Jump to content

Staples changes logos in Canada, U.S.


DEAD!

Recommended Posts

It's unwise for a company in Canada to have a name that is not a word that works in both English and French.

Furthermore, the linguistic game played with the name "Staples" doesn't work in French, as the English word "staple" has both the meaning of "basic goods" and also the meaning of a particular article of office supplies, concepts which are represented by two different terms in French.  And as I understand "en gros", it can mean "basically" (so it kind of works for the first meaning of "staple" as "the basics"), but it also means "wholesale".  So it's a weird name for a détaillant (retailer).

 

Even if this company couldn't find a name consisting of word that is exactly the same in both languages, it would have been better off with a set of cognates that are pretty close to one another, such as "Essentials" / "L'Essentiel".

logo-diamonds-for-CC-no-photo-sig.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ujju2 said:

Great. Another iconic logo replaced by a generic one. And are those supposed to be 2 staples? Can't really tell.

Iconic? C'mon now...

2000px-Staples,_Inc._logo.svg.png

On September 20, 2012 at 0:50 AM, 'CS85 said:

It's like watching the hellish undead creakily shuffling their way out of the flames of a liposuction clinic dumpster fire.

On February 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM, 'pianoknight said:

Story B: Red Wings go undefeated and score 100 goals in every game. They also beat a team comprised of Godzilla, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, 2 Power Rangers and Betty White. Oh, and they played in the middle of Iraq on a military base. In the sand. With no ice. Santa gave them special sand-skates that allowed them to play in shorts and t-shirts in 115 degree weather. Jesus, Zeus and Buddha watched from the sidelines and ate cotton candy.

POTD 5/24/12POTD 2/26/17

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, ujju2 said:

Great. Another iconic logo replaced by a generic one. And are those supposed to be 2 staples? Can't really tell.

Iconic is a stretch; I had to google to remember what the old one even looked like (granted I could have just scrolled down lol).

 

I think it's a slight downgrade, though I don't hate the staple square as a secondary logo.  The wordmark is just so whatever

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/5/2018 at 5:08 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Furthermore, the linguistic game played with the name "Staples" doesn't work in French, as the English word "staple" has both the meaning of "basic goods" and also the meaning of a particular article of office supplies, concepts which are represented by two different terms in French.

 

Wow, I am ashamed to admit I never thought that the name could represent the other meaning for the word staple. I just thought they named an office supply store after literal staples and thought it was a stupid name this whole time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/5/2018 at 5:36 PM, ujju2 said:

Great. Another iconic logo replaced by a generic one. And are those supposed to be 2 staples? Can't really tell.

 

It is 2 staples.

 

The 2 staples that form a logo together is so much better than the sole bent staple that you remove from a brown paper bag and throw in the trash can...

 

Ylq7xmD.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, M4One said:

Kinda weird that the Canadian division has a completely different logo from the US parent, though.  Even if it's changing in the US, it's still weird that the parent company didn't change their logo first.

 

I figure it’s them testing it in a smaller, US-like market that’s relatively low-risk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/5/2018 at 6:08 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

It's unwise for a company in Canada to have a name that is not a word that works in both English and French.

Furthermore, the linguistic game played with the name "Staples" doesn't work in French, as the English word "staple" has both the meaning of "basic goods" and also the meaning of a particular article of office supplies, concepts which are represented by two different terms in French.  And as I understand "en gros", it can mean "basically" (so it kind of works for the first meaning of "staple" as "the basics"), but it also means "wholesale".  So it's a weird name for a détaillant (retailer).

 

Even if this company couldn't find a name consisting of word that is exactly the same in both languages, it would have been better off with a set of cognates that are pretty close to one another, such as "Essentials" / "L'Essentiel".

 

I really don't think that "en gros" would be used as "basically" in that context. I bet you could poll dozens of francophones, and none would think of it that way.

The "en gros" is definitely meant to be the "bulk" version. It's used for large surface stores, as opposed to your "mom and pop" shop. It's meant to compete with the Walmart and Costco of our world.

 

@Frenchie_TO
Owner of the Rochester Americans of the MLH

Owner of the Toronto Frenchies of the GCFHL6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/14/2018 at 11:42 PM, habsfan1 said:

 

It is 2 staples.

 

The 2 staples that form a logo together is so much better than the sole bent staple that you remove from a brown paper bag and throw in the trash can...

 

Ylq7xmD.png

I never saw the staple, I thought if was a broken paperclip. 

@Frenchie_TO
Owner of the Rochester Americans of the MLH

Owner of the Toronto Frenchies of the GCFHL6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Frenchie said:
On 11/5/2018 at 6:08 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

And as I understand "en gros", it can mean "basically" (so it kind of works for the first meaning of "staple" as "the basics"), but it also means "wholesale".  So it's a weird name for a détaillant (retailer)."

 

I really don't think that "en gros" would be used as "basically" in that context. I bet you could poll dozens of francophones, and none would think of it that way.

The "en gros" is definitely meant to be the "bulk" version. It's used for large surface stores, as opposed to your "mom and pop" shop. It's meant to compete with the Walmart and Costco of our world.

 

Interesting.  So what term do you use for "wholesale" as opposed to retail?  I thought that French follows the other langagues that I am familiar with in using a word for "large" to signify this concept (Italian: "all'ingrosso"; Spanish: "por mayor"; Esperanto: "pogranda").

logo-diamonds-for-CC-no-photo-sig.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/20/2018 at 1:25 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

Interesting.  So what term do you use for "wholesale" as opposed to retail?  I thought that French follows the other langagues that I am familiar with in using a word for "large" to signify this concept (Italian: "all'ingrosso"; Spanish: "por mayor"; Esperanto: "pogranda").

Answer: "en gros".

-Vente en gros (Wholesale)

-Grossiste (Wholesaler)

-Vente au détail (Retail sale)

@Frenchie_TO
Owner of the Rochester Americans of the MLH

Owner of the Toronto Frenchies of the GCFHL6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/5/2018 at 6:08 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

And as I understand "en gros" ... it also means "wholesale".  So it's a weird name for a détaillant (retailer).

 

On 11/20/2018 at 12:47 PM, Frenchie said:

The "en gros" is definitely meant to be the "bulk" version. It's used for large surface stores, as opposed to your "mom and pop" shop. It's meant to compete with the Walmart and Costco of our world.

 

On 11/20/2018 at 1:25 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Interesting.  So what term do you use for "wholesale" as opposed to retail?  I thought that French follows the other langagues that I am familiar with in using a word for "large" to signify this concept (Italian: "all'ingrosso"; Spanish: "por mayor"; Esperanto: "pogranda").

 

10 hours ago, Frenchie said:

Answer: "en gros".

-Vente en gros (Wholesale)

-Grossiste (Wholesaler)

-Vente au détail (Retail sale)

 

OK, it is as I had suspected.  So, then, my question remains: isn't it strange to use the term for "wholesale" for a place that is not a wholesaler (grossiste) but is a retail store (détaillant)?

 

logo-diamonds-for-CC-no-photo-sig.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.