decline in snail mail is not good news for traditional stationers

Earlier this year, major U.S. stationery supply company Staples said it would close 225 stores in North America by the end of 2015 or about 12% of its outlets in the region. Customers are buying more products online and purchase less of Staples' core products, such as paper, ink and toner.

Now in NZ, long time stationery supplier, Croxley Stationery, a subsidiary of Office Depot Inc., has told workers it is considering stopping manufacturing at its Avondale, Auckland, factory from next year in favor of continuing as simply a wholesaler.

This raises a question mark over the medium term viability of NZ's largest chain of stationers, Paper Plus and its other brand, take note.  The franchised operation has been highly profitable for some decades because of the high mark-ups on stationery (about 150%), but declining sales will mean profits are likely not so rosy now.  The chain also sells books, although few of the shops are run by people interested in them and most only stock what their head office orders.