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What to Buy for Business
April 2008
by Sara White
Online stationery sales remain a small percentage of the overall £6 billion stationery market
as thousands of stationery suppliers cling on to traditional selling methods . But this is set to
change as a host of new entrants set up shop online disrupting the comfortable stationery market
where margins can be as high as 40 per cent on essentials.
For repeat purchasing , online makes sense as key information can be retained in personalised shopping
lists and the time-consuming completion of order forms with detailed information and complicated product
codes is automated.
This alone represents considerable cost and time savings. Many organisations fail to keep close tabs on
stationery expenditure. Some have centralised stationery purchasing controls, but a lot is still processed
at department level or on business expenses.
Online shift
With over 3,000 stationery sellers in the UK, competition is coming from a number of directions with the growth
of out-of-town stationery superstores, supermarkets and online sales. There is likely to be further consolidation
in the market as small dealers struggle to compete and others are acquired or merged.
"From an online perspective, we expect to sec more of a shift towards the online channel. A lot of purchases are
repeat orders-it is an industry that lends itself to online purchasing, but it is an area that is still significantly
underexploited," said Euroffice CEO Simon Drakeford. "The industry as a whole is quite old-fashioned and the channels
can still be supported by relatively high margins and a focus on personalised service.
"The high margins are being challenged; online and telesales channels are becoming stronger . There is a much higher
level of competition with the competitive nature of online marketing. It is being driven by Viking and Staples.
Please view the attached PDF to read the complete article
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