BTS products: what worked and what's to come

Drug Store News, Nov 4, 1996

Kids get more organized. Stationery takes on a warm efficiency for home office. Licenses get bolder.

These are just some of the trends buyers can expect to see at the School and Home Products Association show in Dallas, which previews the latest lines for back-to-school '97, plus home office and related stationery products.

SHOPA 1996 means new colors and materials for next year's lines and the promise of exciting new licenses - like MTV for Stuart Hall, and Harley Davidson and Reebok for Mead.

Here's a recap of how the recent BTS season went for a variety of manufacturers and a preview of things to come:

BTS '96 For Keith Clark, its Upper Class line was a good performer in BTS '96 season, featuring a dozen SKUs, including student planners, organizers, portfolios and locker centers. "It was targeted to males and females and had broad appeal," said Ron Sopko, marketing manager, consumer markets for Keith Clark. "One of the things we learned s that students will buy up, a younger kid will buy up - but older ones are less likely to buy down."

Another strong line, Sopko reported, was Techno, reaching somewhat younger students (up to junior high) with high-tech, futuristic images.

BTS'97 For 1997, these and other Keith Clark lines will be rebranded under the At-A-Glance brand.

At SHOPA, Keith Clark/At-A-Glance will highlight its two BTS lines and its organizers, with (as-yet-unrevealed) new designs and color twists. This manufacturer will also highlight its new wall calendar line now that it has merged with Landmark.

BTS '96 According to Mead's plans, its Five Star line led the Nielsen charts as the hottest product line for back-to-school. Mark Davis, vice president of marketing, reports double digit unit increases this year and said products were sold out across the country. This season Mead's Nike line, with its minimalist version of the Nike logo, also sold out.

Student planners did well in Five Star First Gear, in both the Nike line and in the NFL series. Mead also offered paper planners in No Rules and Super Shades (both in lower price points), but, Davis said, "We found higher-end planners did better than-lower end."

These continue to grow for Mead. Until two years ago the youth market was untapped for higher quality planners, Davis noted. "As a total market it's not as big as adult and commercial planners, but it's one of the fastest growing," he said.

An accessory growth area that began last year is nylon zipper pouches, typically 9-by-4 inches, which go in a planner or binder. "We grew up on heat sealed vinyl pouches - today kids want to upgrade them to carry their calculators, computer disks, pens and markers," Davis said.

BTS '97 For 1997, Mead's big news is the Reebok license in upgraded school products, including nylon backpacks, zipper binders, trapper keepers and student planners.

Mead will offer a new category: Backpacks with styles for students ages five to 25. Spinning off the portability trend there will be new zipper binders, nylon pouches, "the whole concept of modular units that allow portability," Davis said. "Portability is big with kids."

Mead will have backpack and book bag designs in NFL, NBA, and a new line of Harley Davidson products, including a Harley Davidson backpack and four nylon products that incorporate the styling of the Harley Davidson motorcycle bags.

Mead will also offer new designs in its Sassafras line for girls aged five to 10 tears - although as Davis notes, the hot Harley Davidson license is not just for guys. Another evergreen property in backpacks will be Garfield. (Garfield will have 10 new pegboard products in 1997.)

Another new line for Mead is the upscale Five Star X-L, designed primarily for junior high through college, in non-rip fabric and contoured leather straps, including six SKUs of backpacks. Five Star X-L will also have binders, planners, zipper pouches and notebooks.

In hot licenses, Mead has just signed Star Wars, which will be re-released in 1997, and will offer a full line of student and crossover products from nylon products and planners to pegged items.

There will also be two new Fat Little Day Planners, including one for younger planners in the Five Star First Gear line, and one in female-targeted fashion colors of plums, greens, blues and teals.

And in home office, Mead will introduce its Computer Accessories brand across segments from adult planners to zipper pouches and a computer brief case, as well as a 10-SKU line of computer accessories under the Apple license.

BTS '96 On style trends, Kathy Evens, vice president of merchandising for Newell Office Products, cited continuing interest in school boxes. "Clear was the big story last year and prevailed again this year," Evens said.

Newell also saw good movement in its Teams (sports images) and Favorites Space Maker boxes (this came from research with kids, resulting in Barbie colors, such as bright pink and purple). Space Makers appeal to kindergarten through sixth grade and also to older kids and adults, who use them for art supplies, hair goods, all sorts of organizers.