Specialty store banks on DIY to sustain edge

A specialty store is banking on DIY (Do-It-Yourself) concept to sustain its business advantage amid the flooding of cheaper products in the market.

Scribe is a known retail distributor of specialty, branded writing essentials such as Traveler's Company, Midori, and Hobonichi, as well as popular pen brands like Kaweco, Plantinum Japan, J. Herbin, Noodler’s, and Sailor Japan.

The concept store also carries hard-to-find and collectors’ item fountain pen brands.

Scribe operations manager Sharon Mae Santos said Cebu is one of the promising markets for Scribe, as its two stores in Ayala Center Cebu and SM City Cebu are performing well despite the rising competition of similar product categories now available in the market.

Noting the shift of consumer behavior, which now appreciates actual in-store experience, Scribe recently announced its rebranding from being known as Scribe Writing Essentials to simply Scribe, to capture the younger crowd and follow the market trend.

This will emphasize the store's edge in providing consumer experience. “The rebranding revitalizes the brand’s loyal clientele and reaches out to a wider market by introducing them to a curated selection of fine writing and reading products as well as special gift items,” the company said in a statement.

But one interesting innovation they have put in place is to add “experience”.

Santos said gone are the days when retailers only sell the items.

In the modern consumerism, she said product workshops for consumers are a perfect marketing tool to entice more people to buy and get involved.

Calligraphy workshops, for instance, is just one of the come-ons of the store brand to get attention from the experience-seeking bunch of consumers.

"It’s a strategy. For one, you want to keep your market engaged and second, it is now difficult to sell something that consumers don’t know how to use,” she explained.

Established in 2002, Scribe now carries over 80 brands in its stores. Scribe now has seven branches in Manila and Cebu. Two of which are in Cebu.