Dive Brief:

• London-based DTC stationery brand Papier has launched in Anthropologie, according to details emailed to Retail Dive.
• The move marks the first U.S. wholesale partnership for Papier. The Anthropologie launch features three exclusive designs for the retailer along with select best-selling Papier products including journals, stationery, and planners.
• The launch comes as the brand invests more into the U.S. market and wholesale. The company said it plans to be in over 10,000 global retail locations in the next six years.

Dive Insight:

Papier was founded by Taymoor Atighetchi in London in 2015 and introduced to the U.S. market in 2018. The brand has enjoyed significant gains in the U.S., with revenue increasing 50% year over year.

Papier is currently in 220 independent retailers in the U.S. and plans to be in about 200 more in the coming months, according to the company.

The brand will also launch with Canadian retailer Indigo later this summer, marking its first entry into that country’s market. Indigo has over 200 locations throughout Canada.

Having products available in brick-and-mortar stores is an important part of Papier’s business strategy. According to a survey conducted by the brand, 65% of its customers like to buy their stationery in stores, which helped drive the brand’s decision to seek out the U.S. and Canadian wholesale partnerships. 

Atighetchi said the U.S. market is on track to account for over 50% of the brand’s revenue this year, having quadrupled in size over the past three years. Papier’s growth and expansion runs counter to much of the stationery industry which saw a significant downturn in the past five years, especially during the pandemic.

U.S. wholesale revenue for the stationery industry dropped from about $43 billion in 2018 to just over $37 billion in 2022, per Statista. Two major stationery brands faltered recently, including Paper Source and Papyrus’ parent company, both of whom filed for bankruptcy.

Those bankruptcies may have opened the market for other retailers to take market share in the stationery segment, including Anthropologie through its wholesale partnerships.

“We work more like a fashion brand than a traditional stationery company and lean into seasonal collections driven by on-the-pulse trends, limited editions and creative partnerships,” Atighetchi said. “Our products have captured a cult following and we often have a waitlist for new collections. ... Anthropologie is a creative and exciting brand that aligns incredibly well with our own brand values and aesthetic, so they were the obvious choice for our first large scale U.S. retail launch.”

Anthropologie has formed wholesale partnerships with other DTC brands, including Supergoop, Kinfield and Vacation. The partnership with Papier is another example of DTC brands entering wholesale channels to broaden their audience and reach new customers.