ABCO REMERCHANDISES OFFICE, CRAFT SECTIONS

JOEL ELSON

PHOENIX -- Abco Markets has revamped its stationery sections to meet a growing demand for home office supplies and craft supplies. The 74-store chain completed the remerchandising and resetting of the 600-item sections last month. The reset departments include a wider assortment of mailroom supplies with 30 to 40 new stockkeeping units, 20% more in Crayola and other crayon products and coloring books, a larger craft section and an extended lineup of home and office supplies. According to Vic Anthony, general merchandise buyer, the chain believes it can increase stationery category sales by 20% to 25%. He added this could contribute to an increase of 0.5% to total general merchandise sales.

"After analyzing the entire category, we've gotten into more space for stationery and craft, and put in a mailing center that includes wrapping paper and other basic supplies that a small business or those working at home find convenient to pick up at the supermarket," said Anthony.

The trend toward more people working at home is driving the supermarket stationery and home office department to a greater degree, Anthony added. "There's a lot of people working at home now, whether self-employed or part-time, who need office supplies," he said.

While the actual size of the 12-to 24-foot-long sections remains unchanged, in Abco's reconfiguration of the departments more space has been devoted to office supplies. Abco also opted to stay with the same pegboard fixturing and shelving it had used in the department.

Items displayed on the pegboards are popularly priced, with an $8.99 stapler being the highest-priced product.

The one area Abco was sure it wanted to incorporate in the revised product mix was "more upscale stationery geared toward children," said Anthony. About 12 items in stylish and bright colored pens and pencils from Lisa Frank were added.

Previously, hot fashion lines such as children's pens and pencils were merchandised seasonally. Considering the strong turns the merchandise generated when it was displayed in floor dumps for seasonal promotions, Abco decided to incorporate the merchandise into its everyday in-line mix.

"We've promoted these items at back-to-school, Halloween and Easter in pens and pencils and coloring pens," Anthony said. "These shippers virtually always sell out, and at Easter [they sell] as an alternate to candy. Shippers of pencils are featured in an Easter theme and sell very well." However, Anthony said Abco won't ignore future seasonal opportunities. It plans to increase substantially the use of seasonal and promotional floor shippers of hot stationery-related items throughout the year.

Anthony said the shippers generate impulse sales "and create excitement by offering the latest products and fashion trends in writing instruments. People are picking these up from shippers more than in the past." Abco is targeting families with children, whom Anthony sees as a big reason for stationery-department growth at supermarkets. "This is the market we're focusing on, especially in the expanded 4-foot-wide crayon panel where we've brought in the newer styles," he said.

To focus consumer attention on mailroom supplies, Abco has begun to promote the segment on shippers placed in the stationery department aisle.