Charles Leonard

What Charles Leonard does

Charles Leonard is a U.S.-based manufacturer and distributor of school, office, and art supplies, operating as a wholly-owned brand of Advantus Corp. since its 2023 acquisition. Founded in 1946, the company sells a catalog of more than 500 physical products organized into three themed lines: Back to School (classroom essentials such as binders, folders, and clipboards), Dry Erase (boards, markers, and accessories), and Retail Packaging (retail-ready packaged supplies). Core products include clipboards, binders, fasteners, and folders, with historical roots in stationery products and ring elements for the binding industry; the company spun off a separate loose-leaf hardware unit (Charles Leonard National) in the 1990s. There is no proprietary technology platform, software, or digital product; the underlying business is physical goods manufacturing and distribution.

The company sells primarily to three vertical segments: K-12 education (its primary segment, with bulk classroom packs and year-round refill availability), offices and businesses (deskside administrative supplies), and retailers (packaged point-of-sale inventory). Its go-to-market is catalog-based distribution supplemented by a direct website inquiry channel where a "real person" responds to questions about products, partnerships, and district orders — indicating a sales-assisted model for larger B2B accounts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based, with positioning around affordability, washable/non-toxic materials, and consistent product sizing for mid-year restocking. Headcount is reported in the 11–50 range, and the company is a single-country (U.S.) domestic operator with no disclosed international footprint, revenue, or funding history.

Name

Charles Leonard

Legal name

Charles Leonard

Website

https://charlesleonard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Charles Leonard is a U.S. school, office, and art supplies brand (founded 1946) offering 500+ physical products across Back to School, Dry Erase, and Retail Packaging catalogs, serving K-12 schools, offices, and retailers primarily through catalog distribution as a subsidiary of Advantus Corp.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

School and Office Supplies

NAICS

Stationery and Office Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42412), Office Supplies (except Paper) Manufacturing (339940)

SIC

Blankbooks, Looseleaf Binders & Bookbindg & Relatd Work (2780), Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040)

akta.pro primary industry

School Supplies Distribution (CRAOALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

School Supplies Retail (CRALABAF), General Office Supplies Retail (CRALABAA)

Keywords

• School supplies
• Office supplies
• Classroom essentials
• Dry erase products
• Filing accessories

Headquarters

HQ city

Hauppauge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. School and Office Supply Sales: Charles Leonard generates revenue through the sale of physical school and office supply products including clipboards, binders, fasteners, folders, dry-erase boards, markers, and retail packaging. Products are sold in bulk quantities to schools, offices, and retailers. The company offers consistent sizing and stock availability for refills throughout the year.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Charles Leonard manufactures and distributes a catalog of over 500 physical school and office supply products, including clipboards, binders, fasteners, folders, dry-erase boards, markers, and retail-packaged supplies. The company's offerings are organized into three themed catalogs—Back to School, Dry Erase, and Retail Packaging—and are sold primarily to K-12 schools, offices, and retailers through catalog-based distribution.

Product overview

Charles Leonard is a school and office supplies company offering a portfolio of physical products organized into three main catalogs: Back to School (classroom essentials, binders, folders), Dry Erase (boards, markers, accessories), and Retail Packaging. Core products include clipboards, binders, fasteners, and folders. The company also produced ring elements and loose-leaf hardware (historically under Charles Leonard National). The company was founded in 1946 and acquired by Advantus Corp. in 2023, maintaining a focus on year-round essentials for classrooms, homes, and offices with over 500 products in range.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Back to School Catalog Catalog of classroom essentials, binders, folders, and other back-to-school supplies targeted at K-12 schools, teachers, and school districts for the back-to-school season and ongoing classroom stocking.
• Dry Erase Catalog Catalog of dry erase boards, markers, and accessories for classroom, office, and other spaces requiring whiteboard-based writing and display.
• Retail Packaging Catalog Catalog of packaged school and office supplies prepared for retail display and resale by retailers and distributors.
• Clipboards Clipboard products for classroom and office use, designed for everyday durability and consistent availability for refill stocking.
• Binders Binders for organizing documents, homework, and office materials, sold as part of the Charles Leonard catalog range.
• Fasteners Fastening products for binding and securing documents, sold as part of the Charles Leonard catalog range.
• Folders Folders for document organization and storage, sold as part of the Charles Leonard catalog range.
• Ring Elements Ring elements for the binding industry, part of the company's original product range since 1946.
• Loose-Leaf Hardware Hardware accessories for loose-leaf binding, previously managed under the Charles Leonard National spin-off.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Staples: Staples is a large office-supply retailer and B2B distributor offering binders, folders, clipboards, and dry-erase products. It is the dominant broad-line competitor in the same product categories Charles Leonard serves, though with a much broader SKU and channel footprint.
• Office Depot: Office Depot is a major office-products retailer and contract distributor providing the same binders, fasteners, and organizational supplies as Charles Leonard. Comparable as a broad-incumbent competitor selling overlapping SKUs to schools, offices, and retailers.

Direct peers

• Dixon Ticonderoga: Dixon Ticonderoga is a manufacturer of writing instruments, art supplies, and classroom essentials sold through school-supply distributors and retailers. Directly comparable as a school and office supplies manufacturer serving the same institutional customer base.
• ACCO Brands: ACCO Brands manufactures and distributes branded office and school products, including binders, fasteners, and presentation supplies. Highly comparable as a consumer/stationery-product manufacturer competing in overlapping product lines.
• W.B. Mason: W.B. Mason is a U.S. office-supply distributor selling directly to businesses and institutions, including schools and government offices. Comparable as a B2B office and school supply distributor with overlapping customer segments and products.
• School Specialty: School Specialty is a major U.S. distributor of K-12 classroom and instructional supplies, operating much like Charles Leonard across school, office, and art categories with catalogs and direct-to-district sales. Highly comparable as a vertically-aligned K-12 supply distributor.
• Pacon Creative Art Products: Pacon manufactures art papers, classroom posters, and craft supplies sold through school-supply channels. Comparable to Charles Leonard as a U.S. school-and-art supplies manufacturer targeting K-12 distributors and retailers.
• Roaring Spring Paper Products: Roaring Spring manufactures notebooks, filler paper, and composition books primarily for school distribution. Comparable to Charles Leonard's loose-leaf and binder-product heritage in supplying basic paper-based classroom essentials.
• S.P. Richards Company (SPRC): S.P. Richards is a wholesale distributor of office products, supplies, and accessories serving dealers and resellers nationwide. Highly comparable as a wholesale channel competitor to Charles Leonard's catalog-based distribution into schools, offices, and retailers.

Others

• Advantus Corp. (parent): Advantus Corp. is Charles Leonard's parent company since the 2023 acquisition, operating a portfolio of consumer products brands and shared catalog distribution (catalogs.advantus.com). Included as the parent platform enabling Charles Leonard's go-to-market and synergies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charles-leonard-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Charles Leonard