Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiro Ogawa) held the 8th “Tombow Display Contest 2023” from June 26th for two months this year calling on stationery stores nationwide. A total of 193 stationery stores participated.
This year participants competed to see which “MONO” and “PiT” brand products were their favorites.The favorite item was the much-talked-about oil-based ballpoint pen “Monograph Lite” with needle tip.
The judging committee met on October 10th and the winners (company) of each award were determined. The Grand Prix winner was “Bunguseikatsu Palty-FUJI Kinuyama” in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture. The grand prize presentation ceremony was held on November 6th at the Bunguseikatsu Palty-FUJI Kinuyama (photo). The key points of this year’s judging were: brand appeal and image, creation of a unique sales space, volume, product lineup, targeting and seasonality.

8th Tombow Display Contest Grand Prix
Bunguseikatsu Palty-FUJI Kinuyama
(Store address: Palty-FUJI Kinuyama 1F, 1-188 Kinuyama, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture)

[Display points]
As part of the “Super MONO Festival” the display is modeled after a festival tower. “Writing instruments”, “erasers” and “glue sticks” were displayed in three towers to make them easy to find.
[Photo from the right] Photo taken on November 6, 2023
Shikoku Trustec Co., Ltd. Bunguseikatsu Palty-FUJI Kinuyama Ms. Akane Tanba,
Shikoku Trustec Co., Ltd. President Mr. Naoki Kamoda,
Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd. President Akihiro Ogawa

8th Tombow Display Contest Semi-Grand Prix (1 store)

BUNKYODO Sapporo Lucy
(Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido)

8th Tombow Display Contest Category Award (6 stores)

< Brand Appeal Award >
T’s Stationery Shop
(Ayaka District, Kagawa Prefecture)

< Essence Award>
STATIONERY INAMORI
( Ikoma City, Nara Prefecture)

< User Award >
UENO BUNGU main store
(Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture)

＜PiT AIR Award＞
Niji no Bungu-kan
(Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)

＜MONO AIR Award＞
OFFICE VENDER Tomizuka
(Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture)

＜MONOgraph Lite Award＞
Bungu no COMPASS Azumino-bungu-kan
(Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture)

8th Tombow Display Contest Grand Prix
Bunguseikatsu Palty-FUJI Kinuyama
GGrand Prix Winner – Ms. Akane Tanba (Photo)

―――Tell us in a few words about how it felt to win the Grand Prix.
I never thought we would win the Grand Prix. This Grand Prix was achieved through the combined efforts of all our staff members, so we all would like to celebrate.

―――Can you tell us what was improved, how the display was made?
Since the contest was held during the summer festival season the theme was “Super MONO Festival” and the display was designed to resemble a festival tower. The round tower named after Mono graph was originally a square display stand, but we cut out a circle out of cardboard, used it as a table and wrapped it with MONO wrapping paper. The model of the Mono graph Light that stands in the center and the lanterns are all handmade. Items from the three towers are divided into “writing instruments” “erasers” and “glue sticks” and are displayed to make them easy to find. All are unified in MONO colors to express MONO’s worldview.

―――What was the reaction from customers during the display period?
I remember the moment they arrived we heard “Wow!”. Since we used the MONO colors, it was easy to catch people’s attention and many people tried it out the products. It was very well received.

―――Tell us about Palty-FUJI Kinuyama store’s main customer base and sales strategy.
Our store is in a family-friendly location with restaurants and movie theaters nearby. For this reason, we aim to create a store that focuses on families and can be visited by three generations of parents and children. We want our store to be a place where you can feel the seasons and discover something new no matter when you visit.

―――Will you continue to participate in the Tombow display contest?
This year’s display was created through discussion among all our staff, so I hope we can continue to discuss it and create it next time as well.

―――Thank you very much.

Rough Sketch of Grand Prix-winning display