SHOPA goers to seek innovative items to perk up biz - School and Home Office Products Association show

Discount Store News, Dec 4, 1995

Pilot will introduce Dr. Grip, a retractable ballpoint pen with a wide contoured, rubberized cushion grip.

Day Runner has added new colors to its vinyl student planners designed to feel like suede. Teal and purple now join black as the color choices available in the 411 line (named after the teen slang term for information) of student organizers.

Bic has expanded its Wavelength fashion pens to nine new designs for 1996. Some modifications include Whirls, a colorful new twist on Bic's Classic Stic; Night Moods, a gold or silver barrel pen with colorful swirls; and Funnies, a retractable pen with funny faces.

The absence of color is also a trend, especially in the realm of school boxes and pencil boxes.

Based on a trend that began in some inner city schools concerned about students carrying concealed, unwanted items like weapons, manufacturers such as Rubbermaid and Rogers, a Newell company, have introduced clear storage boxes. Rubbermaid has modified its Thingamabox, Li'L Thingamabox and Whatchamabox lines to offer translucent storage boxes for pencils, pens, scissors and paints.

In addition to these clear boxes, Rogers has introduced three new color themes for its school supply boxes: Neoclassics, Favorites and Teams, which are designed to add excitement to the category while keeping costs to a minimum.

For instance, the Teams line of school boxes features no licensed logos, but the box base and lid are color coordinated to conjure images of professional league teams, such as red and black for the Chicago Bulls football team.

On the office products side of the business, which contributed greatly to Hills' successful Back-to-School season, Cline said, fashion and function come into play again.

"Higher-end goods and value-added product" were the categories that performed well in 1995, Cline said, naming specific areas such as filing cabinets, storage and calculators as best sellers. Paper protection devices from Steelworth and Sentry were other office products that Pamida deemed important enough to add to its mix this year, Fell said.

At the show, Rubbermaid will debut SimpliFile, a hanging file organization line built to complement portable offices. The resin folders are designed to hang anywhere standard folders hang and meet the needs of those consumers trying to merge a corporate office with a home office.

Newell will unveil Rogers OfficeData, its selection of computer accessories made possible by the September acquisition of OfficeData, a European manufacturer of media storage units, dust covers, printer stands and glare filters.

Newell also acquired PC Compatibles, a maker of ergonomically designed wrist rests, computer pads, back pillows and other accessories. This new brand will be known as Rogers PC Compatibles.