Date:17/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/17/stories/2006021703120800.htm

Back ITC to focus on branded notebooks, stationery products

Mohan Padmanabhan

Kolkata , Feb. 16

THE Greeting (Cards), Gifting and Stationery Business (GGSB) of ITC Ltd plans to concentrate more on the branded notebook segment, particularly the `Expressions Classmate' mass-market notebooks for schools and colleges.

The strategy is linked to the Government of India's growing thrust on mass education through the `Education for All' programme. The company now aims to convert GGSB into a Rs 500-crore business by 2010-11, with special thrust on notebooks and stationery products

Talking to Business Line here, Mr Chand Das, CEO of GGSB of ITC, said branded notebooks have been identified as growth drivers of this business, and the plan is to develop all the three brands, namely, "Expressions Paperkrafts" (premium paper products), "Expressions Classmate" and "Sathi" (notebooks for mass market).

He conceded that branding was a big challenge for the organised players, especially the quality proposition, in a low involvement product like a notebook, with a highly fragmented market. In the stationery business, ITC is said to be the second largest organised player, after Navneet Publications.

He put the annual consumer spend in the GGSB segment at around Rs 2,000 crore, recording a steady 9 per cent average growth in the last three years. Mr Das said ITC's greetings cards would still receive the same attention, particularly the `social cause range' of cards launched in partnership with the SOS Children's Villages of India. The Expressions cards have consolidated their leadership in multi-brand outlets in key metro markets, he pointed out.

Asked if a decline in greetings cards business could be expected in the future, given the emergence of e-cards and the growing SMS culture among the young owing to mobile telephony, Mr Das replied in the affirmative.

He said with the launch of the Classmate range, ITC has emerged as a significant marketer of branded stationery for school and college students, with products like gift wrappers, autograph books and slam books, and gaining significant consumer franchise. He said ITC, through the Classmate Connect programme, was now targeting 4,000 schools across 15 cities in the country — targeting some 1.2 lakh students.

The `Classmate Young Authors' competition by the company, involving eminent authors such as Ruskin Bond, has been a huge success, he pointed out.

Mr Das said a range of products aimed at the mass market under the Sathi brand has been launched, and product extension is underway to target markets. "We already have a strong distribution network, and the plan is to develop a 1,000-strong stockist network within the next 6 months," he said.