1. Overview of the development of the stationery industry
Stationery is a variety of tools that people use in cultural activities such as learning, office, and home life. With the continuous development of economy and technology, the category of stationery is also constantly updated and developed. Modern stationery can be roughly divided into writing tools, student stationery, There are many sub-categories such as office stationery, teaching aids, stationery and sports supplies.
Pencils belong to the stationery industry, and always occupy an important position in office stationery. Its consumer group is mainly students. The Chinese pencil manufacturing factory was born in the 1930s. In 1932, in Kowloon, Hong Kong, the Chinese invested and converted a pencil factory run by a British businessman into a famous pencil factory. In 1933, Beijing China Pencil Company and Shanghai Huawen Pencil Factory appeared one after another. Wu Gengmei, who returned from Japan in 1935, established a well-known all-round pencil manufacturing factory in Shanghai that can manufacture lead cores, pencil boards, penholders and appearance processing by himself. In September 1949, the Harbin China Standard Pencil Company, a public-private joint venture, was established. The company is still one of the largest companies in the pencil industry in the country.
Traditional pencils use wood as the barrel and graphite as the lead core, which requires a large amount of wood to be consumed. The large amount of wood felling violates the concept of environmental protection. In order to meet the needs of market development, in 1969, Teijin Company developed a method for making plastic pencils. In the summer of 1973, Berol Company of the United States and Sailorpen Company of Japan purchased this process almost simultaneously. Sailorpen started mass production of plastic pencils in April 1977. At that time, the lead core of plastic pencils was made of a mixture of graphite and ABS resin, and the lead surface was coated with resin paint. Three extruders were used to mix the three materials to make the pencil, which greatly simplified the pencil production process. Compared with traditional wooden pencils, Sailorpen’s trial-produced all-plastic pencils are smoother to use, will not stain paper and hands, and the price is almost the same as that of ordinary pencils. Plastic pencils have become popular. In 1993, a German stationery manufacturer developed a continuous production line for plastic pencils, which can produce about 7,000 pencils in one hour. The pencils are 7.5 mm in diameter and 169 mm in length. This plastic pencil requires lower production costs than wooden pencils, and can be made into various shapes, such as engraved, zigzag, heart-shaped, etc.
After long-term development and accumulation, the stationery industry in Europe, America, Japan and other countries has occupied a dominant position in the global stationery industry. However, due to factors such as labor costs and environmental protection, the low-end stationery manufacturing links have gradually shifted to China, India, and India. Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have gradually transitioned to the stages of brand operation, product design, and material research and development.
2. The development trend of the stationery industry
1) Stationery consumption tends to be branded and personalized
Pen writing tools are frequently used in daily study and work. With the improvement of residents’ income level and the improvement of consumption concepts, consumers are more inclined to purchase products with excellent performance in terms of product quality, design level, terminal image, and user reputation. Branded products. A brand is a summary of the quality, characteristics, performance, and use level of a company’s products, which embodies the company’s style, spirit and reputation, and will widely affect consumers’ buying behavior.
2) Stationery sales terminals tend to be chained
With the strengthening of the branding trend of stationery consumption, brand stationery companies continue to promote the mode of chain operation, and ordinary stationery stores also show a trend of actively participating in franchising. Ordinary stationery stores used to be the mainstream channel for stationery sales, but due to low entry barriers and fierce price competition, many ordinary stationery shops have weak profitability, unstable operations and even eliminated them due to poor management and insufficient funds. Franchising brand stationery chain operations is conducive to improving the image of the store, enhancing the quality positioning of the products sold, and enhancing the ability to resist risks to a certain extent. Therefore, in recent years, the trend of stationery sales terminal chains has been significant.
3) Stationery consumption pays attention to individualization and high-end
At present, students and young office workers prefer creative, personalized, and fashionable stationery. Such stationery often has unique creative designs, novel and fashionable appearances, and colorful colors, which can meet basic functional needs and greatly Improve consumer user experience. At the same time, in the fields of graphics, finance, design and gifts, professional high-end stationery consumer groups are constantly increasing, and high-end stationery with strong professionalism, high quality and high value has gradually become a new bright spot to promote stationery consumption. For more relevant industry analysis, please refer to the stationery industry market survey analysis report released by the China Report Hall.
