Office Supplies Business

3 Office Supplies Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 8th, 2024

Launching an office supplies business isn't the most glamorous idea, but it can be highly rewarding. This venture involves sourcing and selling essential items like paper, pens, and other office necessities.

The premise is straightforward: identify reliable suppliers for your inventory, set up an online or brick-and-mortar store, and market your business to local companies and remote workers. The demand for office supplies is consistent, making it a stable endeavor.

Interest spikes when you consider the market's diversity. From small businesses to large corporations, everyone needs quality office supplies. Coupled with the rise of home offices, there's an expanding customer base to target.

Exciting opportunities exist in building relationships with repeat clients, offering subscription services for frequently-used items, and even bundling products for convenience. If you are detail-oriented and have a knack for managing inventory, this is a solid business idea worth exploring.

In this list, you'll find real-world office supplies business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a office supplies business that makes money.

1. OffiNeeds ($9M/year)

Srikanth Acharya, the founder of OffiNeeds, came up with the idea for his corporate gifting business after a prank where he jokingly told people he was going to start a corporate gifting company. However, while answering questions about the business, he realized that there was a market for it and created a business plan. He resigned from his job and launched OffiNeeds, which has now almost doubled its revenues year-on-year and is on track to achieve INR 100 crore in revenue this year.

How much money it makes: $9M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 100

An April Fool’s Prank, Led Me To Start My Corporate Gifting Company

Offineeds, a leading corporate gifting and custom merchandise company that has doubled its revenues year on year over the last 3-4 years through the use of technology, offers solutions including Official BrandStores, New Joinee Welcome Kits, GiftKart, and Gift Voucher solutions serving over 2,000 large corporate clients.

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2. Panda Paper Roll ($6M/year)

to start my business is "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. It taught me the importance of testing and iterating ideas quickly to build a successful business. Another influential resource for me has been podcasts, particularly "How I Built This" by Guy Raz, which features interviews with successful entrepreneurs and their stories of building their businesses from scratch.

How much money it makes: $6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $400K
How many people on the team: 5

How I Started A $6M/Year Paper Roll Company [Based in China]

Learn how Frank Ouyang founded Panda Paper Roll Company, a China-based paper roll manufacturing company that exports products worldwide, bringing in an annual sales revenue of $10M.

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3. Branch Furniture ($6M/year)

Greg Hayes, the CEO and co-founder of Branch Office Furniture, came up with the idea for the business while working at a fast-growing company called Breather. He saw firsthand the pains of procuring office furniture and realized there was an opportunity to produce high-quality furniture and sell it directly to businesses, eliminating the need for expensive dealers or cheaply made options. Since launching in Q1 of 2019, Branch has done over $1M in sales, including nearly $400k last month.

How much money it makes: $6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $350K
How many people on the team: 20

How I Started A $300K/Month Premium Office Furniture Business

Branch Office Furniture offers a new approach to the office furniture industry, selling high-quality furniture directly to businesses with space design, delivery, and installation included at one-third to one-half of the price of comparable quality products, resulting in over $1M in sales since launching in Q1 of 2019.

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