Earlier this month, Sterling began selling a line of ecofriendly writing journals through Barnes & Noble, which owns the publisher. Marcus Leaver, the publisher of Sterling, relies heavily on data to run his business and had noticed B&N reports that ancillary items were selling strongly. Leaver liked the idea of launching a line of journals instead of, say, the book-light business. A stationery hound himself, he noticed there were “lots of black, boring journals” on the shelves in many stores. Working with Philip Clark, a former merchandise director at Starbucks, Leaver developed a line of journals in a range of colors and sizes. They are made from 100% postconsumer recycled paper and manufactured completely in the U.S. The line, called Ecosystem, has been on sale for two weeks in B&N stores.
The Ecosystem line is a challenge to Moleskine notebooks, which have dominated the journal category. Like Ecosystem journals, Moleskine notebooks have elastic bands to hold them closed, rounded corners, ribbon bookmarks and expandable pockets inside the rear cover. Ecosystem journals (which are listed right next to Moleskine under “Journals & Planners” on BN.com) are priced a bit lower than Moleskine; an Ecosystem 3.6''×5.6'' ruled journal is $10.95; the Moleskine counterpart is $12. Leaver said Ecosystem's target customer base includes students and book buyers, and is skewed toward female consumers.
