Basics Show a "Down-Home" Hit

By John Fullerton
 
Basics Office Products held it's annual show last weekend in St. John's, Newfoundland and the consensus opinion from attendees was that it was a big success.
 

 
It really was a great atmosphere. Basics and our Newfoundland hosts, Dicks & Company, went to great lengths to ensure that the show was a success. The show itself was super busy from start to finish - the busiest show in recent memory as the dealers really took the time to get out to the show and visit the vendors. For myself, I can't ever remember being so busy at a Basics Trade show. I had 3 booths at the show, Vision Global Media, Genuine Supply Source and American Tombow.
 

 

...with Marnie Stone at the Tombow booth.

 

 
 

Shane Murtagh and Tracey Turnbull-Avey talking Ink & Toner at the Genuine Supply Source booth.
 

 

Exhibiting LED Desklamps at the Vision Global Media Booth

 The highlight of the show was the banquet that followed the show where we learned about the history of Newfoundland and then were entertained by Shaun Majumder of CBC's "This Hour has 22 Minutes". Shaun was in a word - HILARIOUS!!!! He had us rolling in the aisles with his tales of growing up in Newfoundland.

Dave Read of "Dick's & Co." and John Fullerton of "Fullerton Sales & Marketing" flank Shaun Majumder of "This Hour has 22 Minutes".

Congratulations Basics Office Products on a great event.

Why are Millions of Grownups Buying Adult Coloring Books?

Amazon's Top 100 book list changes hourly, but did you know that among the top selling books on Amazon are Adult Coloring books?


 

Two slots on the Amazon top 10 are pretty much owned by an artist named Johanna Basford. But these books aren't novels—they are a collection of black-and-white drawings. The Scottish artist, who graduated from design school in 2005 has turned her lovely ink drawings into coloring books "for grownups". And they're extremely popular, selling millions of copies.

 

This was news to me - I had no idea that coloring for adults was a trend. What is it about these books that has made them so popular with adults?  When her books were first introduced 4 years ago, an adult coloring book market did not exist. But her 2013 introductory book: Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book has become a phenomenon - currently sitting at #2 on Amazon's Top 100 and has sold 1.4 million copies. Her follow-up collection, Enchanted Forest: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book is #6.

Why is coloring suddenly, a craze amongst grownups?

Well it seems that they provide adults with quiet therapy from their busy lives. User reviews on Amazon tell it all:

• * I was very excited to find this book! The designs are beautiful :)
• * This is a lovely book. It reminds me of the Doodle Art we'd spend hours creating back in our teens.
• * I can't say enough about this book! It makes me smile every time I look in it, colour in it or doodle in it! I've bought 3 of them, one for my daughter, one for myself & one that we can tear apart to colour & then frame certain pictures! HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book!!
• * So fun to color as an adult! This book will bring likely hundreds of hours of enjoyment.
• * So relaxing to sit down with this book and my adult markers.

 

So what motivates adults to color rather than, say, draw or paint or just doodle. Is it about nostalgia? Or do stressed-out adults feel comforted by returning to an activity for small children?  Or is it something else entirely?

 

 Coloring books are a way for adults who don't normally draw or paint to be creative without the daunting task of creating an original piece of Art. They also don't require anywhere near as much skill as creating a drawing or a portrait. Plus, there are the psychological benefits people find in removing themselves from the world around them. In essence, it helps people "RELAX" - taking them away from the everyday pressures of their job, family and pressures of life.
 

In an era when books can be downloaded and read in an instant - these books have remained as best sellers despite the fact that they must be shipped to the interested user.

Adult coloring books are a low tech, throw-back activity - back to a simpler time before the age of the internet, when all you had was your imagination.

Have you considered selling these items in your retail store or through your website? All the customer needs are a list of titles and some high quality markers. The Tombow dual-brush markers are a very popular product for this medium because of their vibrant colours and convenient, durable tips - brush tip at one end, fine tip at the other. They come in 10 pack sets and are the perfect instrument for the world of adult colouring.

For an independent review of Tombow markers, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l87ys5ZWfao

 

 

Review of the Tombow Mono Pencil

Reprinted by permission from the blog: http://thatonepen.com/

A pencil review?! I thought this was thatonepen.com, not thatonepencil.com. That’s true but doesn’t everyone pick up a pencil at least now and then? In my job as a chemistry teacher, my analog writing time is divided something like 70:30 between pen and pencil. Like most folks, I write most of my notes or to-do lists with a favorite pen. Unlike most folks, I need to do a fair amount of scientific problem solving/thinking. Maybe it’s just habit, but these process just feel more natural with a pencil in hand.

 

Back in my student days (Don’t ask how long ago. Suffice it to say that I was writing organic chemistry mechanisms before anyone heard of a little known governor from Arkansas), I did most of my problem sets and tests with a mechanical pencil (typically 0.7 mm) and one of those clicky erasures. I didn’t have anything against wooden pencils, but a couple of mechanical pencils loaded with “leads” seemed like a more efficient approach than walking into a test with a fist full of wooden pencils. In graduate school, I had to use pen in my lab notebook of course (Anyone remember these bad boys?) but I picked up the habit of using a wooden pencil from my research advisor. He always had a Cross Century ballpoint in his shirt pocket, but he also kept a cup of sharpened wooden pencil handy on his desk. Maybe I was trying to suck up or maybe I thought that if wood pencils were good enough for one of the smartest people I knew they were good enough for me, who knows. Regardless, pencils, in one form or another, have always been close at hand in my world.

 Fast forward to today and this little pen blogging hobby has brought about a number of minor life experiences and opportunities including two pen shows, more than a few ebay purchases, much more than a few orders to JetPens and Goulet Pens, a Field Notes Colors subscription, custom-made pen holders and a few reminders. I’m reminded every day that I, and you if you’re reading this post, care much more about what I write with than the typical (read “normal”) person. More recently, I’ve been reminded that this writing implement snobbery extends to pencils as well. It was always there, but folks like the Erasable podcast gents and sites like Dave’s Mechanical Pencils have made me come to terms with this part of my personality. In short, my name is Todd and I’m a pen AND pencil snob. (Paper too but let’s confront one demon at a time.)

Well, that was more preamble than I original planned so let’s get to the present pencils shall we. Like most casual users of pencils, the idea of using a pencil that doesn’t have an erasure just seemed inefficient to me. Then again, what are all those clicky erasures doing on my desk and in my book bag? Upon further review, it was clear that I dismissed a larger portion, probably a majority, of finer pencil options for no good reason over this erasure issue. I came to Tombow brand pencils after ordering a bunch of different wooden pencils from Pencils.com and Jet Pens. Specifically, I got the Palomino collection pack from Pencils.com and a couple of different Tombow 2558s from Jet Pens. While I liked aspects of nearly all of these pencils, I found myself going back to the Tombow 2558 (H) most frequently. So, with my no-erasure pencil bias eliminated and my Tombow preference in tow, I walked the aisles of Blick Art looking for other options – enter the Tombow Mono.
 

 

First, the pencils looks awesome. The black finish and white end produce a sharp chiaroscuro. Add the gold-colored lettering that resists chipping or fading and you’ve got yourself a classy pencil. Maybe this sounds strange, but this wooden pencil also feels solidly built. Compared to bodies of other wooden pencils I have that demonstrate a bit of flex, the Tombow Mono almost seems not to be made of wood. I can even hear a difference. When I roll multiple Palomino, Dixon or other pencils in my hands the sound is dull, almost hollow, compared to the higher pitched “click clack” I hear when rolling the Monos in my hands. The label on one facet of the Monos reads “hi-precision DRAFTING” and I think the description fits well. These are wooden pencils that, when sharpened nicely, feel very much like a mechanical drafting pencil. It’s a weird analogy, but I think this will work. Tombow Monos are the cyborg of pencils – fundamentally organic yet with a mechanical, precise feel.
 

 

How do the pencils write? Let’s start with the HB grade. Compared to other quality HB-ish pencils I have, the Tombow Mono HB definitely favors the hard end of the HB spectrum. For instance, compared to the Palomino Blackwing 602 or the standard Palomino California Republic I have, the Tombow Mono HB graphite is clearly made of sturdier stuff. While I don’t have one to compare directly, I suspect we’ll need to get into a Mono 2B range to find something comparable to the 602 or Palomino. As we move to the F and H Monos, the graphite cores clearly get harder but, importantly, they maintain a surprisingly smooth writing experience. Right now, I think the F is my preferred grade. It’s very smooth, lays down a decently dark line but doesn’t require the frequency of sharpening of an HB core. My preference isn’t so profound that I seek out the F grade exclusively. Usually, I just grab any of the Mono’s out of the cup and go with the flow. However, If I’m looking to pair pencil grade with writing circumstance, then I’ll grab the HB for smooth paper like Rhodia, the H grade for cheap notecards and most legal pads and the F grade for copy paper and Field Notes. Yeah, you know it’s bad when you’re selecting your pencil grade based on the paper you’re using. Goodness help us all. Yes, I do mean “us” because you’ve read this far haven’t you, you pencil freak.

 

So, there it is – my first pencil review. It won’t be my last but I suspect it may be a while before a wooden pencil that compares so favorably to the Tombow Mono comes to my attention.

 

 

 

North America's #1 Selling Correction Tape

Know which company sells more correction tapes to more dealers in the USA than anyone? Tombow

 

An essential part of every office in the US because of it's superior quality, Tombow correction tapes are becoming popular in Canada - with many offices asking for it by name. Tombow has made an extensive effort over the last year to get these products into the hands of "users" and the reaction is always the same - "this is the best correction tape I have ever used and where can I buy this product". The good news for consumers is that Tombow products are now available in Canada and are being carried by several Office Products dealers.

 

So what do you need to know in order to be an informed dealer about Tombow correction tapes? Well, first of all, Tombow has an extensive selection of styles to fit the needs of all users.

What to look for in a correction tape:

• Dual Gears- Tombow’s self-tightening mechanism prevents looping.

• Rewind Knob- It is important to be able to tighten the tape roll. Rewind knobs allow you to rewind if the tape skips.

• PCW- Who doesn’t want to go green? 82% of Tombow’s Correction tape models contain at least 50% Post-Consumer Waste. This is important for government tenders and organizations that practise environmental awareness.

• Available in multipacks- The ability to purchase in large quantities, which Tombow offers, is a built in cost savings for consumers - 2pks, 4pks and 10pks are all available.

• Width- A key component to correction tape is the availability of different width sizes when correcting a mistake, tape size is essential.
 

For Everyday Use

 

 Mono Correction Tape The Original

Original was one of the first dry correction tapes on the market. It is the most recognized in the industry as well as the most popular. Using the traditional sideways application, "The Original" offers accurate placement. Feel free to write over instantly with pen or pencil. 

 

MONO Correction Tape Retro

The MONO Retro applicators come in four contemporary colors; Aqua, Kiwi, Rose and Lavender. This dry and clean correction tape can be written over immediately.

MONO Correction Tape Refillable
 

This single-line correction tape is our "chameleon." It is the only correction tape with an applicator that can change colors when the refill is changed out. The refills are available in three neon colors which are perfect for keeping organized in the office. The refillable applicator offers an ergonomic design and rubber thumb grip.
 

MONO Correction Tape Mega

 

The MONO Mega offers the same single-line correction tape as the original but has 60% more correction tape. It has more tape than any other applicator on the market. 





 MONO Correction Tape SingleTrac

 The MONO SingleTrac is the perfect compact correction tape. It is disposable and economical. SingleTrac will fit perfectly in your briefcase or purse. It also has a protective tip cover that prevents damage when not in use.

For Left Handers

MONO Grip Correction Tape - Top-Action
  
 

This correction tape is perfect for left handers. Holding the applicator vertically allows the left hand user to see exactly where they are applying. It has a flexible pivoting head for smooth application and the compact applicator has a rubberized, textured grip which is comfortable to use and allows for precise coverage. Available in 4 bold colors; Blue, Black, Pink and Purple.




 
MONO Correction Tape – Mini
 

The MONO Mini is another correction tape that Left-Handers will love. Similar to the "Grip/Top-Action", this applicator is held vertically. This single line correction tape comes in a transparent and compact applicator good for viewing. It corrects mistakes quickly and fits easily in your hand.




MONO Correction Tape - Hybrid

 

The MONO Hybrid offers flexibility by allowing the user to apply the correction tape like a pen or a side-action applicator. It has a pivoting head which delivers smooth application for accurate placement. This applicator is very forgiving and easy to use. It also has a retractable tip cover which protects the tape when it is not being used.

For Handwritten Notes

 MONO Correction Tape - Wide

 
This wide line correction tape is perfect for handwritten notes. The side-action applicator is easy to use and offers precise coverage.


 
 

For File Folders

 

MONO Correction Tape WideTrac 

  The MONO WideTrac is an ultra-compact applicator. This wide line correction tape is the width of wide ruled paper and file folders. Toss it in your pocket or bag and use it on the go.

For Fine-Line Spreadsheets

 MONO Correction Tape Pen Style
 

The MONO Pen Style works great for fine-line spreadsheets because it is 1/10" wide. This fine-line correction tape is great for spreadsheets and covers as small as 8 point font. It also works great with left-handers because it is as easy to use as a ballpoint pen. It has a sleek design with integrated comfort grip. This refillable correction tape also has a retractable tip cover similar to the "Hybrid."

 

For more information on Tombow Correction Tapes, contact

Fullerton Sales & Marketing.

Thinking about Expanding your assortment.......how about Booze?

I came across an article a few weeks back regarding a New Zealand OP dealer's efforts to expand their product offering and found it very amusing. There has been lots of talk about dealers in our business expanding into non-traditional areas.......maybe they should consider this?

From the New Zealand Herald

An office supplies company's request to deliver beer and spirits to customers has been rejected.

Auckland's "Gem Office Products Depot" wanted to deliver alcohol alongside fruit juice, stationery and cleaning supplies to office workers.

Under the Sale of Liquor Act, local licensing authorities can grant off-licences if they think alcohol sales are an "appropriate complement" to other goods a business sells.

Neither police nor the Medical Officer of Health opposed Gem's application, but Auckland's district licensing inspector Stephen Galvin claimed booze was not an appropriate complement to other goods Gem sold, which were overwhelmingly office supplies.

Gem disagreed, saying it was developing its business into a "one-stop shop" for customers.

Gem said it was reasonable to expect some offices to order drinks, including alcoholic ones, when ordering stationery and office supplies.

Judge John Hole disagreed with the company.

"In this case, the sale of alcohol has nothing to do with the kind of goods sold by the applicant. Non-alcoholic drinks constitute a very small part of the overall business of the applicant."

Judge Hole also pointed out other firms had made similar bids, and failed.

One earlier case involved an application from an Ashburton company Combined Rural Traders Society, which wanted to sell beer, wine and spirits from its site as well as a range of rural merchandise. The High Court turned that request down.

Hey, what with the dealer community trying to expand their assortments from A to Z as a total solution for everything - maybe we here in Canada should try this? Think the beer companies need an agent to put this together?

Web Marketing – Opportunity or Oxymoron

By: Norm MacLeod

If there was a movie about Web marketing it would probably be called A Shot In the Dark and the same words Inspector Clouseau used to sum up the original movie, “I believe everything, I believe nothing,” would also aptly apply.

 In the Office Products world, web marketing used to mean a number of boxed ads for randomly selected products spread around the landing page. These ads were funded by vendors usually out of the same pot that pays for flyers and catalogues. And was there a return on this investment?

You can choose either:

A) YES - 102,816 impressions over the month the ad appeared

B) NO - 14 clicks and possibly 3 sales actually attributable to the ad.  

 
Of course web marketing has evolved since then. Now we have stalker ads and search based personalized ads that are at least somewhat relevant to the customer. What’s that you say, you don’t really care that a Staples ad appears on Kijiji after you’ve been to their site and didn’t find either the item or price you were looking for? Rather than copying current fashionable ways of spending web dollars, perhaps our industry needs to concentrate more on finding marketing tools that genuinely benefit our particular breed of web customer.

For better or worse, our industry’s products really aren’t that emotionally important to our customers and ads for them will never be of much interest to anyone other than someone with that exact burning need the moment the ad is seen. So does that mean web marketing is a waste of money?

Based on the fact that the telemarketing industry still exists by trying to sell duct cleaning to everyone in the world with a land based phone, the shotgun approach must deliver some small percentage of success. But is there a way to turn web marketing funds into a higher percentage form of campaign, preferably one that is not annoying or intrusive to the customer? I believe the answer is a resounding YES.

The most effective use of Web marketing funds is to help the customer find what they are looking for even if they aren’t quite sure what that exactly is. Why is this the most effective spend? Because the decision about what to buy has not been made yet. People searching specifically, knowing what they want or shopping from a contract/favourites list, can’t be easily influenced. The decision making is already done. 

Imagine yourself as a customer shopping for an item. You know roughly what you want, be it a pen or a USB drive or a binder but you aren’t sure about brand or feature set. You enter the general item name into the search field and a scroll down of choices appears. At this point, it can either be eenie-meenie pick one at random or if some web marketing dollars have been allocated, specific products can be made more appealing.

For example, one of the items in the list could have a 30% off sale sign, or a $10 off coupon or a banner saying Customer Top Choice or ECO Choice. Another very simple and cheap approach is to make the item photo of the most profitable product more attractive than the ones around it, either bigger or with a more colourful background. A useful attention getter is a click for video demo icon or detailed fact sheet. The key at this point is to help the customer make a buying decision (even if it is on a paid for basis). At the very least, the search sequence should be based on some internal rationale, whether that is coop funding driven or dealer profitability driven.

So how do the big 3 industry web sites stack up? Totally at random, I selected the category of Retractable gel pens for a search, and here’s what I found on October 16^th, 11:30AM:

None of the sites attempted any direct marketing once the scroll down appeared, one site actually had no discernible sequence logic at all and included products that weren’t even in the selected category (a refill is NOT a pen). The other 2 sites had returns that were likely based on sales ranking as well as a directive to place private brand high in the list.

You would think that at least a boxed ad could appear relevant to the product group selected since all 3 of these sites run timed promotions which would usually have some product on sale in the selected category. It’s already on sale, how about letting the web customer know it up front rather than having to specifically sort by On Sale. How many vendors have tried to influence the sequence of the product scroll down, realizing that most customers aren’t going to get past about #10? How many vendors have demanded that when they coop for a promotion, the save amount be highlighted on the web search? How many vendors have proposed an aggressive cross sell campaign to dealers funding a switch over special offer if their product is not the first selected? How many vendors pay to ensure their collateral materials are used properly on the web site?

All of these web marketing tactics are well within the capabilities of the industry web sites. Dealers need to allocate more resources to their web activities, moving away from things like catalogues and flyers, to make them happen and if the dealers aren’t going to do it on their own, the vendors need to drive the process and ensure their marketing dollars are spent effectively. Otherwise, start buying shares in Amazon.

 

October: Office Product Trade Show Season

Well if the leaves are turning colour it must be time for our industries annual trade shows. Those on the Vendor side of the business have attended two over the last two weekends - in both Toronto and Montreal.

Last weekend, the Basics group brought their dealers in from across the country to meet and greet at the Toronto Congress centre. A festive, around the world theme highlighted the annual show which was well attended. It was a busy Friday afternoon and early evening - and this reporter barely had time for a drink of water. It's always a good show if you are busy!!!! (Bad show if you spend your time talking with the other vendors).

Marnie Stone, of Stones Office Plus at the colourful Vision Global Media Booth.

I was there with my 3 vendors, American Tombow, Genuine Supply Source and Vision Global Media. We were super busy meeting with dealers from the Basics, Office Plus and Office Pro dealer groups. On a bright note - Vision was awarded with a Vendor of the Year Award in the category of "Best Service" by a small vendor. So we were really happy about that.  Thanks Basics, CIS and Guild dealers.

 

It's always great to renew old friendships and meet new friends at the annual show. We look forward to attending the show next year which will be held in..........Newfoundland!!!! That should really be something. I have been out to St. John's several times over my career and have always had a lot of fun. The people are very welcoming. I am sure the setting will make for a memorable event.

Sarah Fullerton of Fullerton Sales and Katie Huffman of Tombow,
at the Basics Office Products annual trade show.

The following weekend I ventured east, up the 401, for the annual celebration of the Quebec Office Product Industry - the AQIF show, which was held at Place Bonaventure in Montreal. A large turn-out of Quebec dealers and large enduser office product buyers attended this year's show that culminated with a Friday night masked ball. They always know how to "live life" in Montreal which is why it is always a popular stop on the annual trade show tour.  I never get tired of going to Montreal or working a show there.

I attended the show with Genuine Supply Source. GSS had a busy booth at AQIF as they presented their imaging supply products, including their popular "Fusion" Laser toner cartridges to the attendees. The show was solidly attended by dealers large and small, along with a numerous array of sales people from the larger Office Supply organizations. Plus the AQIF show attracted several large consumers. The GSS booth was busy as we met with many current customers and potential new customers.

John Brohman, Chantal Lussier and Dave MacMillan of Genuine Supply Source

I always look forward to the trade show season, they are great forums for meeting both long-standing customers and potential new accounts. Plus, - so long as you are busy, they are a lot of fun.