The school supplies market - France

By school supplies, we mean all the instruments, notebooks and pens that the 15 million students and schoolchildren use to complete their education in France every year. There is therefore a real diversity of supplies, which can be categorized as follows: writing, accessories and adhesives, paper, filing. The production of school supplies remains French , as it is difficult to relocate due to the weight of paper for notebooks, for example. Distribution channels are varied: hypermarkets, cultural superstores and specialized e-commerce platforms. Consumers, whether parents or students, prefer supermarkets (83% market share), where a veritable price war takes place. Little by little, internet shopping is gaining ground. 2022 is a key year for school supplies, with a sharp drop in sales volume, but an increase in value and a 4.25% rise in prices. Sales of school supplies remain highly seasonal, peaking between weeks 33 and 37 just before the start of the new school year. Every year, school supply brands have to reinvent themselves and innovate to stand out from the crowd, against a backdrop of falling birth rates, declining consumption (lower purchasing power of the French; even if the budget allocated to supplies remains the same: 150€ on average) and must now adapt to the arrival of digital technology in schools. The presence of toxic chemicals and the use of unsustainable materials are a source of dissatisfaction for some consumer associations. Stricter French and European regulations may be introduced in the years to come.