Social trends influence new products at SHOPA

Drug Store News, Dec 9, 1996 by Allene Symons

The School and Home Office Products Association meeting in Dallas last month showed continuing signs of social trends - namely the time-stretched, two-career families and the increase in home offices - not to mention the power of licenses.

The show itself was the biggest SHOPA yet, with 541 more exhibitors than last year and pre-show buyer registration up 20 percent over 1995.

Other trends were visible around the exhibit hall: the growing kids activity and arts and crafts segment, with new lines from Fiskars and Elmer's; new educational products designed with plenty of play-ability, such as American Greetings Learning Horizons line; and the latest in fashion colors and textures to please fickle young consumers for next fall's back-to-school season.

Here is a sampling of attention-getters on the show floor:

* Stickers on line. Avery's big draw, which usually had a circle of retailers watching the demo, was its Avery Kids line, a software kit that lets kids print labels and stickers on a PC and can import photos and other graphic files. Avery also offered the latest fashion in its EastPak line of back-packs and binders, featuring strong primary colors with black trim.

* Kitchen central: DayRunner's new home manager, Everything in one Place, goes straight for the heart of the home - the refrigerator. It is designed to transform the layers of stuff on the fridge door (to-do notes, crayon drawings and other clutter) into a calendar-based command center with lots of organizer features and room for everything from dry erase messages to a pen holder and pockets for loose items, such as coupons and papers.

* For soccer moms: Newell launched its HouseHolds line, repositioned from its commercial office products side, to help families organize around tools like its Drawer Mate and File `n Go portable project file. Newell also featured the latest in cool, clear tint colors in its line of school boxes, including its Spacemaker Stretch box.

* The joy of wrapping: 3M's punchy new Pop-Up Tape looks like a big winner. Its patented design allows an optimal 2-inch piece of tape to pop right out of a desk or wrist dispenser with just a little tug, so one can keep the other hand free for holding wrapping paper in place.

* Cutting up: Fiskars, known for its myriad of scissors, is aiming to carve out a new business with the launch of its Playworks line of school activity supplies, which includes peggable products ranging from washable tempera paints to brushes targeted to the third to sixth graders.

* True blue brain: Elmer's has also pushed beyond its core glue products for the first time with the launch of Elmer's Brain Stuff, under the logo and computer supplies. Two examples are the Brain Bag, a vinyl accessory for kids, and the Brain Planner, a fold-out day planner for kids.

* Crayola is childhood: That's the theme of Binney & Smith's new TV ad campaign ("... only one childhood, only one Crayola ...") viewed at SHOPA. Binney & Smith is also expanding its scissors line and is introducing more value-added promotions.

* Getting animated. Stuart Hall offered a sweep of soft-side products in all its major licenses. This manufacturer's BTS lines ranged from new Coke Bear and Looney Tunes designs and a new Nickelodeon line (including Rug Rats) to the fetching female rabbit character named Lola from "Space Jam" and strange-to-touch texture in its MTV line. Stuart Hall is also targeting a new trend by using subtle licensed images (like a small Bugs, Tweetie or Taz) on stationery items designed for adults.

* Colorizing the jungle: At its jungle-themed booth, Dixon Prang launched handsome new packaging with animal graphics and a new Prang logo, which departs from Prang's traditional red medallion in favor of a stylized array of colored pencils. Among new products at the booth were so bean crayons which have a smooth drawing texture and will also be promoted for their renewable-resource benefits in a joint campaign with the Soybean Council.

* Smaller footprint. Among other trends, Rubbermaid has targeted the rising need for smaller footprint designs in home office space organizing items. An example is its Document Holder, a desktop copy holder designed with a futuristic half dome shape.

* Carry the ball: Pen-Tab introduced a new study planner and 2-inch binder in its Ball Binder line (looks like a basketball skin), added its first knapsack in the Pro line and added a new Pro backpack for younger kids that features a safety reflector.

* Lord of the Highway: SHOPA's "highways" theme couldn't have been better for Mead. This manufacturer's booth celebrity was a gleaming purple and chrome Harley Davidson motorcycle surrounded by sharp new black (with studs) Harley licensed products including binders and backpacks. It also offered its expended Garfield value-added pegboard line and its licensed and fashion brands, including Back Streets, Futuro City, Star Wars, Prrs & Grrs, Kaleidoscope Dreams and the Fantasy line, which offers designs with morphed earth-based images, such as volcanos, dolphins and whales.