Over 75 top card and stationery retailers pledge support to this year’s event
With little under a week to go, things are hotting up for National Stationery Week (24 – 30 April), with 75 retailers involved in this year’s event – more than ever before. Retailers are able to download a free POS kit to use in-store, as well as enter pictures of their display into a competition to win hundreds of pounds-worth of stock courtesy of the sponsors of the 2017 campaign.
Some of the retailers who are supporting National Stationery Week include: NotOnTheHighStreet, Paperchase, WH Smith, Smiggle and The Pen Shop as well as many more independents around the country.
“The increased interest in National Stationery Week justifies the importance of the campaign and getting people putting pen to paper again,” says Tim Willoughby, COO of Ocean Media Group, organisers of National Stationery Week. “We’ve had more retailers sign up than in previous years as National Stationery Week becomes a perfect sales opportunity for retailers both national and independent.”
Last year National Stationery Week achieved coverage reaching 65 million people across 180 titles, including the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Tesco Magazine and Yours Magazine. Its social media campaign for 2016 boasted a reach of over 45 million users across Facebook and Twitter, including connections with key influencers like Sarah Millican and top retailers Paperchase, Laura Ashley, Ted Baker and Ryman.
Retailers have really embraced the Week over the past few years, taking part in the Seven Days of Stationery campaign and display competitions. Last year, participating retailer Calliope Gifts in Dorking saw a 111% increase in its stationery sales during National Stationery Week, which continued above normal levels for over three months afterwards.
Sarah Laker from Marple Stationery Supplies in Marple, Cheshire says: “As an independent high street retailer, in an age where online sales are soaring, National Stationery Week is a time to celebrate the nation’s love of stationery and to shout about what we have to offer. We use the buzz created by NSW to entice customers into our stores to experience the smell of a newly sharpened pencil, the beckoning of a blank page in a notebook, the endless colours of highlighters, crayons and pens.”
The royal stamp of approval
This year the Royal Mail will be franking every letter posted from Monday 24 April to Saturday 29 April with the National Stationery Week logo and the #writingmatters hashtag. It is hoped that the postmark will not only be seen by millions of people, but also encourage people, young and old, to get involved with the event to prove that writing matters by sending letters to loved ones and friends.
Pictured at top: Window display at Marple Stationery Supplies in Marple, Cheshire using the 2017 National Stationery Week POS.
