Paper Plus’ Rob Smith: strategic planner and quiet achiever

Rob Smith knows retail through and through – he worked for the Progressive supermarket chain for 22 years followed by eight as GM at Warehouse Stationery. Rob’s been with PaperPlus Group for five years and those times have been marked by outstanding progress.

Rob deflects any praise and says as a head of a franchise cooperative, it is the owners and the team at Support Office who should take the credit. But look at the evidence: a fully researched rebranding, new store design, and logo for Paper Plus stores, in less than three years. By Christmas 2010, 50 of the current 106 Paper Plus outlets will be Concept 6 stores, and renovation of the balance is targeted to be achieved by March 2012.

A new Paper Plus opened in Cashel Mall, Christchurch this week. Further stores will open shortly at Christchurch’s Bush Inn and The Base at Te Rapa, a Hamilton shopping hub. Rob confidently expects the chain to grow to 120 stores in the next twelve months or so – and you can bet he already has most of the locations sussed out.

The new Paper Plus Cashel Mall, Christchurch

New concept Paper Plus stores also meant the return of the group to a bigger emphasis on its book stock. “This renewed focus as stores got their new look included an improved book range, better shelf talkers and book promotions. We have seen dramatic increases in book sales.

“Our market share also improved,” Rob comments. “Today we punch well above our weight. For example we have 40% of the market share for Annabel Langbein’s The Free Range Cook.”

Balancing books as it were, the Paper Plus TV ad campaigns put equal emphasis on both business spheres with their “My books, my stationery” focus.

The new-look Paper Plus interior

Other innovations are now an accepted part of the book scene, but contracting Kerre Woodham as a brand ambassador for Paper Plus was a first – a very successful first. Kerre reviews 7 – 10 books each month for the website and these are also used for emails to the group’s book fan database.

Kerre attracts large audiences for book promotions. “Together with Annabel Langbein, Kerre drew 200 people to an event last Friday night in Masterton. When we have our Mother’s Day function in Auckland Kerre with guest authors gets audiences of over 500,” says Rob, who thinks these events lift the profile of books to the wider book industry’s benefit.

Kerre Woodham (left) and Annabel Langbein (centre) at the Paper Plus Masterton event

Kerre will have a whole new starring vehicle when the PaperPlus group’s new website goes on line this month. “It took a while to analyse and research what we wanted in a fully commercial website,” Rob comments. It might have taken time to get there, but given the organisation’s track record, it is likely the site will arrive fully fledged and perform properly from the outset.

Don’t think the Take Note stores have been forgotten. The Group’s in house research and design team have planned a new strategy for the rebranding of Take Note which was launched at the recent Paper Plus conference in Rotorua. No mucking around on Rob’s watch – conversions start next year. “It is a brand new look and feel for Take Note stores, yet it is also complementary to Paper Plus’ image,” Rob says.

Rob is a director of Booksellers NZ and one of three bookseller representatives on the Book Trade Liaison Committee (BTLC) set up to work together on industry issues which concern both trade sectors. One of the first initiatives is to rebrand and re-position NZ Book Month with a bold marketing and promotion campaign it is hoped will have a wide reach for all NZ households. Book Month will move to March as October would clash with Rugby World Cup.

One of the drivers for Book Month is recent statistics that show a scarily large number of Kiwis may be unable to read and write in the future. “Those figures are a shock. We’ve got to look at this, being able to read and write improves lives. Our Book Month initiative can help do this.”

It is also clear that in business, Rob is a strategist with his eye firmly on the future. Naturally he is watching the development of the e-book market, but clear headed enough to wait until he believes the time is right for the group to enter the market in a planned way. Currently he is working with ABA’s President Michael Tucker observing the initiatives American independent booksellers are making in the e-book market. “We’re taking the lead from these guys.”

He has been pleased to note Hachette’s action in the UK market this week, showing that the agency model for e-book marketing by publishers, as in America, is the one gaining traction.

Broadband to the door in most cities and towns in New Zealand excites Rob, but he warns that 50-times faster downloads will fundamentally change the way we do business “and we have to ensure our business prospers in those times”. Gen Y is another challenge – 40 percent of our population will be Gen Y in 2020 and dominant in the workforce. “This will have a material impact on small business as with baby boomers retiring, the number of businesses coming to market will increase greatly. The problem in turn is who will be there to buy these stores, as Gen Y do not have the financial wherewithal. This is why we are working so hard to position our group in the best market space possible.”

But the challenge that has to be tackled most urgently, Rob believes, is the one that made front page headlines in the NZ Herald on August 28 – book pricing as the number one of NZ’s Top 5 rip offs. “When you can buy from the Book Depository in UK at cheaper prices than in New Zealand and sent freight free, it is a huge issue for us.” Publishers and Booksellers need to work together to fix this and in turn we will encourage more New Zealanders to read.

Rob enjoys visiting the group’s stores throughout the country and finding out what the successes and problems are on the ground, although he doesn’t get out as much as he would like. His feel for the country it is not surprising – he grew up in Palmerston North and Maungatoroto before arriving in Auckland in his teens.

He’d also much rather talk about a store than himself. Currently he is hugely proud of the Concept 6 store Paper Plus group chair Mike Paardekooper has opened in Cromwell. “Three times the size it was previously, one of our biggest purpose built stores and it thrives in a town with a population of only 4,500. Mike, Gai and the team have done a fantastic job.”

The Concept 6 store: Paper Plus Cromwell

Paper Plus conferences are legendary – entertaining business and serious fun is the order of the day. And with a 90% participation rate from group stores, it is another successful aspect of current business.

Rob Smith is a family man who turns taxi service and sideline spectator between work commitments on the weekend for a hockey playing teen daughter and three boys, one a soccer enthusiast and player. The Smiths are off for a trip to America at the end of this week – though Dad has some business calls planned as well.

In his briefcase, Rob has an advance copy of new Lee Child for reading on the plane. Though he’s firmly fixed on the future in his business life, he hasn’t made the transition to e-books – yet. “I enjoy opening a book and turning the pages and I’d rather do that than read on an iPad or the Kindle I have.”