Officeworks boss welcomes ‘normal’ back-to-school despite price pressures

At the same time, book lists are featuring more technology requirements than ever. Beyond standard exercise books, glue sticks and highlighters, students need increasingly sophisticated headphones, laptops and tablets.

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Then there are bento boxes for lunchtime and art supplies. Even the staple musical instrument of primary school, the recorder, is still a part of the return to school – Officeworks has sold close to 10,000 recorders during this financial year.

That’s making price guarantees more important, with Hunter saying Officeworks’ promise to beat the price of school goods at other retailers by 20 per cent is drawing in shoppers.

“There is certainly financial pressure, absolutely – which is why they come somewhere where they trust,” she said.

That includes a focus on low-cost basics, with many of its most popular home brand products including glue sticks, exercise books, drink bottles and pencil cases coming it at less than a dollar.

Competition for household back-to-school spend is growing, however, with players like Amazon expanding its range over the past two years. This is also a major trading period for kids stationery brand Smiggle, which reported $261.2 million in sales last year.

After a few years of remote learning, the importance of adding individualised touches to school gear is growing, Hunter said.

“One of the interesting trends we’ve started to see more of is personalisation.”

That’s one area where Officeworks is hoping to capitalise with budget-friendly options for kids to order monogrammed pencil cases, drink bottles and bag tags through the group’s printing business.

“What Smiggle and Amazon don’t do is ‘personalised by you’. That’s where we see a really big opportunity,” Hunter said.

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