What 1st Day School Supplies does

1st Day School Supplies, LLC is a privately held, family-owned e-commerce company founded in 2010 by Connie and Mike Meadows in Hinckley, Ohio, that custom-kits and distributes branded school supplies (Ticonderoga, Crayola, Fiskars, Clorox, Elmer's, Mead, Avery) for K-12 students through partner schools. Schools must register via a PTA/PTO signup flow; parents then order grade-specific kits online, and kits are delivered either directly to schools (white-glove inside delivery) or to homes with a guarantee of at least two weeks before the school year starts.

The operational backbone is a 140,000+ sq ft state-of-the-art automated distribution center in Cleveland paired with a multi-million dollar ERP system, supporting low-error kitting at scale. Proprietary technology is limited to an order-status tracking tool and an online list-approval workflow that lets the company's approval team edit and schools sign off digitally, plus warehouse automation that the company cites as a differentiator. The company explicitly avoids budget brands, prices at or below big-box retailers without discount gimmicks, and runs a 'Hard Work University' intern pipeline from top colleges to staff kitting operations.

Revenue comes from one-time unit-priced kit sales through the company's own e-commerce storefront, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee subject to a small restocking fee. The company also wholly owns 1st Place Spiritwear, launched in 2020, an adjacent spirit-wear line serving 4,000+ schools with custom apparel and three print production facilities. Distribution is exclusively domestic (United States), and founders have historically declined outside capital, retaining full family ownership and control.

Name

1st Day School Supplies

Legal name

1st Day School Supplies, LLC

Website

https://1stdayschoolsupplies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

1st Day School Supplies is a family-owned U.S. e-commerce company that custom-kits branded K-12 school supplies (Ticonderoga, Crayola, Fiskars, Clorox, etc.), ordered by parents through partnered PTA/PTOs and delivered to schools or homes before the school year begins.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School Supply Kits

NAICS

Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids Crafts & Educational Craft Kits Retail (CRALACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

School Supplies Distribution (CRAOALAK)

Keywords

• School supply kits
• Custom K-12 supplies
• PTA school kits
• Back-to-school kits
• School spirit wear

Headquarters

HQ city

Hinckley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. School Supply Kits: Custom school supply kits sold to families through school partnerships. Schools must register, and parents order kits online. Kits are delivered either to schools (white glove inside delivery) or directly to homes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

1st Day School Supplies assembles custom school supply kits for K-12 students through partnerships with school PTAs/PTOs and administrators. Each kit is built per school and per grade level using only name-brand products (Ticonderoga, Crayola, Fiskars, Clorox, Elmer's, Mead, Avery) rather than budget substitutes. Kits are sold online to families, then delivered either directly inside the partner school (free white-glove delivery) or to the student's home at least two weeks before the school year starts.

Product overview

1st Day School Supplies operates as a B2B school supply kit provider serving K-12 schools across the United States. The core product is custom school supply kits ordered through school PTAs/PTOs and administrators, with orders placed online and delivered either to schools or directly to students' homes. The company exclusively uses branded products (Ticonderoga, Crayola, Fiskars, Clorox, Elmer's, Mead, Avery) rather than budget alternatives. The subsidiary brand 1st Place Spiritwear, launched in 2020, extends the offering to school spirit wear through customizable online stores, complementing the core school supply business with three strategically located print production facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 1st Place Spiritwear: Fastest-growing spirit wear company in the country serving over 4,000 schools nationwide with custom-designed apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and bags. Launched in 2020 as an extension of the school supplies business.

Products and services

• 1st Day School Supply Kits Custom kitted school supplies for K-12 students, ordered through PTA/PTO partnerships, built per school and per grade using only name-brand products (Ticonderoga, Crayola, Fiskars, Clorox, Elmer's, Mead, Avery); delivered either to the partner school (free white-glove inside delivery) or to the student's home at least two weeks before the school year starts.
• 1st Place Spiritwear Online custom spirit wear store platform operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of 1st Day School Supplies, serving over 4,000 schools nationwide with custom-designed apparel (t-shirts, hoodies, hats, bags) and fundraising programs requiring no upfront costs or inventory risk for the school.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 1st Place SpiritwearcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Related venture launched by the same founders (Connie and Mike Meadows) in 2020. Built on the same principles of innovation, service, and care. The fastest-growing spirit wear company in the country, serving over 4,000 schools. Three print production facilities strategically located across the country. Provides unlimited selection of garments with no upfront costs, no inventory risk for schools.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Schoolkidz: Direct-to-school custom school supply kit provider serving K-12 PTAs/PTOs with branded back-to-school kits. Closest direct competitor to 1st Day on product, customer segment, and partnership-driven GTM model.
• Really Good Stuff: Teacher-and-classroom supplies retailer offering school supplies, classroom organization, and teacher resources. Overlaps with 1st Day's branded product curation and K-12 end customer.
• Discount School Supply: School and classroom supplies retailer offering arts, crafts, and educational supplies to schools and teachers. Competes on similar product categories and K-12 buyer segments.
• Kaplan Early Learning: Educational and early-childhood supplies distributor serving schools, daycares, and educators with classroom materials and consumables. Comparable product mix and K-12/ECE customer overlap.
• EduKits: School supply kit company assembling custom grade-level kits for K-8 schools through PTA partnerships. Operates in the same niche with a similar school-partnership and online-ordering approach as 1st Day.

Broad incumbents

• Amazon (School Supplies): Mass-market online retailer explicitly benchmarked in 1st Day's pricing strategy. Represents the biggest competitive incumbent threat: same branded products, broader selection, and aggressive delivery for parents shopping independently.
• Oriental Trading: Large-scale party, craft, and school supplies retailer with broad consumer and institutional reach. Overlaps with 1st Day on branded school supplies and novelties but serves a much wider market.
• School Specialty: One of the largest K-12 educational supplies distributors in the US. Overlaps with 1st Day on school supply distribution but operates at much greater scale across a broader catalog (furniture, curriculum, supplies), making it a major incumbent in the same category.

Others

• Crayola: Major branded school supplies manufacturer whose products (Crayola crayons, markers) are featured in 1st Day kits. Acts as a key supplier rather than competitor but provides brand halo and product differentiation.

Emerging players

• Spiritwear Unlimited: School spirit wear and custom apparel platform serving K-12 schools. Directly competitive with 1st Day's 1st Place Spiritwear subsidiary in the spirit gear and fundraising segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/schoolsupplies
• Instagraminstagram.com/1stdayschoolsupplies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1stdayschoolsupplies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1st Day School Supplies