Skip to main content

Q&A: Office Depot merchandising VP discusses back-to-school

8/4/2017

The back-to-school shopping season is in full swing, and Office Depot is ready.



With back-to-school spending expected to reach $83.6 billion, an increase of more than 10% over last year’s $75.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, Office Depot is eager to grab its portion of this back-to-school wallet share. To achieve this goal, the office supplies retailer is diversifying assortments and stepping up fulfillment efforts.



Office Depot’s senior VP of merchandising Petter Knutrud shared insight into how the company is preparing for last-minute shoppers with Chain Store Age.



CSA: How are shoppers’ school supply needs changing?



PK: Students are increasingly looking for high performance laptops that can function for schoolwork by day, and handle highly-designed video games by night. That said, gaming and Windows “Ink” technology are all trends this back-to-school season.













Petter Knutrud


Office Depot is stocking more computers with graphics processing units (GPUs) — or a dedicated graphics card — which address this need and the broader trend of gaming. Windows “Ink” technology lets students ‘write’ notes on touchscreen laptops with an active pen stylus that works with a broader range of touch-enabled laptops.



Even with the latest technology updates, students still heavily rely on traditional writing, so we’ve also stocked up on our assortment of fun, colorful notebooks and pens and pencils. To help students express their individuality, we also have an assortment of playful accessories and merchandise that lets students personalize notebooks, pencil pouches and backpacks. These range from furry, clip-on pompoms and fun, decorative stickers to keychains using text lingo such as “squad” and “#bff.”



Office Depot also has two exclusive fashion collections, Gone Global and Modern Minimal. Catering to Gen Z, these collections highlight the shade of Millennial Pink, which is mixed in with palm fronds and soft, geometric patterns on notebooks, binders and folders.



CSA: What role will online shopping play this back-to-school season?



PK: Shopping from our e-commerce platforms is expected to grow. To meet this demand, Office Depot and our OfficeMax retail locations now offer shoppers the option to buy online, and pick-up in-store (BOPIS) within one hour of purchase. We expect this service to help the families who prefer to shop online from the comfort of their home, and then make an easy stop at our retail stores to pick-up their supplies.



CSA: How important is BOPIS to this year’s back-to-school season?



PK: BOPIS is a key component of the back-to-school season, and it makes shopping at Office Depot and OfficeMax easier than ever. Now, customers can choose the method of shopping that is easiest for their hectic back-to-school schedules – whether that is online, in-store, or a combination of both.



CSA: What other services you plan to offer this back-to-school season to get merchandise into shoppers’ hands faster?



PK: Our micro-site makes it simple for customers to shop online. Shoppers can link to officedepot.com/school from any device or location. Once their order is complete, they can choose to have supplies delivered straight to their door, or they can utilize in-store pick-up.


X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds