and innovative products that are still part of an overall ‘brand’ or ‘style’.”

Letting the product do all the talking, however, is a trap into which many retailers fall, says Bray. “A big challenge facing retailers is providing an engaging shopping environment into which consumers will be drawn for inspiration. In our experience, unless stationery is a primary business driver for a retailer, the instore presentation of this category is largely overlooked,” he says. “From a consumer behaviour point of view, a well-designed, eye-catching range is hard to walk past, which is why colour stories and styles are very important; this is reflected in the sales of retailers who hone in on presentation. It’s no different than displaying a fabulous outfit on a mannequin. Every time a consumer walks into a store, they should easily see how a whole stationery story fits together and be reminded how great it would look if they owned it all.”

Embracing ‘tween’ stationery sensations and digital technologies alongside the traditional forms is also a must in today’s stationery ballgame, says Bray. “Younger consumers are starting to realise that although digital communications play an important role in staying connected, the most caring and personal way to express your feelings is still on paper. You only have to look at the volume of social expression and stationery products sold by kikki.k, Smiggle and Sanrio (Hello Kitty) to know younger consumers are interested in the category,” he says. “The trick is finding the right balance between digital and print, getting the product mix right and keeping an ever-vigilant eye on emerging trends. Will today’s kids grow with us? We expect so, but only if we are able to offer them exciting innovative products that resonate.”