Color, 'green' products make grade at SHOPA - environmentally safe products, School and Home Office Products Association's trade show, New Orleans, Louisiana

Discount Store News, Jan 6, 1992 by Laura Liebeck

Color, |Green' Products Make Grade at SHOPA

NEW ORLEANS - More than 6,000 people converged on this Cajun city for the first annual SHOPA (School and Home Office Products Association) show, the back-to-school/home office industry's first trade association-sponsored exposition.

Evaluations of the show by exhibitors, retailers and reps ran from the upbeat to the effusive as buyers scoured the aisles in search of the next blockbuster hit.

While no individual item stood out from the pack, a number of trends appeared: * The continuance of neon colors, a year after they were projected to fade; * Reliance on basic school supplies but with a new twist; * Debut of more color - including neon and jewel tones - and design in office products; * Growing ranks of environmentally-friendly products.

The only dark cloud that hung over the show was the persistent economic recession that caused some retail chains to stay at home and others to adopt even tougher negotiating techniques.

In fact, Dr. Carl Steidtmann, chief economist with Management Horizons, who delivered the keynote address during the show's annual meeting, warned the group that a further shakeout among retailers is inevitable.

Even though SHOPA was the industry's third show of 1991, it attracted buyers from a broad swath of American retail companies including Kmart, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Walgreen's, Fay's, BizMart and Child World, plus a large contingent from various South American countries.

Smaller retailers, mostly the mom and pop outlets, were not present in great numbers as they were most affected by the economy and the long list of shows for 1991.

While personnel in booths along the outer reaches of the convention floor reported that traffic was slow, the largest exhibitors, like Mead, Stuart Hall, Binney & Smith/Crayola, Lisa Frank, Empire-Berol, Pentech, Atapco, Norcom and others, reported outstanding traffic and quality contacts.

"I think we've had wonderful traffic. I don't know how we could handle more," said Charles Hanson, chairman of Stuart Hall. On a number of occasions, retail groups waited beyond their scheduled appointment time for the first available Stuart Hall employee to show them around the booth.

"This show has been a more productive show, especially since it does not compete with Toy Fair," said Lisa Daniel, group product manager for Empire-Berol. Robert Phillips, vice president, general manager at Empire-Berol, added that the show and its timing offer more opportunities to "partner," with retailers, an especially important factor these days.

Retailers were equally as impressed with the show. "It's great," said John Essig, corporate general merchandise manager for Super Value Stores. However, they differed widely as to whether SHOPA was a buying show, whether the timing was right, and whether prices would hold firm.

What they all agreed on is that color and fashion is now important in home office and children's arts and crafts is a strong and growing category.

Also, pencils, formerly a hohum category of staple No. 2 yellow, has exploded with fashion including various colors, patterns and shapes by Pentech, Empire-Berol and others, and a pencil that never needs sharpening by Dixon-Ticonderoga.

Pen manufacturers have added some zip to their offerings as well, including Sanford, via its Tuff Stuff entry and others, Zebra, Parker and Pentel, to name just a few.

Style and fashion, particularly neon, has cropped up in home office products as diverse as clipboards by Saunders, A&W Products and Decorator House, and facsimile and copy paper by Royal Lace; marble and granite design desk accessories by W.T. Rogers and Fellowes; and more organizers and datebooks with added features by Cambridge and Atapco.

Standard school supplies are getting a jolt of innovation, too, with such lines as Mead's Five Star First Gear line of school supplies and accessories that include backpacks and three-ring binders with storage pockets in popular jewel tones; holographic cover designs on notebooks called Vision Point by Mead with matching cases by W.T. Rogers; Fractals by Stuart Hall; and mirror chrome covers to memo books and organizers by US Kids.

Children's arts and crafts has exploded with new product introductions from many companies eager to participate in the growing category. Among the many new items were a host of washable, nontoxic markers by Crayola, activity pads by Norcom and art sets by Rose Art.

Recycled products in paper, plastic and metal were offered by many manufacturers with 53 vendors putting examples of their innovation on display in the show's Recycled Products Showcase. Among those contributors were Union Camp, Legacy, American Greetings, Esselte Pendaflex and Manco.

Serving association members is paramount to SHOPA board members, said president Rex Miller of Mead, noting that SHOPA is not a group of select large companies.

"We want to get more voices involved," said Miller.

Toward that end, SHOPA held its first steering committee meeting. Held during the show, SHOPA board members came away with a variety of suggestions such as timing, length and location of future shows. In addition, the committee suggested SHOPA consider being more than a show provider, offering statistics on what categories are growing and shrinking.