Preserving Legacy or Pioneering Progress: A Lesson Plan for the Next Chapter at Hatfield School Supply

Hatfield School Supply is a 70-year-old company selling customized school planners and pencil vending machines to the K-12 market. Planner and pencil sales have steadily declined as they have been replaced by digital solutions. Declining sales then hit a hard stop when the COVID-19 Pandemic led many schools to shut down face-to-face instruction. The third-generation owner would like to pass down or sell the business, but its current financial condition and market outlook make that next to impossible. She, and the company President are contemplating alternatives to achieve the profitable growth necessary for the business to remain viable.