ITC Classmate's hybrid-learning push resurfaces: QR games and wider omnichannel reach from a June 2025 move

Resurfacing a June 2025 development, Classmate added QR-enabled eduGAMES, broadened its stationery portfolio and strengthened omnichannel distribution as it targeted India’s hybrid-learning market. Its challenge remains premiumising in price-sensitive rural and semi-urban regions where local stationery brands stay entrenched.

— FiledFri, 24 Jul, 2026, 05:50 IST·First seen Fri, 24 Jul, 2026, 05:49 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

ITC’s Classmate is pursuing relevance in India’s hybrid-learning market through QR-enabled eduGAMES, expanded stationery categories and omnichannel

Key facts

  • 2003
  • Rs 16,500 crore
  • FY25
  • Rs 219,81 crore
  • over Rs 1,000 crore
  • 11 interactive challenges
  • NEP 2020

Why this matters

Classmate’s hybrid-learning ambition creates partnership opportunities with edtech, youth-content and last-mile distribution players that can scale QR engagement and improve reach beyond urban markets.

What to watch

  • QR scan rates, repeat scans per user and completion rates for eduGAMES.
  • Evidence of teacher-led adoption, school partnerships and curriculum-linked usage.
  • Price premium retention versus comparable local and national notebook brands.
  • Share growth in tier-2, tier-3, rural and semi-urban districts.
  • Online-to-offline repeat purchase rates and retailer reorder frequency.
  • Regional-language content rollout and low-bandwidth/offline functionality.
  • Competitor QR launches, local-brand price cuts and retailer margin escalation.
  • Growth in bundled sales across notebooks, writing instruments, art materials and educational products.
  • Create grade- and curriculum-aligned QR game libraries in regional languages, with content that works on low-bandwidth mobile connections.
  • Use QR registration and rewards to build a parent-student CRM programme, linking notebook purchases to repeat purchases in art, writing and exam categories.
  • Deploy rural and semi-urban price architecture: entry-level QR notebooks, value multipacks and premium licensed or subject-specific editions.
  • Partner with schools, tuition centres and teacher communities to make eduGAMES part of assignments rather than a purely consumer-facing novelty.
  • Use marketplaces, quick commerce and kirana-led ordering networks to improve replenishment while protecting channel-specific assortment and pricing.
  • Measure scan-to-repeat-purchase conversion by region and retailer type before scaling content investment nationally.