The Big Office Supply Merger, Loss of Stationery Studios and Future of Small Specialty Stores?

Where do you purchase your office supplies now? Do you know how you will buy them in the future? This week, the Staples supply chain announced it is acquiring Office Depot stores for $6.3 billion.

Soon the “easy button” will be displayed in nearly every big city’s retail region. But will shopping be easier for the consumers? Will this merger make life harder for the few, smaller local office supplier stores that are left remaining in the community? Do they stand a chance or will they be closing their doors in a matter of months?

My main employer is a state institution. We are required to buy from approved vendors through a procurement listing. On the list there are local small business owners and big chain suppliers. Reminders are sent to us to always examine the lowest prices before making purchases. In most cases the local, smaller vendors cannot compete in pricing with the larger ones.

Recently a manager emailed a warning out to all agents citing an example of a department who was “caught” purchasing items from a local, small business instead of the big chain office supplier. The statements said that more money was spent to support the local business over the larger, cheaper manufacturer. The email politely but firmly stated that this should not happen again in the future. Names and exact amounts were not revealed.

No, I was not the one who made this ‘mistake’ but the stern words immediately caught my attention. How can I support my local business community if I’m ‘forced’ to always go with the best price? I can do it during my own personal time but not from my office? This notion is at odds with my passion for local small businesses and what I promote on a daily basis.

The scary part is that soon I may not even have a choice to shop at anything but a large office supplier store. On Saturday, as my vehicle was being serviced for routine maintenance, I walked around an Office Depot store that was conveniently close by.   First I checked my business listing for other options; however I did not see any within my preferred mileage range. As I walked around the big store, I began to imagine what it would look by this time next year.

While shopping I chose a portfolio pad and a binder to hold documents for a meeting I’m attending. Then I walked down the aisles looking for paper. I was hoping to find single sheets of colored paper or dense, decorative paper like the former stationery stores. Instead I found an entire row of reams – a whole box of pink, purple, green, blue or every other color imaginable. Can I just buy one sheet or a few at a time? What will I do with an entire ream of pink paper? Even my first grader doesn’t need that much to make Valentine’s for her class. No, this was not an option at this retail store.

I then thought back to my years spent visiting stationery and scrapbook studios. I mourn the loss of these small businesses that have closed. I remember how exciting it was to browse their shelves – to select the perfect paper for a letter to a friend, a party invitation or a creative project I was completing.

Our society has gone from a unique, single-purchase approach to an impersonal, bulk-buying world.  This saddens me deeply.   My children may never know the experience of visiting the mom and pop specialty stores that I loved going to at their age. I would travel from a local ice cream parlor to a grocery store to a bookstore. None of them were large scale. The service, people and products were amazing.

Now all of these once singular places can be found in a big super-store. I miss that row of specialty shops that do not exist anymore and I weep for the ones that will be closing soon.