Grand & Toy launches ‘brand refresh’ as retailer adapts to changing workplace 

Grand & Toy has spent nearly a decade returning to its 141-year-old roots as a business-to-business supplier of office products and services.

Grand & Toy invented next-day delivery, so the story goes.

In 1882, long before online stores and big-box retail, the Canadian office supplies company loaded goods onto a wheelbarrow or horse-drawn wagon and delivered items to business customers within a day.

The company grew steadily for a century, opening dozens of stores and becoming a household name in Canada for office catalogues and back-to-school supplies.

Then, after a period of mounting competition from U.S. retailers like Staples and Walmart that saw the company sold to a U.S. firm, Grand & Toy closed all its retail locations in 2014.

While the company’s legacy as an office supply store in the mall remains in the minds of some consumers, Grand & Toy has spent nearly a decade returning to its 141-year-old roots as a business-to-business supplier of office products and services.

“People grew up with the brand and remember buying school supplies at Grand & Toy,” said Chris Henwood, senior director of marketing and product management.

“But those stores were an insignificant portion of our total revenue. Business-to-business sales have always been a very substantial part of what we do.”

The stores, which once dotted malls across Canada, also weren’t reflective of the company’s expansion into technology, health and safety and office furniture, he said.