School stationery stalls in Chennai yet to see brisk sales

CHENNAI: A walk through Bunder Street in George Town reminds most of the Chennaiites of their school days. However, the stockists selling stationeries this year say the delay in reopening of schools has impacted the pattern of sales and it is just average.

Fancy notebooks, pens, erasers, sharpeners, and other items that attract children have arrived in large numbers. The sellers are ready for this year’s sale with new stocks.

The sale has started and is picking up. If there is no GST for such items used by school children, the sales will be even better as cost-effective products attract more footfall, opined traders at Parry’s Corner in the city.

“As the reopening date was delayed it affected the initial sales but now again it has picked up from Friday. The rate for the bags ranges between Rs 250 to Rs 2,000 depending on the variety and quality. In bags and umbrellas, children prefer the ones with cartoon characters. There is a GST of 18 per cent for bags and 12 per cent for umbrellas which causes strain in sales. The sellers also have to compete with e-commerce stores which have a wider reach among people,” said MS Syed, MS Rahim stores selling bags and umbrellas.

This year the sellers are with pens and pencils which are in the shape of animals, chairs, and cartoon characters. Erasers are transformed from their normal colour into the shape of lipsticks and other attractive shapes. The shops on Broadway have transformed from dull-coloured stationery items to bright-coloured ones.

“The kids are more attracted to the variety of fancy stationery items and there is more demand for such items,” said Mohammed Abati of JB Books in Parry’s Corner.

“The heat wave issues and the delay in school reopening have affected the sales. Brands like ITC Classmates sell the notebooks directly through the schools at the same MRP rate which has affected the sellers, especially small-scale sellers,” said N Mohammed Sheriff who sells notebooks.

“The sales have reduced when compared to the yesteryears. The school reopening sale has not picked up much yet but started at a slow pace. Normally the customers purchase guides and other such items by now,” said Amjath Khan of Bismi Stationery Shop in Broadway.

The parents also share that the rate and quality are looked into before purchasing the school reopening items. For a middle-class family of two or three kids, the school reopening sale would affect their monthly budget hugely.

“The rate is higher for the stationery items, even a pencil box costing Rs 150. As a parent, they check the rates before buying a product. The collection is average in the stores and similar to the previous years,” said S Jayasree, a customer.