ITC’s Classmate broadens omnichannel play to stay relevant beyond notebooks
Classmate is expanding QR-enabled learning products and category range while using general trade, modern retail, e-commerce, quick commerce, D2C and school distribution to defend relevance amid digital-learning shifts and price-led competition.
What happened
ITC’s Classmate is expanding its stationery proposition through QR-enabled eduGAMES, broader product categories and general trade, modern retail, e-commerce,
Key facts
- 2003
- Rs 16,500 crore
- FY25
- Rs 219,81 crore
- Rs 1,000 crore
- 11
- NEP 2020
- June 19, 2025
Why this matters
The push highlights potential value in partnerships or acquisitions spanning edtech content, school distribution, quick-commerce fulfillment and adjacent learning categories.
What to watch
- QR scan rates, repeat scans and conversion from content engagement to subsequent Classmate purchases.
- Growth of non-notebook categories as a share of Classmate sales and back-to-school basket size.
- Quick-commerce SKU availability, delivery radius expansion and evidence of incremental rather than cannibalized general-trade sales.
- Competitor launches of QR-enabled notebooks, low-price bundles or school partnerships.
- Any indication that digital-learning adoption is reducing physical notebook consumption or shifting demand toward premium study aids.
- Margin commentary on marketplace commissions, rapid-delivery fulfillment and promotional spending.
- Bundle QR learning content with notebooks, pens, art materials and exam-prep packs rather than selling isolated digital features.
- Use school-distribution data to localize assortments, seasonal inventory and parent/student promotions by city and curriculum cycle.
- Build D2C first-party data and loyalty capture through QR registration, then use it to retarget consumers across marketplaces and quick-commerce platforms.
- Protect modern-trade and quick-commerce margins with channel-specific packs, minimum order thresholds and limited-edition assortments.
- Expand the Classmate proposition from stationery to a broader student-learning ecosystem, including productivity, creative and study-aid categories.