Every so often, a long-standing member of the OP community decides to reinvent itself and take on the industry in a new way. Now it is Snopake’s turn, as it launches its new brand Swordfish
"Our basic hopes for Swordfish are that it can be as big as Snopake," Paul Young, sales and marketing director for Snopake, told OPI+. "Although it will have a fewer number of SKUs than Snopake, it is more diversified, with shredders at the top end down to five pence plastic pencil sharpeners."
Other products in the range include laminators and pouches, scissors, precision cutting and measuring instruments, and trimmers and guillotines.
Snopake aims to target commercial and dealer channels equally. Launched last month, Young claims the brand is already doing "better than expected", with interest from many of the big retailers, including WH Smith and Staples.
Snopake has been around for fifteen years, built on its heritage as the world’s first correction fluid to become an international OP manufacturer that now derives the majority of its revenues from its propane filing range. Two years ago Snopake bought the remnants of the UK division of international OP manufacturer Dahle and used the company’s product platform as the basis for Swordfish.
"We looked at, revised, changed and repackaged every product," said Young. "It involved two years of hard work to get the range sorted out and re-branded."
But Young expects this effort to pay off quickly, as Swordfish establishes itself among the major players in the market. "The OP market is dominated by two excellent manufacturers, Acco and Fellowes, so we need to offer something different," he said. His selling point, he believes, is the fresh approach of Swordfish.
"We can bring new technology to the market, with clever changes to existing technology already out there. An example is our diamond-touch shredder, which is a cross between the strip cut technology and the cross cut type – an efficient shredder that does not jam." The other fresh aspect of Swordfish is the market it targets, says Young. "We focus on people’s personal workspace rather than the communal area, with smaller and more affordable products."
"Within a short time, we expect sales revenue to equal that of Snopake," he claimed, adding that this will be achieved primarily through UK sales and then in Europe, in markets where Snopake is strong.
