TORONTO, Aug. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Staples Canada today announced the transformation of its stores and website into back-to-school centres, featuring the hottest trends, latest technology, essential supplies and great prices.
"We're ready to celebrate the back-to-school season with our customers," said Steve Matyas, president of Staples Canada. "When August arrives, our pencils are sharp and we're ready to share our expertise and product selections with fellow Canadians. We've done our homework and are prepared to help our customers and make back to school easy."
Products for every list
According to a new annual benchmark, the Staples Back-to-School Annual Study, checking off school supply lists is a major source of stress for Canadian parents who shop for back-to-school (88 per cent find it stressful to locate all of the items on their child's list). Staples associates spent the past 12 months working closely with specialists in education, major brands and other partners to develop the most comprehensive collection of back-to-school products available in the marketplace. The collection, available in-store and in great part at staples.ca, features products spread across all of the essential categories including backpacks, lunch bags, binders, technology and school accessories. Some of the latest trends this season are:
Back to Neon
From the runway to the classroom, neon is the hottest fashion trend of the season. Bold pink, green, blue and lime green hues are featured in several key school supplies such as binders, scissors and pencil pouches.
Let's Get Technical
Einstein, R2-D2, Ugly Dolls and Batman are only a few of the USB drive characters available to help students save important files. The Acer V5 Slip Touchscreen Laptop or the ASUS X502 Laptop (available in a variety of colours) will help students be classroom ready in no time.
Tote Your Tech
Keep tech intact and in style with sleek cases for laptops and tablets. Some backpacks can accommodate 17" laptops and have padded shoulder straps for support.
Locker Gear
A student's locker is their most personal space aside from their bedroom. Make it feel like home with innovative accessories like the Locker Shelf Kit which includes a shelf, mirror pencil cup, dry erase board and marker. Keeping students organized can be both functional and trendy.
Child's Play
It's time to shake up an original with nostalgic pieces like the Hipstreet Pencil Stylus, or the Staples Mini Pencil Shaped Stapler. Students can also listen to music with their favourite Monsters Inc. characters. The iHome Monsters University furry headphones feature James P. Sullivan, and the Mike Wazowski's earbuds are perfect for children.
Let's Do Lunch
These cool new takes on lunch allow parents and students to plan for healthy and organized meal preparation all year. The Sachi Lunch Bag will make every lunch goer feel sophisticated and fashionable, and the BUILT NY Lunch Bags can fit every snack inside due to its stretchable wetsuit material.
'Logging on' before loading up
According to the research, many Canadians face difficulty in their back-to-school shopping due to poor flow of information directed at consumers. Forty four per cent of back-to-school shoppers wish they could have access to more online resources, while 23 per cent of Canadian teachers believe a lack of understanding around what supplies to purchase is one of the core reasons why students start the school year ill prepared when it comes to basic supplies. Based on this critical insight, Staples Canada has developed a new website that launches today featuring tools, tips, sample lists for every grade, and information on a wide assortment of back-to-school products. The information can be found at www.staples.ca/backtoschool.
The inaugural Staples Back-to-School Annual Study reveals that 54 per cent of the more than 11 million Canadians who will shop for back-to-school this year are looking forward to the season. Through its 2013 back-to-school program, now almost fully in effect, Staples is determined to do its part to help increase that number in next year's survey.
Staples Canada is the official leader in back-to-school in Canada in terms of sales and product selection. The company transforms its network of more than 330 stores into veritable back-to-school boutiques and trains its in-store personnel for the season.
For more information on staples.ca and its back-to-school program, visit www.staples.ca/backtoschool.
For complete information on the Staples Back-to-School Annual Study, visit http://blog.staples.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Table_BTS-july2013-BTS_bothdocs.pdf.
Follow the conversation on Twitter @StaplesCanada #GoingBack
Methodology
From June 10-17, 2013, Vision Critical conducted an online survey among 1444 Canadian Teachers & Educators who are My Staples Panel members or from a list provided by Staples.From July 18-20, 2013, Vision Critical conducted an online survey among 2,502 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, including 775 back-to-school shoppers. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada.
About Staples Canada
Staples, Canada's largest office products company is committed to providing Canadians with a wide choice of office services and products. Serving all types of business - from the small home office to large enterprise - Staples makes it easy for customers to operate their offices efficiently and affordably by offering an extensive selection of office supplies, technology, electronics and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and maintenance, and copy and print services. Operating as Bureau en GrosMC in the province of Quebec and Staples Canada in all other provinces, the company employs over 15,000 associates at 330+ stores and at their head office in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Ranked as one of Canada's top ten Canadian companies in Marketing Magazine's Marketing/Leger 2011 Corporate Reputation Survey, Staples/Bureau en Gros is dedicated to offering customers the highest level of service, whether they choose to shop in-store, by catalogue or online. Staples Canada/Bureau en Gros also is invested in a number of corporate giving programs that actively support environmental, educational and entrepreneurial initiatives in Canadian communities from coast to coast. Visit www.staples.ca for more information, or visit us on Facebook and Twitter.
Image with caption: "The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is ideal for students this back-to-school. Learn more about it on TechTV http://youtu.be/X8eRiAPUVak. (CNW Group/Staples Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130806_C3431_PHOTO_EN_29544.jpg
Image with caption: "Students can transport files with their favourite characters. Ugly Dolls, Batman, Einstein and R2-D2 are just a few options. (CNW Group/Staples Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130806_C3431_PHOTO_EN_29545.jpg
SOURCE: Staples Canada Inc.
Share this article