For more than two decades Stationery World and Book Centre (SWBC) has continued to service the local market, standing as one of the island’s top supplier of books, educational, office and other items — offering customised alternatives and hassle-free shopping for customers.

Incorporated in 2023, the company founded and directed by siblings Joycelin McIntosh-Scott, CEO and chief financial officer (CFO) Sheldon McIntosh, has been built on a foundation of strong family support achieved through hardwork, sacrifice, dedication with much sweat and tears.

The business that was established to service gaps which existed in the stationery market at the time, McIntosh-Scott said has today continued to raise the bar in service delivery as it builds out a strong and reliable customer base.

“SWBC started out because there was a need we saw, one in which we could make a difference in the lives of parents, teachers and companies. It all began while my son was attending Prep school and after I realised that other parents, like myself, were having problems in getting that one-on-one hassle free service we all required. It was then that we decided to get the business going, in the process strategically capitalising on the shortfalls,” CEO McIntosh-Scott told the
Jamaica Observer recently as she outlined the start-up of the company.

She continued, “On realising that parents were having problems with sourcing certain books, we saw the need to help them with limiting the run-around, and as a response I started to do in-depth searches so as to be able to tell customers what books are currently available locally and also when those out-of stock, will be restocked. This brought much convenience for customers and it also allowed us to provide them with a hassle free shopping experience, one which we are now know for and which many of our customers have come to appreciate and value.”

“In keeping with our mantra, we’re a company that believes in building a long and lasting relationship and so we’re always busy coming up with ideas, new deals and innovations about how best we can continue to serve our customers. In assessing the needs of customers, we try to create avenues to assist them in solving their problems. We aim to service the gaps and we remain committed to doing so. Currently, if there is a book that cannot be found, our customers will tell you, rest assured, that SWBC can tell you what the status of that book is,” McIntosh-Scott asserted.

The company which the CEO said first started out with stationery, has over the years expanded its offerings and now stocks a wide range of other supplies including toys, computer, school uniforms, toiletries, office furniture coupled with a growing list of services, more of which it plans to add in the upcoming years.

“We’re a bookstore, so we definitely carry educational material but there are a number of services we deliver. We currently offer homework assistance and we have an internet café, which we had scaled down during the pandemic, but plan to bring back on stream as we work to coordinate more programmes as we continue on our quest to being that one-stop store. With the recent set-up a reader’s corner, we can now have authors from all over the world engage and interact with customers virtually and as an approved supplier for government, this further enables us to source and stock items for all state agencies,” McIntosh-Scott said in detailing some of the services offered by her company.

“As the only bookstore among several other vendors who are now parties to the government’s own your own device (OYOD) programme, this helps us to supply teachers all over Jamaica with laptops to aid in their day to day teaching operation.” McIntosh added.

Leveraging the use of technology to further drive growth for the business, McIntosh-Scott sees the future of SWBC being a very promising one, empowered by a growing customer base and a dedicated staff, now made up of some 25 team members.

“We take pride in being among one of the first stores to utilise WhatsApp and we plan to go much further concerning technology and we see this as a big part of our agenda going forward. Our website is now being designed and we plan to launch it very soon, and we’re also in the process of developing an app, which we also want to roll-out in short order,” she said of the upcoming plans.

Celebrating 21 years this month, the company in staging a number of events throughout April is set to kick-start its activities with an anniversary celebrations today (April 10) in which its staff and specially invited guests and some clients will be feted and entertained.

“For the entire April, we will be offering discounts and special prices to our customers. We currently do retail and wholesale but are now working to deepen our wholesale operation as we seek to offer some of the best prices in the market. Our customers can therefore look forward to more savings,” McIntosh-Scott noted.

Ecstatic about the direction of the business, which the CFO described as ‘expanding’, McIntosh-Scott said all hands remain on deck to ensure its continued success.

“Our 21st anniversary is one that we’re proud of because it has been a long time coming and the journey to this point has not been easy. It has been one which saw a lot of pivoting, prayers and tears but thankfully we can celebrate this milestone achievement having all our key performance indicators trending positively. Having garnered much knowledge over the years after much trial and error, the light at the end of the tunnel is much more visible and so we continue to cautiously approach,” she noted.

“We’re a growing company and we plan to be around for another 21 years and beyond. As a pioneer for certain services in this industry— we plan on continuing to upset the market. As outlined by our theme this year, ‘Appreciating the past, embracing the future’—we have some great plans for the future and remain committed to building on those long and lasting relationships,” she concluded.