The UAE has been popularly known for the
presence of highest number of international schools in the world. The market
for exercise notebook in UAE has been an evolving industry with a gradually
rising presence of local and regional manufacturers and distributors. Until
early 2000s, there was no major player in the market and the industry thrived
on imported products from major notebook manufacturing countries.
Though, a sizable portion of the market demand
is still met by imports, heavy efforts are made to raise the rate of domestic
manufacturing. UAE is a highly potential market for premium notebooks and
diaries with increased rate of influencing factors. The market for exercise
notebook is highly influenced by factors such as rising number of schools,
student enrolments, child population, number of business establishments and
similar other factors. The demand for notebooks in the country both local and
export demand are largely catered through the imports.
Since, the country has a lack of domestic
manufacturing and availability of raw materials coupled with affordable and low
cost finished products from the major exporting countries such as Indonesia,
China, USA, India and others have supported the rate of imports. However the
country, in the recent years has started putting efforts in raising the
domestic production rate of exercise notebooks. Such a decision was influenced
by the increasing local demand for notebooks. The market has two major manufacturers
namely Farook and PSI who are engaged in both trading and manufacturing. The
country has a high preference of center stapled binding over other binding
methods. Moreover, there have been cover types like soft cover and hard cover.
These specifications have opened up many options before the customers making
their purchase more specific. Customer preferences started being more specific
to size of paper, designs, number of pages and similar features. Online channel
has a tremendous future in the coming years as people in UAE are getting highly
attracted towards digitization.
Which
Product Dominates the Exercise Notebook Market? Imported Products or Domestically
Manufactured
The UAE exercise notebook market has two types
of products offered; imported products and domestically manufactured products.
Imported products refer to the notebooks and diaries that are manufactured in
other countries from where the importers procure the same for domestic sales
and re-exports. In UAE the market demand, both local and export is largely met
through imported products. As of 2016, the consumer spending on imported
notebooks held a share of ~% and dominated the market with just ~% share.
The importers import different types of
notebooks and diaries from countries such as China, Indonesia, USA, India and
other major notebook manufacturing countries. In UAE the manufacturers also
import and export finished products in the notebook market. Other trading
companies include Middle East Stationery & Trading Company LLC, Dubai Library
Distributors and others.
Importers either distribute the products
directly to the customers in bulk or they sell it to the distributors at an
importers’ price where they earn a margin of ~%. They sell the products
generally in bulk. Selling in small quantities is not carried out by them.
UAE exercise notebook market lacks in terms of
the presence of domestic manufacturers. However, in terms of total consumer
spending on the domestically manufactured products garnered a share of ~% as of
the year 2016. The notebook market of the country possesses only two
well-established domestic manufacturers.
PSI and Farook are the two major domestic
manufacturers in the country. Though they are small in number their production
capacity is equivalent to the amount of products imported. However, in the
recent years increased efforts are being put in the market for raising the
local manufacturing of notebooks and similar products.
Local stationery stores like Brand Tag have
also started their manufacturing within the country in small units. Over the
years the production capacity of domestic manufacturers in the country has also
seen a visible increase. The manufacturing factories for notebooks are located
in Ajman and Sharjah. Domestic manufacturers either sell their products
directly to the customers who demand for goods in bulk or they sell it to the
area-wise distributors spread across the country. As the local demand for
exercise notebooks and diaries are increasing, the focus on the domestic
manufacturing is also rising.
Which
Product Category Dominated the UAE Exercise Notebook Market?
UAE exercise notebook market includes seven
major product categories namely notebooks and long books, diaries, practical
book, graph book, drawing books, pocket/reminder book and others. Notebooks and
long books have dominated the exercise notebook market of UAE by usage with a
share of ~% in the market as of 2016 among all the variants. These books are
highly demanded among the school and college going students. The spending on
notebooks and long books among the people has grown at an average annual rate
of ~% during 2011-2016. It increased from USD ~ million in 2011 to USD ~
million in 2016.
Notebooks have an inherent advantage of
slightly low pricing and compactness which appreciates its sale over long books
that are slightly difficult to carry in hand, especially for young kids. Long
books are used majorly by the Grade 11 and 12 students. A5 and A4 size
notebooks are highly preferred by the school management in the country
especially for the optimization of baggage space.
Diaries followed notebooks and long books with
a share of ~% in the overall market consumer spending. Diaries are highly
demanded among the business customers. In corporate houses, the employees are
gifted diaries in the beginning of every year. This attracts a high demand for
diaries in the new years.
One of the major manufacturers of diaries in
the country is Tellurian. An average price of a diary in UAE is AED ~. Diaries
are different designs and sizes. Diaries are generally hard bound.
Practical books refers to the notebooks that
are used for doing subject related project works in schools and colleges.
Practical Notebooks have relatively long size (mostly A4) and are mainly used
for recording scientific experiments and conduct lab assignments. Most of the
practical notebooks are designed to have 1 ruled and 1 plain side.
Drawing books made out of leaves of
drawing-paper, usually blank, but, sometimes partially printed with elementary
designs to be copied in the blank spaces. Drawing books have comparatively
longer breadth size and carry an average of 20-50 pages. In 2016 it accounted
for a share of ~% in terms of overall consumer spending. Graph book sales are
heavily constrained by their usability in stipulated subjects and therefore
have limited scope of expansion in the overall exercise notebook market. Scrap
books are notebooks with empty pages primarily used for sticking newspaper
articles, pictures or any other craft materials to be stored as memorabilia.
Scrapbooks come in multi-colored pages and appealing cover designs and prices
may vary widely depending upon illustrative and creative designing and paper
quality.
Which Purchase
Channel Dominates the Market?
Stationery shops refers to the shops that
stocks commercially manufactured writing materials including paper, notebooks,
diaries, pens, pencils and similar other writing implements. The factor that
influences the preference of a purchasing channel includes accessibility,
availability, variety, price and similar factors. In UAE stationery stores are
available in plenty and are easily accessible. Even a less populated emirate
has a substantial number of stationery shops. As of 2016, the purchase channel
that has dominated the UAE notebook market was stationery store with a share of
~% in terms of consumer spending. Stationery stores offer the customers the
best possible price. College and school stationery has also a comparatively
major share in the notebook market of the country. As of 2016, it accounted for
a share of ~% in terms of overall consumer spending.
The choice of online purchase channel for
buying exercise notebooks and diaries have not yet gained the desired market
traction. However, it was able to garner a share of ~% in the overall consumer
spending in the year 2016. Online channels are of two types such as the
stationery shops that have an online selling portal and e-commerce shopping
portals that sell exercise notebooks along with their other product line.
What are the
Major Trends and Issues in UAE Exercise Notebook Market?
The UAE has been witnessing a rise in
the number of school enrolments from the past few years. The quality of
education in the UAE remains high, despite the negative impact of including
gross tertiary education enrolment in the Global Competitiveness Index.
The number of schools in the UAE with
many of the parents demanding high academic standards is similar to the levels
seen in the US. While the UAE and Qatar have both remained at the forefront in
attracting private investors to the education sector, the UAE has the highest
number of international schools in the world; 518 in number as of the year
2016.
Smart education has also been
implemented through the digital education initiative, the Mohammad Bin Rashid
Initiative for Smart Learning from 2014. The project is set to introduce smart
classes across all schools and facilitate a modern learning environment by
providing tablets and high-speed 4G networks by 2017.
High cost of machinery purchase and
production set up has been a serious challenge for the market. It has been the
reason why companies outsource their manufacturing process to third parties.
Heavy machineries like automatic reel to sheet ruling machine and paper cutting
machine cost very high.
The business for exercise notebook is
highly seasonal with majority of the demand emerging in peak season vis-Ã -vis
average monthly sales. It has been witnessed that the school season which
ranges about 3 months across the country contributes around ~% to the total
sales volume of exercise notebook manufacturers.
How the Competition
is prevailing in UAE Exercise Notebook Market
Competition in the UAE exercise notebook
market is highly concentrated on few major players. The market demand is
largely met through import of the products from other countries including
China, The UK, The US and others. The country does not have a strong
manufacturing base. There are only two major manufacturing companies in the
country namely, Farook International and PSI. The players in the market include
manufacturers and trading companies. Trading companies execute the import and
export of exercise notebook products in the market.
The market is dominated by two major players
namely PSI and Farook. The market share is derived out of the share of domestic
manufacturers’ revenue share in the market. Other layers include the small
manufacturers within the country whose production capacity, distribution
network and geographical expansion is limited in comparison to the major
players. These players compete against each other on the basis of parameters
such as type of paper, size, material used, binding, design, distribution
network, number of stationery stores, geographical penetration and similar
other factors.
What is the
Future Outlook for UAE Exercise Notebook Market
Exercise notebook market of UAE is anticipated
to showcase a decent growth at a CAGR of ~% during the forecast period
2016-2021. Growth during this period shall be supported by the rising
population of the country, rising school enrolments, focus on domestic
manufacturing, probable increase in the rate of imports and similar other
factors. Moreover, the number of international schools is also rising in the
country. As of August 2017, UAE has the highest number of students studying in
international schools in the world. In addition, an event named Paper world
Middle East is scheduled to be held in Dubai from 27 February – 1 March, 2018.
It showcase of all kinds of paper products and stationery items from all across
the world. Such an event is expected to make the people aware about the
different varieties of the product and encourage people to buy the best
suitable ones for their uses. All these factors with more similar factors shall
augment the market growth. The overall consumer spending in the exercise
notebook market of the UAE is expected to reach USD ~ million by 2021.
Contact Us:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing &
Communications
+91-9015378249
