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| p2p Magaz i ne | Wi nter 2013
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OPINION
Looking ahead to 2013
As we embark on yet another New Year, P2P asks several office
products experts, what have been the biggest emerging trends
in 2012 and what they predict will happen in 2013?
Gregg Corbett,
Marketing Director,
Avery Office & Consumer
Products
One of the biggest trends we’ve seen
is businesses keener than ever to
maintain high standards, despite the
tough economic conditions.Whether
it’s marketing and branding materials
or postal communications, it seems
that upholding a professional image is
still high on people’s agenda.What’s
interesting is how businesses have
sought out new and cost effective
ways to achieve this.
As part of this trend what we’re
witnessing in many offices is a tendency
KevinWharton,
Marketing Manager – Office Products,
ExaClair Ltd
In the notebook sector, consumers are looking for good quality and extra features.
Whilst cost is still a concern, people are in the main prepared to pay a little more for a
premium product, so long as it represents good value for money.
With Rhodia, our professional range for example, we’ve delivered the added value by
incorporating higher grammage paper, included more pages per book and added extra
functionality such as perforation, information pages and ribbon page markers.
The Europa brand continues to be the brand of choice particularly with small and home
office users where colour choice comes into the buying decision, and again here value for
money matters, which is why we now feature 90gsm paper within the range.
As far as 2013 is concerned, the economy is unlikely to recover dramatically and I predict
that cost will still be important – however, so long as value for money is evident, people will
stick with the brands they know and trust.
David Richardson,
Country Sales Manager,
Esselte UK & Ireland
Throughout 2012, Leitz, our premium office
products brand has enjoyed continued growth.
We’ve capitalised on that and this year invested
in a number of brand new categories including
laminators and iPhone and iPad accessories, where
again we’re seeing strong results.
The current economic climate and tough trading
conditions has meant that many of us have to work
longer hours and twice as hard. The biggest trend and
growth area we have seen in our market is a demand
for designer ranges and bright colours. Personalising the
workspace appears to brighten up office workers’ days!
It appears that colour is the new black – the best
seller for us by far in 2012 was the Leitz WOW range of
filing, stapling and punching products which comes in
brilliant pink, blue, green, white and orange.
As far as 2013 is concerned, we predict that this will
continue, with people opting for bright colours to jazz
up and personalise their workspace.
to opt for more personalised, flexible
solutions, which can be really impactful
and cost effective. For instance
customising addressing labels with
seasonal or company graphics so that
important mail really stands out is
increasingly popular and is quick, easy
and free to do.
In addition to this we’re also seeing an
increasing number of businesses choosing
to design and print their own business
cards, brochures and more with our Small
Business range of customisable marketing
materials.With first impressions counting
more than ever and budgets stretched,
businesses are realising that creating
professional looking marketing materials
doesn’t have to be costly, or involve bulk
ordering and design fees. The feedback
we’ve had suggests that ‘doing-it
yourself’ is quick and an incredibly
straightforward with Avery’s free Design
& Print Online software.
Looking at 2013, the trend for
personalisation and creating your
own marketing materials looks set to
continue as more people branch out into
starting a business. From those starting
over and opting to become masters
of their own destinies, to graduates
choosing to go it alone, we’re seeing a
rise in entrepreneurial spirit in Britain.
Businesses must offer flexible and cost
effective solutions that meet the needs
of this growing start-up community, as
well as the increasingly cash-strapped
SMEs and corporates.