In May, we contacted several retailers via e-mail to learn their strategies for selling decoratives, and to find out where they think this market is headed. Of the several replies we received, one retailer, Daniel Despain of The Learning Bug in Flagstaff, Arizona, hit on a number of points reiterated by many of the others. Here’s what he told us.

What classroom decorative lines and items do you carry?

We carry TREND, Carson-Dellosa, CTP, Scholastic/Teacher’s Friend, McDonald Publishing, North Star, Eureka (specifically, Dr. Seuss), Lasting Lessons and Shapes Etc.

We offer hundreds of bulletin board sets for every subject as well as just “decorative” ones. Over the last two to three years, we’ve seen a shift in sales from the larger bulletin board sets to accents/cut-outs and borders. Teachers will still buy a larger set for a subject display, but if they’re just decorating – like for back-to-school (BTS) or holidays – they’re more frequently buying the smaller accents. Because of that, we’ve really beefed up our accents selection. At BTS, we’re constantly restocking them.

I’m also personally addicted to borders, so we have hundreds of them, too.

We stock shallow and wide, rather than deep on a few items. We try to have one or two of every item out there. We have really bulked up our poster selection over the last few
years.

What grade levels do you serve?

We serve early childhood through high school. It has taken a long time for high school teachers to realize that we have materials for them. We’re glad to see more materials for the secondary level coming out.

Do you carry primarily a coordinating line or lines from one manufacturer or a mix from several manufacturers?

As I said, we try to carry every item under the sun. Teachers have come to expect that no matter what their vision is, we’ll have something for it. It has paid off well for us, but will be very hard to maintain this year with sales down so far. We’re being forced to reduce our inventory.

Which seems more important to your customers, low cost or time saving?

Tough question. When the bulletin board prices went up about a year ago, we heard quite a bit of grumbling. But I don’t think it’s just about price. So many times, they have an idea in mind, and 50 cents or a dollar isn’t as likely to make them rethink their entire plan.

However, when they don’t have a clear project idea, price can be more of a factor. My customers think in generalities: “Borders are about $3. Posters are about $2. Cut-outs are around $4.” They approach the project thinking, “I want to spend around $15 on this unit.”

How do you display your decoratives?

Our space has little storage, so pretty much everything is on the sales floor. We display them in either custom-built racks or racks provided by the vendors.

Impulse strips allow us to display a lot of mini cutouts (calendar numbers too) in a very small space. We have a designated area in our store for seasonal decoratives, and people know where that is. We also create displays by theme.

Do you carry any add-ons in this category?

We sell the storage boxes from TREND and they do really well. We expect them to do well again this year since (unfortunately) half our teachers have been laid off and will have to pack everything up.

Idea books strictly on decorating were popular when we opened, but have been very slow sellers for the last several years.

What trends do you see this BTS season?

Everyone is in such a bad mood, sales are already down, and the coming year is full of uncertainties for us as retailers, as well as for the teachers. We expect teachers to hold on to old decoratives and supplement them with the little pieces, or maybe just spruce them up with a fun new border. I think in many ways, decoratives will need to be tied to the curriculum more and more. Even with just the cute stuff, the teachers are integrating student work into the theme of the display or tying it more closely to what’s going on in the room. It’s not just cute spring decorations; it’s spring decorations “to go with our weather unit.”

Do you provide any special incentives/discounts for teachers to purchase decoratives from you?

We’ve had great success creating a la carte packages at a certain price point. Our most successful is for Dr. Seuss, and we plan to heavily promote other packages during the coming year. See www.azlearningbug.com/seuss. We’re not just selling the package of decoratives, but a whole lesson plan and program. We’ve tried to make this a complete solution for the teacher. Our Seuss lesson plans are tied very closely to the standards they’re trying to meet.

At www.azlearningbug.com/catalog/seasonalPackage.php you can see what we’re working on for launch this coming year. Click on “fall” to see it in action. I’ll be completing this project over the next couple months.

Daniel Despain and his wife, Michelle, have owned and operated The Learning Bug for close to six years. Prior to opening the store, he worked in web design; she, as a teacher. The Learning Bug is a full-service provider of educational resources and school supplies for teachers, parents, and home school families. To learn more, visit www.azlearningbug.com.