Development trends in the stationery industry: branding, channel integration, and product personaliz

Against the backdrop of consumer upgrading, the stationery industry is developing towards branding, channel integration, and product personalization.

With the improvement of consumption ability and changes in consumption concepts, consumers pay more attention to product quality and consumption experience, and thus gradually increase their awareness of the brand. In the future, China's stationery industry will develop towards branding, and brand stationery leaders will gain higher market share.

The socalled consumption upgrade, in simple terms, refers to people gradually shifting from consumption that meets basic living needs to consumption that pursues higher quality of life. The main driving factor for consumption upgrading is the increase in disposable income of residents, which leads to an improvement in consumption capacity. In addition, for a long time, residents' consumption concepts have changed and are no longer satisfied with the basic usage functions of products. The specific manifestations of consumption upgrading in the stationery industry are: increased brand awareness, increased requirements for additional functions, and increased demand for high-end stationery.

Accompanied by branding is channel integration, which includes sales terminal chaining, online and offline integration, and one-stop direct sales.

(1) Chain sales terminals: Currently, there are a large number of ordinary stationery stores in retail terminals, showing a characteristic of "small, scattered, and weak". Compared with specialized management chain stationery stores, there is a significant difference in competitiveness and operational efficiency. The branding development of the stationery industry will inevitably bring about the chain of terminal channels.

(2) Online and offline integration: Due to the advantages of low online sales costs and high impact of promotional activities, brand stationery is increasingly borrowing e-commerce platforms to enhance sales and brand awareness, and online and offline integration has become a trend.

(3) One stop direct sales: With the increasing demand for efficiency from enterprise users, direct sales of office stationery characterized by one-stop supply has become another major trend.

In terms of products, stationery consumption is shifting from pursuing functionality to pursuing creativity and individuality. Stationery has become an important carrier for creativity and personality communication, with additional popular elements and cultural connotations, in line with the increasing pursuit of fashion and individuality among students and young office workers.

Writing tool industry: concentration needs to be improved, and brand leaders enjoy advantages
From the perspective of market size, the retail sales of writing tools in China reached 19.835 billion yuan in 2016, while the retail sales of writing tools in the United States reached 3.652 billion dollars (equivalent to approximately 24.3 billion yuan in Chinese yuan) during the same period. The scale of the two is roughly equivalent. However, due to the large population, the per capita retail sales of writing tools in China are only 19% of the per capita retail sales in the United States, and there is significant room for growth in the future.

From the perspective of market structure, the CR5 of China's writing tool market is 30.4%, with the largest market share of Chenguang stationery being 15.9%, which is three times that of the second largest brand of true color stationery. In contrast, the CR5 market for writing tools in the United States reached 71.1%, with the top three brands accounting for 29.1%, 14.3%, and 10.8% of the market, respectively. Compared with developed markets, there is still significant room for improvement in the market concentration of writing tools in China, and brand leaders will enjoy greater advantages in the future.