Coles releases new collectables, with a positive twist

Supermarket giant Coles has released a new set of collectable books designed to encourage children to develop a life long passion for reading.

From Wednesday, customers who spend $30 in one transaction will be eligible to collect one of the 24 Little Treehouse books.

The series of miniature books is written by Australian author Andy Griffiths and illustrated but Terry Denton, and is based on characters from one of the most successful Australian children’s book series from the past decade.

Coles Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Ronson said the supermarket was looking for a sustainable way to entertain children.

“Our research found that while eight per cent of Australian households frequently encourage children to read, only two per cent frequently purchased books for kids to read.

“As a supermarket we know we can reach millions of our customers every week with these fantastic little books to read and enjoy with their kids,” Ms Ronson said.

The supermarket giant hopes that the Little Treehouse books will enjoy the same success of the Little Shop collectables which caused a frenzy among customers keen to collect and trade the set and find rare items.

“We all remember the excitement that Little Shop created for customers of all ages and we really wanted to create that same level of excitement for reading – because we know that enjoying books on a regular basis leads to improved literacy skills, better educational outcomes and happier children,” Ms Ronson said.

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Author Andy Griffiths said the books are designed to appeal to all children and even adults.

“One of the features that we are most proud of with the Treehouse Series — apart from the fact that they appeal equally to both boys and girls — is that they are capable of being enjoyed by the whole family,”

Responsibly sourced and recyclable

In response to previous backlash over plastic supermarket collectables, Coles said the book series is environmentally friendly. Despite the success of its previous campaign, the supermarket was widely criticised for adding to plastic pollution and waste while it simultaneously tried to bolster its environmental reputation.

The paper and packaging used to produce the books are FSC responsibly sourced and can be recycled at home like any paper product.

The supermarket is also launching a competition to encourage kids to develop their own storybooks with prizes up for offer.

Every entry into the storybook competition equals one new book donated to a remote Indigenous community, helping to make a difference to the lives of Indigenous families in need by gifting thousands of new books to communities where there are no libraries or bookstores.

Collector’s Cases will be available for avid readers wanting to complete their full book series for $5 each as well as copies of the original Treehouse Series from $4 to $8 each at all Coles supermarkets.

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