Small Business Spotlight: Stone's Office Plus

Some businesses in the Sault Ste. Marie area have endured through historical events and new changes, consistently adapting in accordance with each passing decade. Stone Office Plus is no stranger to experiencing timely changes, establishing itself as an unwavering and essential component to the city. 

Article by Meig Campbell

Stone’s Office Plus is located at 529 Queen Street East.

"My great grandfather saw the need for office supplies here. He was supposed to be an accountant, but he ended up settling here with my great grandmother," Sophia Stone says of her great grandfather, who initially founded Stone's Office Plus in 1927. For 94 years, Stone's Office Plus has provided the city with everything from business and art supplies, office furniture, and now, adapting to the changes of the modern world, they offer new technological objects that have since become necessities in any office. 

"We're pretty go-with-the-flow and our style is pretty go-with-the-flow, so we just adapted to the market changes and added services when needed," Sophia explains how the business has adapted and expanded over the years. Although Stone's Office Plus has adopted modern-day business practices, their values, particularly concerning their customers, have remained steady and abiding. Providing office supplies is indeed the purpose of their services, but that also comes with excellent customer service that Stone's Office Plus is known for. Centering their attention on the needs of the customer is a vital part of customer service for Stone's and has helped them maintain their customer base for the past nine decades. Also crediting their personable approach that excludes machine-operated calling system, Sophia states that utilizing tradition is helpful in keeping and expanding their clientele.

 “I think some people do appreciate some level of tradition and traditional values than they do elsewhere. I think there is a lot of pride with customers who tell us I've been shopping here since I was a kid', they come back and we're still standing and they like that," Sophia says of the consistency and tradition that the store exemplifies, and a quality that resonates with many of their loyal costumers. Part of the tradition that defines the store is heavy involvement of family, demonstrated by the Stone family still undertaking the business since it first opened in 1927. Along with Sophia is her mother Marnie who also works in the store as well as with the community through volunteer work, showing their appreciation they have towards the city that homes their family business. 

Although tradition is an important part of the business, Stone's has also embraced modern practices to help promote their business as they are active on their social media and on their website that allows customers to browse their selection. Finding a balance between tradition and modernity can be hard to accomplish, but Stone's does it well. And while tradition and modern changes are imperative to Stone's, nothing is more important to the business and the family than the community they live in. 

"I think there's a lot of pride in being here," Sophia says, getting emotional as she explains how much the community means to her grandfather, his friends, and even her own peers. As Stone's Office Plus approaches an astounding one hundred years of business in the next five years, it's clear that it has been and remains a treasured place among Sault Ste Marie. 

Three generations: Peter (centre), Marnie (left) and Sophia Stone (right).

For more information on Stone's Office Supplies, check out their official website.