As 2024 draws to a close, we look back on the year on StationeryNews, from the success of London Stationery Show in May to National Stationery Week winning Campaign of the Year at the BOSS Awards in November and all the news in between.
January and February
After the news in December that Max Publishing had acquired London Stationery Show, Stationery Matters and National Stationery Week, we spent January and February working behind the scenes on London Stationery Show and getting ready to re-launch the Stationery Matters digital edition.
March
On 12 March we officially launched StationeryNews.net (formerly known as StationeryMatters.news), the only digital news platform in the UK dedicated to the stationery sector. Alongside the new website, the first of our twice-weekly e-newsletters went out, featuring hot-off-the-press news, interviews, commentary, trend analysis and much more.
Other big news in March came from Mitsubishi Pencil Company, with its acquisition of Lamy, in a move that will develop business in the area of digital writing and expand international sales. We also heard that Pentel’s Mattehop won the top spot in the Japanese stationery awards, ‘Bunbouguya Taishou’ (Stationery Store Grand Prix) and Victor Stationery was awarded a prestigious Stationers’ Company Warrant for its Rhino tinted paper.
April
As April rolled around, we started the countdown to National Stationery Week with a whole host of activity for retailers and the public to get involved in.
Retailers up and down the country were hosting Kaweco DIY Sport events, which saw customers coming in-store to make their own Kaweco Sport pen. Sarah Holmes, owner of Pencil Me In in Elgin kicked off the annual #MyShopLife Instagram challenge, celebrating independent stores and Legami launched the much-anticipated bee and hippoerasable pens, which sold out quickly for many retailers.
May
May was all about London Stationery Show! Theo Paphitis gave a fascinating talk to a standing-room only audience at the show, which was hailed as one of the best and busiest shows in recent years. At the end of day one of the show, the Stationery Award winners were announced, which included the new Icon Award for the product that has stood the test of time, which was awarded to the Kaweco Classic Sport fountain pen.
National Stationery Week was a huge success, with 400 people and businesses taking part and organiser Sarah Laker and her daughter Molly scheduling 300 posts on social media. On Instagram alone, National Stationery Week content was shared 60,000 times.
Also in May, we had some very colourful pictures from Jarrolds department store in Norwich as the retailer decked out its windows with mt Masking Tape and Ryman Design opened its first Scottish store in Edinburgh.
June
One of the most popular stories in June was our look at the popularity of stationery with Gen Z. While the media would have you believe that Gen Z spend all their time on their phones, that is not quite correct. For this cohort is forging a unique relationship with stationery, demonstrating an unprecedented obsession that is reshaping consumer trends and social media landscapes.
Hobbycraft opened a new store in Blackpool, Pukka Pads appointed Darryl Corbin-Jones as new managing director and StationeryFest – the UK’s largest B2C stationery show – took place at the end of the month in Manchester.
July
As summer took hold, we heard that Royal Talens will become the exclusive distributor for all Golden brands in Europe, the UK, the Middle East and Africa from January 2025; and Studio Pens’ latest addition to its product range was not another writing instrument, but Marius Fabre, a Marseille soap for the body, laundry and home.
Ray Williams, owner of JPS Stationers in Chesham celebrated winning Pentel’s #PassionForPens campaign, and received a Pentel merchandising package featuring an EnerGel floor-standing display unit and a Mattehop counter display. Ray was presented with his prize at a retailer day hosted by Pentel at its Swindon offices.
Legami launched its limited edition Under the Sea collection, which was another sell out, and even though schools only finished in July, Back to School campaigning started.
August
August was all about Back to School, one of the busiest periods in the calendar for stationery retailers. “There is definitely a split between those who buy at the start of the holidays and those who wait until the last minute,” said David Goddard, joint owner of Biddles of Guildford.
New launches in August included the yellow bullet journal for Leuchtturm1917, a Harry Potter collection from Maped Helix and the Yuru Log from Midori.
It was a busy month for Manuscript Brands, firstly with the opening of its new showroom and then the celebrations of World Calligraphy Day, which included events at Fortnum & Mason and John Lewis.
September
As schools went back in September, retailers started clearing space and looking ahead to Christmas. Stationery advent calendars went on sale from Papier, Cult Pens, Legami and Martha Brooks.
For those who follow social media, our feeds were full of the Gen Z marketing script trend, which saw baby boomers and Gen X-ers reading marketing scripts written by Gen Z-ers with slang such as ‘slay’ and ‘rizz’. Pro Arte jumped on this trend recording its own take on this.
Zebra Pen (EU) announced that it had appointed international sales, marketing and e-commerce agency, Highlands to build its distribution footprint across Europe; and Tombow announced the appointment of Stone Marketing as its official distributor for the entire UK business and A.M Dunne as distributor for the Republic of Ireland.
October
At the beginning of October we were greeted with a gorgeous collaboration with Stabilo and Dolce & Gabbana which sold out within hours of going on sale. The collection was also the cover star of the autumn/winter issue of Stationery Matters magazine.
Martha Brooks’ stationery advent calendar was the target of online scammers who set up hundreds of fake websites, Facebook ads and Amazon listings, advertising the sold-out advent calendar using Martha Brooks’ own videos and content. The company worked hard to get over 900 fake listing removed.
There was news of expansion for UOE Stores, with the purchase of First Stop Stationers in Reigate, making it the ninth store in its portfolio of stationery stores and Post Offices in London and Hertfordshire.
November
The countdown to Christmas started in earnest, with retailers decorating shops and windows to celebrate the season. Papier went all out with its marketing campaign, plastering posters across London.
There was success for National Stationery Week at the BOSS Awards, winning Campaign of the Year, and UOE Stores picked up the award for Independent Retailer of the Year.
Over in Dubai, Paperworld Middle East took place, with visitors and exhibitors from the UK finding the show an eye-opener and one to watch in the future.
December
More store openings this month for Moleskine, which opened a new concept store at Westfield London and Legami Milano, which opened its 80th store in Italy.
Pilot Corporation was awarded a Gold Medal for sustainable practices from EcoVadis and Tallon International opened a new showroom in Coventry.
New launches this month came from Ohh Deer with a collab with the V&A, a Clairefontaine and Frida Kahlo range and the Tom Hessin website from Manuscript Brands.
And that was the year that was 2024. The industry is definitely living up to the saying: ‘ Always Stationery, Never Stationary’. From all of us here at StationeryNews and the wider Max Publishing team, have a very happy Christmas and here’s to a successful 2025!
