11,000 Buyers Look Forward to School
LEAD: For young people on vacation, the annual blitz of back-to-school sales is a rude reminder that the endless summer always ends too soon. But the hubbub of 1,000 merchants at a recent trade show reflected another reality - that the back-to-school market thrives year round.
For young people on vacation, the annual blitz of back-to-school sales is a rude reminder that the endless summer always ends too soon. But the hubbub of 1,000 merchants at a recent trade show reflected another reality - that the back-to-school market thrives year round.
The vendors packed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan last weekend to present the latest styles and technology in notebooks, three-ring binders, markers and pencils. Aimed at drugstores, supermarkets and discount retail chains, the National Back to School Merchandise Show is the only trade show devoted to school supplies.
More than 11,000 buyers from stores around the nation strolled past hundreds of displays, said a spokesman for the show, Steve Davis.
He said the dominant feature of this year's show was brilliant color, splashed on everything from notebooks to knapsacks. 'Turquoise and pink are especially popular,' Mr. Davis said.  Gitano, a clothing manufacturer, offered a flamboyant illustration of this with a line of neon-colored backpacks and tote bags. 'We like to think we're a little more stylish than our competitors,' said Abe Dweck, a salesman for the company.
The competitive spirit was also evident among lunch-box vendors. The Clik! case, a lunch box introduced last year, features a cooler that stores a can of soda or a juice container. 'This has become very popular among kids since the thermos is going out of style,' said Larry Futterman, a salesman for the manufacturer of the lunch box, Outer Circle Products.
Two aisles away, a representative of Thermos was unruffled by such a statement. 'Parents like to send their kids to school with milk,' said Cathy Gill. 'I don't think you can put milk in a square box, so I don't think we have anything to fear.'
Serious social issues rarely intrude on the world of back-to-school marketing, but a line of folders created by Jeremy and Susan Wilcox of Louisville, Ky., was a striking exception. 'Yes to life, no to drugs' is written in bold letters across the front cover of each folder, against a backdrop of bright colors and flashy graphic design.
'We were trying to develop a hip image to go with the anti-drug message,' said Mrs. Wilcox, the president of New World Folders Inc. 'We wanted kids to feel that drugs are not just Mom and Dad's issue.'
While most vendors sold merchandise intended to make the pedagogic process more efficient or just more fun, a few offered products that actually stand in for the teacher.
A former high school math teacher, John J. Hall, offers a series of tapes that teach basic arithmetic to children.
Mr. Hall said the cassettes could be used to supplement courses or help students make up for missed schoolwork.
And if math lessons at home are not enough, Frank Norris, an expert in subliminal communication, pitched a line of cassette tapes that he said could help children learn by channeling positive statements about study habits into their subconscious.
Students are told, 'Testing situations are fun and enjoyable' and 'I have great abilities' on a tape that masks the statements under the sound of ocean waves.
'The kids can even listen to this while they're sleeping, so the learning process never stops,' said Mr. Norris, in a comment sure to make thousands of reluctant young scholars blanch.