Crafters find 2 billion reasons for new respect of scrapbooking
Scrapbooking, the biggest trend in crafting in the past decade, has evolved into a hot niche that's grabbing the attention of myriad retailers. The hobby that got its spike in popularity in Utah in the mid '90s with home parties in creative memory-making has exploded into a $2 billion business that experts estimate is growing at least 50% per year. Scrapbooking made up the largest section at the Hobby Industry Association trade show earlier this year, and now accounts for 7% of the $29 billion retail market in craft and hobby supplies.
"I believe it's a long-term niche," said Sam Crowley, senior vp of new ventures at Michaels Stores. "Capturing family history in a scrapbook combined with the artistic element ... and the socialization aspect is a very powerful combination."
So powerful, in fact, that Michaels is launching its own scrapbooking format this summer called Recollections. The first two stores will open in the Dallas market and be tweaked with an aim toward developing a national chain.
An estimated 2,500 scrapbooking stores have cropped up across the country, the majority being one-store operations. Chains that have emerged include 18-store Memories of Bountiful, of Utah and eight-store Archiver's of Eden Prairie, Minn.
At Michaels, a broad selection of scrapbooking supplies are already offered, including paper, albums, stickers, glue, pens, cutting supplies and totes. But Crowley said demand appears strong enough to support a separate concept.
The scrapbooking assortment at Recollections will be triple that at Michaels, with roughly 10,000 SKUs. Staff members will be avid scrapbookers, and space will be carved out in the stores for classes and socializing. A service center will also be a component, perhaps featuring kiosks to print out digital photos, album embossing and copying scrapbook pages. Crowley said the separate format makes it easier to adapt planograms and quickly add new items, which has become important in this trend-driven hobby.
Other craft chains, meanwhile, have expanded space in their stores in response to the trend. But perhaps more interesting is the attention this hobby is generating among nontraditional retailers, ranging from Office Max to Wal-Mart.
Both Wal-Mart and Target are expanding scrapbooking sections, according to Michele DeFay, an advertising and pr representative for scrapbooking supplier Creativity Inc. The company produces scrapbooking products under three divisions, DMD Inc., Crop-in-Style and Westrim Crafts.
In 500 stores, Target offers 12 linear feet of scrapbooking supplies and that section is currently expanding. Because Target doesn't have a crafts department, these items are offered in stationery. Wal-Mart's scraphooking assortment within its crafts department expanded to 40 linear feet in some stores last year, and now the retailer is bumping up its footage in other stores.
Kmart, which abandoned the crafts business some years ago, is testing 12 linear feet of scrapbooking supplies as part of a 25-foot valley at 20 stores. The test section includes basic crafts supplies, wood and artificial floral.
All of the major office supply chains have added basic scrapbooking supplies. Office Depot is in the process of expanding its space from 8 to 12 linear feet, said DeFay.
Drug stores are also mulling the scrapbooking trend. DeFay said Creativity Inc. is currently working on three presentations to interested chain drug stores.
"We are having a phenomenal year," said DeFay, estimating sales of scraphooking supplies grew between 10% and 20% last year for Creativity Inc.
Even a chain that sells everything for $1, Dollar Tree, has attempted to get a piece of this hot business. Bryan Bagwell, senior vp of merchandise, said the company's success in selling a closeout scrapbook starter kit last year prompted Dollar Tree to pull together items for a small memory-making endcap, including craft paper, frames, glue, stickers, markers and stencils.
On the supplier side, activity is just as frenzied, with interest high among vendors not traditionally associated with scrapbooking. Among the companies that have launched scrapbooking products are Epson, Polaroid, Henkel Consumer Adhesives and 3M.
"People are still pretty bullish on the continued growth of scrapbooking. ... So many outside players are becoming involved, so it's not so much being pushed from the consumer side as the supplier side," said Don Meyer, director of consumer and pr for the Hobby Industry Association.
Meyer said the HIA constantly gets calls from retailers and suppliers seeking information about the scrapbooking industry. One question that comes up is whether interest in scrapbooking will fade, as do many trends in crafting.
"I believe it's a long-term niche," said Sam Crowley, senior vp of new ventures at Michaels Stores. "Capturing family history in a scrapbook combined with the artistic element ... and the socialization aspect is a very powerful combination."
So powerful, in fact, that Michaels is launching its own scrapbooking format this summer called Recollections. The first two stores will open in the Dallas market and be tweaked with an aim toward developing a national chain.
An estimated 2,500 scrapbooking stores have cropped up across the country, the majority being one-store operations. Chains that have emerged include 18-store Memories of Bountiful, of Utah and eight-store Archiver's of Eden Prairie, Minn.
At Michaels, a broad selection of scrapbooking supplies are already offered, including paper, albums, stickers, glue, pens, cutting supplies and totes. But Crowley said demand appears strong enough to support a separate concept.
The scrapbooking assortment at Recollections will be triple that at Michaels, with roughly 10,000 SKUs. Staff members will be avid scrapbookers, and space will be carved out in the stores for classes and socializing. A service center will also be a component, perhaps featuring kiosks to print out digital photos, album embossing and copying scrapbook pages. Crowley said the separate format makes it easier to adapt planograms and quickly add new items, which has become important in this trend-driven hobby.
Other craft chains, meanwhile, have expanded space in their stores in response to the trend. But perhaps more interesting is the attention this hobby is generating among nontraditional retailers, ranging from Office Max to Wal-Mart.
Both Wal-Mart and Target are expanding scrapbooking sections, according to Michele DeFay, an advertising and pr representative for scrapbooking supplier Creativity Inc. The company produces scrapbooking products under three divisions, DMD Inc., Crop-in-Style and Westrim Crafts.
In 500 stores, Target offers 12 linear feet of scrapbooking supplies and that section is currently expanding. Because Target doesn't have a crafts department, these items are offered in stationery. Wal-Mart's scraphooking assortment within its crafts department expanded to 40 linear feet in some stores last year, and now the retailer is bumping up its footage in other stores.
Kmart, which abandoned the crafts business some years ago, is testing 12 linear feet of scrapbooking supplies as part of a 25-foot valley at 20 stores. The test section includes basic crafts supplies, wood and artificial floral.
All of the major office supply chains have added basic scrapbooking supplies. Office Depot is in the process of expanding its space from 8 to 12 linear feet, said DeFay.
Drug stores are also mulling the scrapbooking trend. DeFay said Creativity Inc. is currently working on three presentations to interested chain drug stores.
"We are having a phenomenal year," said DeFay, estimating sales of scraphooking supplies grew between 10% and 20% last year for Creativity Inc.
Even a chain that sells everything for $1, Dollar Tree, has attempted to get a piece of this hot business. Bryan Bagwell, senior vp of merchandise, said the company's success in selling a closeout scrapbook starter kit last year prompted Dollar Tree to pull together items for a small memory-making endcap, including craft paper, frames, glue, stickers, markers and stencils.
On the supplier side, activity is just as frenzied, with interest high among vendors not traditionally associated with scrapbooking. Among the companies that have launched scrapbooking products are Epson, Polaroid, Henkel Consumer Adhesives and 3M.
"People are still pretty bullish on the continued growth of scrapbooking. ... So many outside players are becoming involved, so it's not so much being pushed from the consumer side as the supplier side," said Don Meyer, director of consumer and pr for the Hobby Industry Association.
Meyer said the HIA constantly gets calls from retailers and suppliers seeking information about the scrapbooking industry. One question that comes up is whether interest in scrapbooking will fade, as do many trends in crafting.