School/office suppliers form new assn., show - School and Home Office Products Association

Discount Store News, March 18, 1991

School/Office Suppliers Form New Assn., Show

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A new trade association has been formed to represent the interests of the back-to-school/home office stationery industry. SHOPA (School and Home Office Products Association) will hold its first trade show next December in New Orleans.

In a related development, Thalheim Expositions, show manager for the industry's 10-year-old annual Back-To-School Merchandise Show held at New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center, is moving its event to November at Chicago's McCormick Place. Previously, the show was held in February.

Both trade shows are scheduled to take place in the fall, in response to buyer and vendor preference for a show that is earlier than February.

The charter, bylaws and election of SHOPA officers was finalized during the February BTS Show. Association membership is open to manufacturers, retailers and distributors of stationery products and firms related to the industry such as fixturing and lighting suppliers, said Rex Miller, director of merchandising for Mead and the association's president.

Miller said SHOPA was formed to represent the stationery industry and to:

* Provide educational benefits; * Act as a source of information on the industry to members; * Be a forum for issues of concern and importance to members.

"What's important to me as a president of SHOPA is the idea of partnership," said Miller. "We're nothing more than partners, links to bringing products to the shelf. We want to encourage and promote a continuous dialogue among manufacturers, distributors and retailers to maximize sales and profits for the industry."

The annual trade show is a four-day event intended to be a buying show.

SHOPA "wants to focus on the importance of stationery in mass retailing today," said Miller, noting that while stationery often totals less than 3% of a retailer's total sales, it is the second most profitable department in the store behind jewelry.

Discount industry sales of stationery products are approximately $3 billion. Stationery products turn more than four times a year and gross margins average about 40%, according to DSN estimates.

Serving with Miller on the SHOPA board are: vice president Jim Williamson of Esselte Pendaflex; secretary Merry Ballweber of Fred Meyer; and treasurer Brent Blaine of Binney & Smith.

In addition to these elected officers, a board of directors was formed. It includes: William Douthit, of the George F. Cram Co.; Debbie Kelly of Walgreens; John Kuypers of W.T. Rogers Co.; Charlie O'Neil of Stuart Hall; Don Peterson of Acco World; John Putz of The 3M Co.; Michael Stanga of Faber-Castell; Stuart Taub of A&W Products; and Ken Ware of Venture Stores.

Gary Kibler of Kibler Associates, Chapel Hill, N.C., was named executive vice president of the association. He is responsible for the association's daily communications and management.

SHOPA will hold its first trade show Dec. 11 to 14 at the New Orleans Convention Center. The show will be managed by InterBev (International Beverage Industry Exhibition and Congress), Washington, D.C., known primarily for managing beverage and robotics shows.

InterBev has reserved 130,000 square feet of exhibition space for SHOPA's first show and has an option for an additional 130,000 square feet.

Amy Fuhlman, sales director for InterBev, said about 60 manufacturers have registered for the show so far. The largest registered exhibitors are Mead, with 2,700 square feet of booth space, and Stuart Hall, 2,400 square feet excluding a 1,000-square-foot booth for Lisa Frank licensed products.

Other exhibitors with booth space of 1,000 square feet or more include Pentech (1,200 square feet), Esselte Pendaflex, Faber-Castell, Fellowes and Norcom, each with 1,000 square feet.

Although SHOPA's first show is being held in December in New Orleans, the time and place of subsequent shows may change, depending on the recommendations of the association's Trade Show Council.

All SHOPA shows will be held between late November and early December, in response to manufacturer and buyer requests for a show during that time frame. Fuhlman is already looking at convention sites in Dallas, Houston, Orlando and Atlanta, in addition to New Orleans, for future shows.

In order to allow retailers the opportunity to review the lines of smaller vendors with whom they may not have advance appointments, show organizers are considering the establishment of appointment-free time segments during the four-day event.

The Thalheim show also is looking at providing some additional programs during its upcoming show.

The 11th Back-To-School Merchandise Show will include "full-scale educational programs" dealing with the industry's hot topics, said David Thalheim, president of Thalheim Expositions.

Thalheim noted that he will soon announce a schedule of seminars and educational activities for the show, held November 12 to 14.

The annual BTS show has always sponsored one seminar at the show, generally focusing on industry trends.