Last-minute shoppers crowd Saipan school supplies stores

Students and parents browse for back-to-school necessities at National Office Supply on Tuesday. Both of Saipan’s office supply stores were packed yesterday, as students and parents did some last-minute shopping the day before the beginning of the CNMI Public School System’s first day of school today, Aug. 18. (JOSHUA SANTOS)

Both National Office Supply and Modern Stationary were packed yesterday, as students and parents did some last-minute shopping ahead of the CNMI Public School System’s first day of school today, Aug. 18.

In a brief interview with National Office Supply store manager Alice Legaspi yesterday, she said that business was so much better this year, compared to the store’s experience last year at the height of the pandemic.

Legaspi said the store was initially not expecting an influx of customers, citing the ongoing pandemic and the store anticipating PSS to continue with fully online learning this school year but business turned out to be good this year, and Legaspi extended her gratitude to the community and National Office Supply’s loyal customers for their continued support.

“I think students, parents, teachers, and the school community are really trying to prepare themselves, buying supplies at this point. We’re all still lucky for having our valued customers right now, and the loyal customers of National Office Supply are still with us even through this pandemic,” said Legaspi.

At Modern Stationary, the store was so jampacked that Saipan Tribune was unable to get an interview with a company representative as all employees were occupied tending to the high number of customers yesterday.

When asked about how business was last year, Legaspi said that National Office Supply ordered a lot of inventory ahead of the 2020-2021 school year, and did not expect all classes and activities to be completely suspended during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, Legaspi shared that “business was still okay” as people still regularly went in and out to purchase office supplies. She did notice that activities that could be done at home—such as puzzles or board games—were what was popular last year. “Some really wanted students to have some activities at home, and we had stuff like puzzles that can be used at home while students were [advised against] going out. [Business] was still okay [last year], but it was really different.”

This year, Legaspi said, supplies for these products are much more limited compared to the store’s wide array of school and office supplies. “Buying stuff like puzzles, toys, and other items that can be used at home was limited compared to notebooks, pencils, pens, that could be utilized during school time,” said Legaspi.

National Office Supply is open every day from 9am to 2pm, but Legaspi said that hours were slightly extended yesterday to tend to the influx of customers.