Like most retailers of a certain age, The Paper Store debuted in brick-and-mortar — in this case a modest family-run newsstand in Maynard, Mass. that opened in 1964. And while the retailer has embraced ecommerce, its focus hasn’t wavered from providing an experiential, discovery-oriented in-person shopping experience across a wide range of product categories including apparel, décor, beauty and gifts.
That’s why it’s of little surprise that on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, The Paper Store has embarked on a five-year, $60 million brick-and-mortar-oriented expansion that will add 30 to 40 locations to its current 100+ stores and upgrade approximately 30 existing stores. Already in 2024 the retailer has opened or remodeled 10% of its store fleet and introduced its new Uncharted format in the Chicago area — a move that takes The Paper Store beyond its East Coast comfort zone.
Tom Anderson, President and CEO of the family-owned company, shared how he combines flexibility with The Paper Store’s commitment to tradition.
Retail TouchPoints (RTP): Obviously, a lot has changed in retail over the past 60 years. Why do you think The Paper Store has had “sticking power” for this long?
Advertisement
Tom Anderson: The Paper Store is about transformation. We’re constantly redeveloping who we are, constantly pivoting. When we started, the big box retailers were challenging us in the [products and categories] we were selling, so we pivoted and redeveloped who we are, and that does very well for us today as well. Some of the biggest changes over the past six decades have revolved around what brick-and-mortar retail means to customers, as well as a lot of customers going the digital route for shopping.
We look at ourselves as the antithesis of online shopping. We seek to create a customer experience inside our locations where you can touch, feel and smell the products, where there are experiences from a sensory perspective that excite consumers. If you know exactly what you want, why would you go beyond Amazon? But if you want [the process of] discovery to find what you want, we have the categories, brands and products. Ultimately, we want our guests to enjoy the overall experience so that it’s not a task, it’s an experience for them to enjoy.
RTP: How do your remodeled stores, and your new banner Uncharted, create that kind of memorable shopper journey?
Anderson: Previously, we were always evolving our products and brands, but we weren’t [also] modernizing the store experience. In a way, our former store was a little bit tired. Now, in building our new remodeled store, it’s larger, more beautiful and with brighter lighting. You see that in the remodeled store at The Landing at Hyannis Plaza, on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. On average it’s 75% larger than our existing stores, and there are some that are 150% larger. The first Uncharted store, which opened last month at The Shops at Oak Brook Place in Oak Brook, Ill., is more than 12,000 square feet and employs 60 local associates.
We’ve also added services like ear piercing, a children’s play area and family-friendly events like free Santa Claus appearances in the new and remodeled stores. We have product engraving events so people purchasing their Stanley water containers can get them engraved; that makes it a great gifting experience. We see people coming in over the weekend and being served a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie. And while Uncharted has its own branding, if you walked into a new signature Paper Store and an Uncharted store you would see similar visual merchandising and aesthetics.
RTP: What do you see as the relationship between the two banners, The Paper Store and Uncharted, going forward?
Anderson: What’s really great about having these two brands is that we can continue to expand/explore the products and experiences for each. Uncharted will be a bit of a testing ground, because although there are a lot of similarities in the product categories, Uncharted will be tapping into new brands that we aren’t yet selling in Paper Store.
For both banners, we love working with startup brands and local mom-and-pops to get new products into the store, and if we’re not so sure how a product would resonate with customers, [selling it in an Uncharted store] gives us a lot of good information about merchandising and marketing. We can find out what selling knowledge we need to provide our employees with in order to educate the customer.
RTP: Paper Store locations have been in the Northeast and Florida prior to this. What motivated you to enter a new geography?
Anderson: It presented a little bit more in the way of opportunities. Our marketing and operations teams have already done a lot to build out our logistics and operations, so we can go anywhere. We have a robust budget to continue our digital and technology evolution: we just implemented a new state-of-the-art POS system, and there will be additional implementations of inventory and order management solutions. In 2025 we’ll be spending a lot of our energy and capital upgrading our digital stack, both the front-end website and backend technology. We want to be “fast followers” so that our teams are getting what they need to perform effectively.
And then it’s about finding the best location: is it the best shopping center in that market? Is there a need for a brand like ours? Are there great co-tenants? We love being next to a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods Market, because people are still making trips to those types of stores for a really nice shopping experience.
RTP: Where do you think the Paper Store will be as a retailer in 2030?
Anderson: We will still continue to be brick-and-mortar, but also, in five years we won’t resemble who we are today, because we’re always evolving in response to new challenges and opportunities. Our core customer base’s needs and desires are going to change as well, and it’s our responsibility to be at the forefront of all those things and adapt. That’s why we’ve been around for 60 years, because adapting to crises is a core competency of ours.
[We’ve also maintained continuity because] The Paper Store is still a family business. I run the business, and my 82-year-old father still spends time in the office. I have two sisters running the buying and two brothers running real estate and logistics. That family feeling extends to the team members; we have this incredible team that are very passionate about our business and mission. We’re able to blend the classic family with this “extended” family, and so we’re very motivated to produce a great business, and customers feel that when they come into the stores. In fact, some of our best team members are former (and current) customers.
