Exa News - Newsletter Exacompta

Presentation

Exacompta , with its record books, copy pads, record card, computer paper, pocket diaries and filing products is one of the Exacompta Clairefontaine Group’s two "flagship" brands.

Pioneer in quality brands of paper products, stationery, and office supplies.

Clairefontaine paper mill has been making paper since 1858 and stationery products since 1890.

   In 1928, Charles Nusse, a great grandson of Jean-Baptiste Bichelberger who founded Clairefontaine, established a printing and binding works in Paris to mass-produce account ledgers. Of impeccable appearance and printed on distinctive paper, Exacompta products inaugurated the group’s policy of high quality brands.

   When Charles Nusse took over responsibility for the group in 1950, he lost no time in producing a range of school notebooks whose bright, sturdy covers and quality paper contrasted boldly with their drab predecessors.

   The same philosophy also applies to Exacompta diaries, envelopes, writing pads and all papers.

Leading market brands

Our quality policy is both consistent and constant ; our product information process ongoing. As a result consumers trust our brands and their reputation is such that they lead the European market by a long way.

Respecting the know-how of the production plants

Products which bear our name and which have earned the trust of consumers can not be produced just anywhere, by just anybody, using just any machinery. We have consequently followed a policy of refocusing our production sites on what they do best, and giving them the resources to do even better.

Respecting diversity of habits while driving European standards forwards

At one time, paper products were produced on a local basis - formats, bindings, layout, text frequently differed from one region to another. We continue to respect those long-established practices and adapt our products to accommodate them.

    However, by creating products which have become the standard for the top-of-the-range across the continent, we have become the driving force in European standardisation.

This is because we maintain close contacts with the retailers, the people who deal with our consumers on a day-to-day basis, through our representatives in France or in any one of our five sales subsidiaries : Brussels, Cologne, Barcelona, Milan and Birmingham.

   At the same time we are kept informed of consumer trends in non-European markets via our sales office in New York and our branches in Africa, Japan and the Middle East. Our resources and expertise mean that we are able to satisfy the most demanding specifications in international retailing.

A market leader in many products groups

As there are so many products to distribute and the ranges are so broad, and since consumers, large and small, expect retailers to respond in a speedy and appropriate fashion to their requirements, retail outlets have no alternative to dealing with the market leaders.

   Thanks to our industrial resources and our sales network, we are among the market leaders in the following product groups :

-Pocket diaries
-Office diaries
-Organisers
-Calendars
-Record books & ledgers
-Account books
-Copy pads
-Index cards
-Thermal rolls
-Ticket rolls
-Computer paper
-Folders with elastic closure
-Strap-fastened folders
-Lever arch files and Ring binders
-Plastic sleeves
-Folders
-Drawing boards
-Classifiers and dividers

Logistical service centres "distribution point + catalogue" covering the European market

It is not enough to have the right products, orders must be delivered on time, to the right place. The group has developed a series of platforms for picking orders and despatching them across the continent.

   Products kept in stock on a platform are listed in a reference catalogue for delivery from that platform.

   To back-up these platforms, we have branchess in some of the major European cities : Brussels, Cologne, Barcelona, Milan. To make sure that deliveries are well-matched and consistent, we frequently despatch orders directly from our production sites. We have also entered into "logistical" contracts with certain major merchants, for deliveries from our specialised ranges to given groups of countries.

Coherence and consistency

Our European policy for stationery and paper products is consequently based on:

-the quality of our goods
-brands which enjoy consumer confidence
-specialised production sites
-high performance resources
-product consistency
-market leadership
-an effective logistics policy.