Message From Bill
August. Back to school. This year it will be something much different than ever before. Reading about the changes that are taking place for this school year got me thinking about how different our school business is from when I was a kid.
Back in the seventies, when I was working for my Dad and Grandfather, getting ready for back to school was a huge task. Sometime in between the Sidewalk Sale and Dollar Days, we would get a semi-truck trailer full of paper goods – filler paper, spiral notebooks, folders, tablets (no, not the digital ones) and envelopes. Back then there were no scanners at the cash registers so everything had to be priced with stickers. Then, because it was all going on sale, you had to go back and price it again with sale stickers. It would take two or three stockboys over a week to process the thousands and thousands of items.
And that was just the paper products. We would also get huge orders from our wholesalers that supplied pens, pencils, markers, 3 ring notebooks, erasers, protractors, rulers, calculators, crayons, highlighters, glue, and paste.
The basement of the store was bursting at the seams by the time we began to set back to school products out. The display would take up the entire promotional section of the store and more. Two of the busiest days of the year back then were the day before and the first day of school. It seemed that each school and grade had their own list of specific needs for their students (anyone out there remember quadrille line notebooks?). It was always challenging to have the right thing on hand every year!
By the time we moved out to Naperville Plaza in 2004, the back to school business had already started to dwindle. Schools had become so specific with what every child needed for each grade that they created supply packets parents would buy from the home and school. While the convenience was great it certainly changed how retailers approached the back to school season. Here at Ozzie’s, we have gone from supplying the “essential” school items to more of the fun and innovative products. – Bill
Message From Alex
While most back to school necessities are acquired from chain stores, e-commerce websites, or PTA groups, Oswald’s carries more of the “fun stuff”. The ‘add-ons’ we carry contrast starkly with the ho-hum necessities on most kids back-to-school lists.
Our gift buyer Alecia has over a decade of experience buying the fun items that line our shelves 365 days a year. As Bill mentioned above, the ‘back to school’ selection at Ozzie’s has certainly changed! Over the past few years, Alecia and I have discussed our evolving philosophy on back to school items from ‘necessities’ to what we consider add-on’s: small items that are specifically curated for our community that will add a little more joy, education and fun heading back to school in the fall –whether it’s in-person or online!
Sure, you need that 10 pack of #2 pencils… but you can also get the set of 6 Ooly Oh My Ombré Mechanical Pencils! A classic pink eraser? It does just fine… But it can’t compare to a Stegosaurs Dinosaur Eraser. Post-it notes? Just yellow? Try Streamline’s Rainbow Sticky Notes! I know some schools are pretty strict on certain items, so if you can’t jazz up your pencil box, perhaps some activities will help the learning on track?
You can continue your children’s learning at home with fun educational items from Melissa and Doug, eeBoo, Highlights, Madlibs, and more! Alecia put together a list of items Wil wrote a blog about on the back of this month’s Ozzie Gram. Flip it over and learn some of the fun items we’re carrying to keep your kids’ minds sharp while having fun.
Whatever the 2020-2021 school year ends up looking like, know our family-run pharmacy is here to keep you healthy, safe, and entertained! Even if that entertainment has a dash of education mixed in. Stay safe and we’ll see you at the pharmacy! -Alex
