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  • resilient leaders 23Bouncebackability
    Index Leaderboard

    Q4'22 analysis highlights
    resilient Winners v Losers


    Reports are all in for Business Supply players in Q4'22. Predictably they show inflated profits but weak sales recovery v pre-Covid 'norm' Q4'19. Proficiency Index reports the Leaderboard of makers, wholesalers & dealers' 'Bouncebackability' performance. It covers 100 leading paper & printer makers, hygiene, foodservice and packaging suppliers, OP/furnituremakers and retailers Updated

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  • Screen Shot 2022 12 09 at 2.14.03 PMHealthy Hygiene
    market normalizes

    Who won/lost market share?
    Price inflation average +12%


    Hygiene is now #1 business supply category alongside technology. Progressive business suppliers: brandmakers, dealers have pivoted into hygiene, safety, foodservice & packaging, WFH-tech & wellness services. Proficiency Index Q4'22 analysis is almost complete with brand volumes slowing, boosted by double-digit price hikes. Updated for KPTissue, Sappi & Suzano. Diversey delayed to 22Mar

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  • women marketeers top 9 jul16Top 50 Women
    Marketers 2023

    Leaders in creativity, sales,
    brand growth performance


    Marketing to businesses by brandmakers & resellers was traditionally dominated by men. As we celebrate International Women's Day, Proficiency Index recognises the most successful women leaders. This is 16th edition of 'Top 50 Women in Business Supply', the market's real growth achievers, including new entrants from progressive independent dealers.

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  • Screen Shot 2023 02 26 at 2.18.29 PMOffice Mkt Legends
    reunited in renewal

    MegaIndy leaders:Bigeard,
    Meehan+Sargent BOS mtg


    It's 10yrs since the top OP mega-independent dealer champs Lyreco's Eric Bigeard and WBMason's Leo Meehan met with Staples CEO Ron Sargent in Boston. We reflected on past glories, Covid, digital transformation and looked forward to a 'hybrid office productivity' future..Updated 

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  • Screen Shot 2023 02 24 at 2.48.36 PMHybrid work future
    hollows corp space

    Entrepreneurs' rise drives
    up 'officeless' productivity;
    less latency eg. commuting


    The contrast in opinions over the 'hybrid work future' & the 'return to work', is stark. New thinking is positive about the huge rise in entrepreneurial productivity. Old thinking believes a return to corporate office control is inevitable. Are corporations underestimating the hollowing out of office space; the time waste and the need to trust workers' motives? Updated

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Screen Shot 2023 03 21 at 11.09.03 AMFlexTech takeover;
joins MTS leaders 

Maryland MPS dealer acq.
drives national expansion


Flex Technology Group (FTG),
the US #3 managed technology services provider has made a major MPS acquisition in the Mid-Atlantic region moving it closer to market leaders Marco & Pacific. CEO Frank Gaspari claims group revenues over "$400m with a strong pipeline of dealers looking to join FTG"

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Screen Shot 2023 03 20 at 1.57.22 PMAmazon+Microsoft
jobcuts overhyped

37k layoffs pale in comp/w
770k additions since 2019!


WallStreet's obsession with recession rhetoric particularly highlighted by CNBC knows no bounds. Perspective please! Amazon increased employees by +700k over the past 2yrs to 1.5M. Meanwhile, Microsoft increased employees +50% to 221k. The recent sad 37k cuts (AMZN 27k + MS 10k) were a minor adjustment for 2 strongly growing giants....

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Screen Shot 2023 03 20 at 12.07.16 PMHPE Greenlake
grabs integrator

Enterprising move boosts

MSP cloud client services


HP Enterprise 
just gave its GreenLake on-premises pay-per-use cloud service an AI-based boost with its acquisition of a specialist integrator. “Customers manage different cloud environments that dramatically increase the cost of digital operations management,” said Fidelma Russo. 
This could be a game changer....

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Wieland Diversey PhilipDiversey divested;
decline diversion?

Ingram owner Platinum's
chemicals maker acquired



Diversey,
 the $2.8Bn in sales, international hygiene & infection protection provider just reported delayed and disappointing results for Q4'22. Meanwhile, it changed ownership again, from Bain Capital to public, now back to privately owned via Platinum Equity chemicals making subsidiary. Updated

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Emperor no clothes 23Old OP Emperors

have no clothes!

Trad product sellers outed
by productivity srvcs shift


There's been much recession talk recently: macro economic headwinds, high inflation, depressing optimism. How much is real given the huge prices boost on lower volumes? Whilst ex-leaders eg. Acco, HP, Newell, 3M & VOW decline despite complacent commentary, progressive players reinvented to meet the 'personalized productivity service' needs of users. We highlight losers and the big winners..Complete

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Fedex truck crash off road 22FedEx fails from 

faulty leadership 

Losing market share. Cuts
costs and customer service


FedEx ceo Raj Subramaniam opaquely reported again on disappointing & inflated Q3'23 results. Huge price hikes boosted sales, but disguised serious market share losses to UPS & Amazon.The 'market cap gap' between similar sized UPS widened to $109Bn. The future is bleak for arrogant, cost cutting  'new boss, same as the old boss'; who blames the (strong) economy, not incompetent execution. Updated

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Screen Shot 2023 03 16 at 1.36.32 PMMighty 3M mired in 
mounting mgt mess

Earplug/PFAS legal issues;
& Health Care div. spinoff
distract from core focus

 
3M's cfo Monish Patolawala spoke with JPMorgan's Steve Tusa at its Industrials Conference yesterday. 3M's market cap is down -30% over past year, reflecting legal issues with defective miltary earplugs and PFAS chemicals. Meanwhile, it's spinning off the Health Care (25% mix) division and struggling with volume decline in its main businesses. Analysis here...

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smith gerry depot deckchair shifter 21Depot buys back
Vora stake. Why?

Multi-distractions divert
from core incompetence


On 28 Dec'22 activist VC HG Vora Capital took a 12% stake in ODP Corp aka Office Depot plus a board seat. Now as part of its $1Bn buyback plan ODP bought shares at a similar price cutting Vora's stake to 8%. What's going on? Is sinking ship Capt Gerry Smith shifting deck chairs to distract from its core incompetence? 

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Screen Shot 2023 03 15 at 11.10.28 AMWestrock: doing
good, doing well

African bean farms move
from poverty->productivity


Westrock Coffee
, the leading custom/private label coffee and tea provider to US restaurants, reported Q4'22 results. We talked with CEO Scott Ford about progress and plans for the "poverty to productivity" purpose driven beans importer from Rwanda through roasting and distribution processes

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Tillis Jason Bob Imperial 23Imperial Dade 
ramp up RDCs

Open new distribution
hubs in Nevada & Florida


VC Advent owned Imperial Dade has rolled up 62 acquisitions in recent years. Now the hygiene & foodservice distributor is opening its 3rd & 4th RDCs in Las Vegas and Orlando to support growth  The persistent question remains: will Advent really invest in integrating systems and brand integration?

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not yesterday's news tomorrow."

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