“The prices of supplies are showing a drop of between 6% and 7%,” contrasts the boss of Rentréediscount.com

Arrnaud Laiter, fondateur du site Rentréediscount.com, dans son entrepôt de Carcassonne, dans l’Aude, qui accueille également le siège social du site spécialisé dans la vente par internet de fournitures scolaires. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh

Arnaud Laiter is the founder of the website Rentréediscount.com, based in Carcassonne and specializing in the sale of school supplies. He analyzes the contours of the market for this 2024 school year.

A year ago, the start of the school year was marked by an inflation in the price of school supplies. Is this still the case for this 2024 school year ?

We had observed, just after the Covid pandemic, a significant inflation on school supplies products. This was the consequence, in particular, of the increase in the cost of raw materials and the maritime transport of containers. Today, we feel more of a deflation on prices than an inflation.

Are prices falling ? If so, by how much on average ?

At the start of the school year, our prices are indeed showing a decrease. In the order of approximately 6% to 7%. I remind you that after Covid, they had increased by 15% on average. This decline is the result of a relocation of product manufacturing, as is the case today for Bic pens, for example. What increases the price of products are the import circuits. And this is something that we do not always control. Nevertheless, we are indeed seeing a drop in prices, including for paper.

How is the online sale of school supplies through your site Rentréediscount.com doing ?

We are showing a 15% increase in activity. This is the result of an increase in the number of our customers and our services. It is also the result of a change in consumption patterns. We have contacted all of the schools in France so that they can send us their lists of requested school supplies. This saves valuable time for parents who can place orders in just a few clicks. This can be done in three minutes. Today, our site offers about 100,000 listings.

How many customers do you claim ?

We have 600,000 active customers and 97% of our turnover is generated in France.

You bought the Scoleo website in 2018. What were the objectives??

Scoleo is a collaborative platform offering different services, not just school supplies. It is a premium service that allows you to order school supplies, not for all the children in a sibling group, but child by child. Each child receives them in a dedicated and personalized package. Parents no longer have the task of distributing the ordered supplies between the different children.

How do parents order today??

We see that parents are increasingly buying at the last minute. Often, orders are also placed at the end of the month or when the Back-to-School Allowance is paid. This year, orders during the payment of the ARS were the peak of our summer activity.

At what level is your supplier portfolio ?

We have around 120 suppliers, many of them French. Our site offers around 12,000 products. The idea is to be able to respond to all the lists of schools.