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DALLAS -- Popular licenses should once again dominate the 1996 Back-to-School selling season.
After a disappointing 1995 Back-to-School period, retailers and manufacturers will be looking more diligently for new products to perk up the business and drive customers into the stores.
For the new season, in addition to Disney and Looney Tunes characters, sports figures and logos from major league franchises, Coca-Cola and McDonald's join the field of licensed school supplies, appearing on notebooks, markers and personal diaries.
In office, ergonomically designed products such as chairs, desks and chair pillows will be available as will more colorful offerings in office supplies.
These trends and others will be showcased at the School & Home Office Products Association (SHOPA) show held here Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. Approximately 10,000 attendees are expected to visit the show's 500 exhibitors during the three-day event.
"As you look around the SHOPA floor this year and compare it to earlier stationery shows, the product being presented would have been scoffed at in past years," Hills' buyer Nora Cline said. "With our manufacturing partners, we have to challenge ourselves to become even more innovative in product, more focused on managing categories and better at communicating with the consumer."
This year's SHOPA show, titled "A World of Opportunity," features longer show hours than previous events (8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for the first two days and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the final day) to facilitate the needs of attendees. Among the special features at this event will be the group's updated Industry Distribution Trends Report, a study of 1993 and 1994 U.S. manufacturers' dollar shipments of SHOPA product categories through key channels.
A.C. Nielsen will give a brief yearend category data summary as an extension of the SHOPA/Nielsen Partnership.
On the merchandise side, manufacturers will be emphasizing a mix of fun with function to attract attention.
Innovative...