Kores

Kores is a stationery and office-products brand with roots extending to 1887, when Wilhelm Koreska founded the business associated with the Kores name. The company is headquartered in Vienna and operates internationally through offices and production activities in Europe and Latin America. Its principal offices have included locations in Vienna, Prague, Rommerskirchen, Mexico City, Bogotá and Caracas, while its main production facilities are located in Mexico City and Strmilov in the Czech Republic. The company’s early business was focused on chemical office products. During the first half of the twentieth century, Kores produced carbon paper and related office materials and distributed them in geographically distant markets, including China and Egypt. The company also maintained its own publication, Kores Revue, and produced sales material explaining how carbon paper could be marketed and used. These historical materials are preserved in a museum display at the company’s Vienna headquarters. As office technology changed and the use of carbon paper declined, Kores shifted its product strategy. From the 1990s onward, the business increasingly concentrated on adhesive, correction and writing products. This transition allowed Kores to participate in the growing stationery markets of Eastern Europe while continuing to supply customers in Western Europe and the United States. Glue sticks and dry correction products became central categories, eventually forming much of the brand’s modern recognition. During the 2000s, Kores expanded its range under the leadership of Peter Koreska and its international product-management organization. New products included Scooter and 2Way correction tapes, Neon coloured glue sticks, Bright Liner highlighters, Desk Pot and Design Line adhesive-tape dispensers, and coloured index notes for marking and referencing documents. The portfolio combined practical office functions with brighter colours and more consumer-oriented designs, helping the company serve both workplace and school users. Kores broadened its school-stationery presence in 2009 with the worldwide launch of Kolores coloured pencils. The success of Kolores was followed by the addition of wax crayons, felt-tip pens, pencils and sharpeners. These products complemented the company’s established adhesive and correction lines and positioned Kores as a broader supplier of classroom, home-study and general stationery products rather than solely an office-chemicals manufacturer. In 2010, Peter and Robert Koreska bought back Kores trademark rights in several important European markets, including Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. Kores Germany also introduced a printer-consumables program that year, covering laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons. This represented a further extension from traditional stationery into adjacent document-production supplies. Today, Kores is associated with school stationery, office consumables and writing-related products. Its best-known categories include solid glue sticks, dry correction tapes and Kolores coloured pencils. The company’s historical development reflects a long-term adaptation to changes in office technology: it moved from carbon paper and chemical office products toward adhesives, correction tools, writing instruments, colouring products and selected printer consumables. The available reference material does not establish a separate public listing, a current revenue figure or a complete worldwide distribution map.

Kores traces its origins to 1887, when Wilhelm Koreska founded the business that became associated with the Kores name. Its early activities centered on chemical office products, especially carbon paper. During the first part of the twentieth century, the company sold these products across a broad international geography, with historical references mentioning markets as distant as China and Egypt. Kores also operated a company magazine, Kores Revue, and produced a sales handbook explaining the commercial use of carbon paper. These materials remain part of a museum display at the company’s Vienna headquarters. The spread of newer office technologies gradually reduced demand for carbon paper. Kores responded by redirecting its business toward stationery categories with continuing relevance in offices and schools. From the 1990s, glue sticks and correction products became increasingly important. The company expanded in Eastern Europe while continuing to supply Western European and United States markets. This period established the modern Kores identity as a supplier of adhesive, correction and general stationery products rather than primarily a carbon-paper manufacturer. In the 2000s, the company’s international product-management activities added a series of new formats and designs. These included Scooter and 2Way correction tapes, Neon glue sticks, Bright Liner highlighters, Desk Pot and Design Line adhesive-tape dispensers, and coloured index notes. The range addressed both functional office needs and the preference for more colourful school and consumer stationery. Kores entered a more substantial school-products phase in 2009 with the international launch of Kolores coloured pencils. Following the reception of that line, it added wax crayons, felt-tip pens, pencils and sharpeners. This broadened the portfolio into drawing and classroom products and gave Kores a more visible presence in children’s and student stationery. In 2010, Peter and Robert Koreska purchased back the Kores trademark rights for Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. The same year, Kores Germany introduced printer consumables, including laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons. The move extended the brand’s document-related offering while retaining a connection to its office-products heritage. Kores is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has maintained important offices in Prague, Rommerskirchen, Mexico City, Bogotá and Caracas. Its principal production facilities are identified as being in Mexico City and Strmilov, Czech Republic. The available sources describe an active international stationery business, but do not provide a complete chronology of corporate ownership, financial performance, employee numbers or current market-by-market operations.

1. 2010Trademark rights reacquired in key European markets

   Peter and Robert Koreska bought back Kores trademark rights in several major European markets.

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2. 2010Printer-consumables program introduced

   Kores Germany added laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons to its product offering.

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3. 2009Kolores coloured pencils launched worldwide

   Kores introduced Kolores coloured pencils internationally and subsequently expanded its school range with crayons, felt-tip pens, pencils and sharpeners.

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4. 1990Strategic shift toward adhesives and correction products

   As carbon-paper demand declined, Kores increasingly focused on glue sticks, correction products and related stationery, with expansion into Eastern Europe.

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5. 1900Expansion of carbon-paper activities

   During the first part of the twentieth century, Kores produced and sold carbon paper and other chemical office products in international markets.

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6. 1887Kores founded

   Wilhelm Koreska founded the business that established the Kores brand and family corporate tradition.

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Kores positions itself around practical, accessible stationery and office supplies for schools, homes and workplaces, combining established adhesive and correction technologies with colourful writing, drawing and organizational products.

• Glue sticksAdhesives

  Kores glue sticks are a core part of the modern brand portfolio. The range includes solid glue products intended for paper, schoolwork, crafts and routine office use. The Neon line added stronger colour differentiation and a more consumer-oriented appearance to the traditional glue-stick category.

• Scooter and 2Way correction tapesCorrection products

  Scooter and 2Way are dry correction-tape products introduced during Kores’s 2000s product expansion. They are designed to cover written or printed material without the drying time associated with liquid correction fluid, serving school, home and office users.

• Kolores coloured pencilsColouring and drawing supplies2009

  Kolores is Kores’s coloured-pencil range, launched worldwide in 2009. Its introduction marked a significant move into school and creative stationery. The line was followed by complementary drawing products, including wax crayons, felt-tip pens, ordinary pencils and sharpeners.

• Bright Liner highlightersWriting and marking instruments

  Bright Liner highlighters were part of Kores’s 2000s expansion into coloured marking and document-organization products. They complement the brand’s correction tapes, index notes and other supplies used for studying, reading and office document work.

• Adhesive-tape dispensersOffice accessories

  Kores’s Desk Pot and Design Line products extended its adhesive offering beyond glue sticks into reusable office accessories. The dispensers were developed for desk, school and general stationery environments and formed part of the company’s design-conscious product introductions in the 2000s.

• Printer consumablesDocument-production supplies2010

  Kores Germany introduced a printer-consumables program in 2010 covering laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons. These products broadened the company’s office-products scope into supplies used to produce and reproduce documents.

• 2010Reacquisition of Kores trademark rightsM&A

  Kores trademark ownership in several important markets had not been controlled by the Kores family.

  What changed. Peter and Robert Koreska purchased back trademark rights for Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

  Aftermath. The transaction restored family control of the Kores name in key European markets.

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• 2010Entry into printer consumablesProduct launch

  Kores sought to extend its office-products presence into adjacent document-production categories.

  What changed. Kores Germany introduced laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons.

  Aftermath. The program added printer and typewriter supplies to the company’s established stationery and office-products portfolio.

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• 2009Launch of the Kolores school-products rangeProduct launch

  Kores was expanding beyond office supplies and seeking a stronger position in school and creative stationery.

  What changed. The company launched Kolores coloured pencils worldwide and later added crayons, felt-tip pens, pencils and sharpeners.

  Aftermath. The range broadened Kores’s school portfolio and supported its development as a more comprehensive stationery supplier.

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• 1990Shift from carbon paper toward modern stationeryStrategy

  Changes in office technology reduced demand for carbon paper, one of Kores’s historic product categories.

  What changed. Kores increasingly concentrated on glue sticks, correction products and other stationery, while expanding into Eastern Europe and maintaining Western-market supply.

  Aftermath. The shift became the foundation of Kores’s modern identity as a school and office stationery brand.

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• 2010Kores family members reacquire trademark rights in key markets

  Peter and Robert Koreska purchased back Kores trademark rights covering several major European markets, including Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

  M&A
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• 2010Kores Germany enters printer-consumables market

  Kores Germany launched a program covering laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and typewriter ribbons, extending the brand into document-production consumables.

  Product launch
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• 2009Kores launches Kolores coloured-pencil range worldwide

  Kores introduced the Kolores coloured-pencil range internationally as part of its expansion from office supplies into school and creative stationery.

  Product launchProduct generation
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1. Kores (company)