THE QUILL office supply catalog has been introduced in the United Kingdom by parent firm Staples Inc.-the first step of a general expansion in Europe.
Since March, the U.S. company has been mailing catalogs to 2 million prospects a month in the United Kingdom, using both compiled and response B-to-B lists, according to Quill president Jack Miller.
Quill is facing some tough rivals-namely Viking Office Products, which entered the British market several years ago. There also is stiff competition from “regular dealers and store owners selling office supplies,” says Miller.
But Quill hopes to prevail with low pricing-the same strategy it uses in the United States.
Miller predicted a European launch last year when Quill was acquired by Staples in a $685 million deal (DIRECT, May 1, 1998).
Response to the mailings has been “very good-better than [in] the United States,” Miller says. The average order has been roughly the same.
Moreover, the firm has benefited from fast British postal delivery.
“We mailed the catalog, and a day later started getting calls,” Miller claims.
Like Viking, which spent $7 million to get established in the United Kingdom, Quill is doing everything on site in Britain. The catalogs, printed on larger-size paper, are being created in the United Kingdom, and reflect British product sourcing and pricing, although many items “are coming from the same vendors as in the United States,” Miller says.
Heading up the British operation are Greg Kadens, vice president of marketing for Quill, who has moved to England, and Larry Morse, executive vice president, who remains in the United States.
Customer service is being handled at existing U.K. Staples facilities-a Staples Direct call center in Birmingham, and a 120,000-square-foot distribution center in Dudley.
Staples Direct is the mail order arm of Staples, which now has 50 stores in the United Kingdom and 25 in Germany and plans to open 20 additional outlets in Europe this year. Miller describes it as “another way to buy for retail customers who don’t want to go to the store.”
What’s the difference between Staples Direct and Quill?
“Staples Direct has the same pricing and merchandise as the stores,” he says. “Quill has broader product selections and more narrow niche markets.”
Though no date has been set, a German rollout is next on the agenda. Quill executives are now assessing the “real estate situation,” according to Miller, trying to determine whether to place a warehouse and call center in Germany itself or in Belgium.
And Germany is only the start. “The strategy is to go country-to-country as quickly as we can,” notes Miller.
Meanwhile, British buyers are learning about the quick Quill turnaround-phones answered within 10 seconds; all orders taken today delivered tomorrow.
“U.K. customers are used to waiting for things,” Miller says. “In the United States, we’ve taught them to be very impatient if they don’t get immediate delivery.”
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