Classmate Stationery

Classmate
Industry Consumer Goods
Founded 2003 (2003)
Headquarters India
Key people
 Shailendra Tyagi (CEO)
Products Notebooks
Pens
Pencils
Math Instruments
Erasers
Pencil Sharpeners
Art Stationery
Slogan Likho Apna Kal
Website www.classmatestationery.com

Classmate is an Indian brand of student stationery products. ITC Limited (formerly Indian Tobacco Company) launched its Classmate brand in 2003 with the notebooks category. Subsequently, the Company added new products to its portfolio, including pens, pencils, mechanical pencils and geometry boxes.[1] Classmate has 900 distributors who make the products available in over 70,000 outlets in India.[2] Classmate brought in earnings of ₹ 40 crore in 2005-06. In 2007, it grew to become India's No 1 Notebook brand. [3] The company's revenue increased to more than Rs. 650 crore in 2011-12.[4]

Products

Classmate products range from notebooks, pens, pencils, mechanical pencils, diaries, mathematical drawing instruments, sholastics -- erasers, sharpeners and scales and art stationery products.

Notebooks

Classmate notebooks consist of more than 300 variants including notebooks, long books, practical books, drawing books and reminder pads.[2] ITC focused on the design elements of notebooks: each Classmate notebook has a theme on the cover and related information inside.[5]

ITC Classmate notebooks are said to use Ozone-treated, Elemental Chlorine Free Paper which has lesser use of chemicals in bleaching stage. Ozone treatment of paper before bleaching process improves paper quality and shelf life. [6]

Pens

The range of pens includes ball, gel & roller pens. [7]

Pencils

Classmate’s range of pencils includes both wooden and mechanical pencils. The different variants of wooden pencils include: HB Bonded Lead, HB Jet Black, Carbon Black, 2B Trilobe and Rubber Tipped.

Mechanical pencils

Classmate mechanical pencils are intended for sharp, precise writing and drawing, especially used for precise drawings in subjects like maths, drawing and engineering. The different variants available include: Fine Script, Neat Script, Tri Klik, Da Vinci II, Ezy Grip, Clutch, Trilobe and Locus.

These pencils come with different features like a rubberised gripper in Da Vinci & Ezy Grip & a comfortable triangular grip in Triklik. They even have various mechanisms like an innovative side click mechanism in Clutch, auto lead dispensing in Locus & a comfortable triangular rubberised grip in Trilobe. The different variants available include: Fine Script, Neat Script, Tri Klik, Da Vinci II, Ezy Grip, Clutch, Trilobe and Locus.

Art stationery products

Classmate Colour Crew range of art materials include Wax crayons, Plastic Crayons, Oil pastels and sketch pens.

Mathematical Drawing Instruments

Classmate Invento and Victor are part of the range of geometry boxes.[8] Invento is positioned as a more premium product carrying interesting trivia and other useful information about the subject, while Victor provides tinted plastic instruments that makes it easier for beginners.

Initiatives

Classmate Ideas for India challenge

Classmate has launched a program called Classmate Ideas for India challenge.[9] The program was a part of the company's centenary initiative.[10] The nationwide program would invite ideas of the youth who have the potential to transform India. Classmate Ideas for India challenge plans to reach out to 2.5 million students across 30 cities, 500 schools and 200 colleges across the country.[11] The CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, WWF India, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Janaagraha and the Akshaya Patra Foundation among others are the program partners for the event.[12] The program would encourage the finalists with an internship with relevant program partners, besides cash prizes and other rewards. Additionally, the top five winners would be sent to a one week international study tour.[13][14]

Discussions

ITC Classmate hosted a discussion on the subject titled Principal, Parents and Children: Building a Relationship of Mutuality.[15] The panelists agreed on the need for greater student involvement, in the choice of what they are taught, as well as the method of imparting education.

Corporate social responsibility

Every Classmate notebook carries ITC's Corporate Social Responsibility message on its back. For every four Classmate notebooks purchased, ITC contributes ₹1 to its social development initiative that supports, among other projects, primary education.[4]

Classmate Young Authors Contest

The Classmate Young Authors Contest 2004 (CYAC 2004) was initiated by ITC Limited to provide a platform for budding writers among students to showcase their talent and an opportunity to develop it through interaction with some of the country's leading literary icons.[16]

Classmate Spell Bee

Classmate Spellbee has completed seven seasons so far and is considered India's largest spelling competition. It aims to bring the best spellers together from every part of the nation focusing on honing the spelling skills of Indian students in a fun and educative way. [17] The last season winner received a cash prize of 2 lakh along with a sponsored trip to Washington DC, USA, to witness the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2015 with a parent.

Classmate Art Academy


WWF-India and ITC Ltd. promoting responsible forestry

This first took off in 2009. ITC Classmate was the first Indian company to join the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN).[18] Paperkraft Premium Business Paper is a product of ITC Limited and is the country's greenest paper mill. ITC contributes towards environment: through ozone treatment & ECF technology to eliminate toxicity in the industrial effluents released by them into the ecosystem, and in a large scale through afforestation and water conservation by planting 8 trees for every tree used, which has greened over 1 lakh hectares since 2008. [19]

References

  1. ↑ "ITC, 100 years old and still adding muscles". Financial Chronicle. 2010-04-21.
  2. 1 2 "ITC targets the schoolbag". Business Standard. 2010-01-18.
  3. ↑ "Soha Ali Khan Announces Malavika Deepak as India’s Spelling Champ of Classmate Spell Bee Season 7". PTI. 2014-12-23.
  4. 1 2 "How ITC's filling up schoolbags". rediff.com. 2006-04-12.
  5. ↑ "ITC to grow office stationery business on green plank". sify.com. 2009-08-07.
  6. ↑ Anil Mascarenhas. "Chand Das, Chief Executive, ITC-Education & Stationery Products Business". India Infoline.
  7. ↑ "ITC Classmate Pens". Classmate Stationery.
  8. ↑ "Yuvraj Singh and Soha Ali Khan come together to promote ITC's Classmate". afaqs. 2010-01-13.
  9. ↑ Classmate Ideas for India challenge
  10. ↑ "ITC: Leading Multi-business conglomerate turns 100". The Economic Times. 2010-08-24.
  11. ↑ "ITC launches Classmate Ideas challenge". Business Line. 2010-08-23.
  12. ↑ "ITC announces Classmate Ideas for India Challenge". afaqs. 2010-09-15.
  13. ↑ "ITC’s Classmate announces Classmate Ideas for India Challenge". India Infoline. 2010-08-23.
  14. ↑ "Ideas for India". Deccan Chronicle. 2010-09-07.
  15. ↑ "Bridging the gap". The Telegraph. 2007-03-13.
  16. ↑ "Eventus Integrated wins business worth Rs 10 crore". afaqs. 2004-10-25.
  17. ↑ "Season 8 of India’s Largest Spelling Competition, Classmate Spell Bee is Here!". The Financial Express. January 18, 2016.
  18. ↑ "ITC Classmate". World Wide Fund for Nature.
  19. ↑ "Paperkraft Premium Business Paper lets you exercise your power to "Go Green"". ITC Portal.

External links

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