FedEx: fearful &
FedEx CEO Fred 'Smug' Smith reported flat sales in spite of big price increases, disguising serious decline. He continued his arrogant behaviour towards etailers, falling out with Amazon & undercut by more flexible delivery services inc. Uber...
Staples asset
PP Sources have confirmed details of the latest people purge at vulture capitalist Sycamore owned Staples. We publish the comprehensive leavers list and reactions from insiders & partners following the story we broke early this month...
AMZN fix search
In a blockbuster investigative report by Wall Street Journal's Dana Mattioli, Amazon is accused of changing search algorithms in order to promote its own more profitable products. Moreover, it overcame dissent from its own engineers and lawyers
Why AMZN boss
Amazon accounted for nearly 37% of US online market spend in 2018 according to Internet Retailer estimates. Inspite of Government opposition, FTC inquiries & its own CRaP policies it has taken a 30% share of resellers' potential business supplies spend, almost without anybody noticing. We explan why and how... Later today, sorry
Flex Tech takes
Leading managed tech services provider Flex Technology Group backed by VC Oval Partners, today announced a second acquisition in recent months with a premier office technology provider in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Amazon under
A team of Federal Trade Commission investigators has begun interviewing small businesses that sell products on Amazon to determine whether the e-commerce giant is using its market power to hurt competition. Is this just another 'straw that threatens to break the camel's back' in its business supplies marketplace?
Pacific Office getsPP Sources indicate that Pacific Office Automation, the fast growing Beaverton (OR) managed technology services provider is in talks to acquire a major Denver based dealer. Consolidation based M&A in the MPS space is accelerating..... Later today
X e r o x in HP's
Since activist investor Carl 'Chainsaw' Icahn (pic left) took a 10% stake in Xerox in 2015, he has thwarted a Fuji merger and formed a strategic partnership with HP that has effectively crushed leading reman/compatible distributors. Can we now expect HP to cement the relationship with a takeover bid, giving Icahn a huge return? Updated
HD Supply hits
HD Supply, a leading US industrial distributor today reported much slower Q2'19 financial results, running at a fraction of 2018 growth rates. CEO originally blamed unfavourable weather earlier in the year but growth rates have tapered dramatically since
Shopify buys 3PV
Shopify the leading multi-channel commerce platform, has reached an agreement to acquire a leading provider of collaborative warehouse fulfillment solutions that some leading bigbox resellers use...
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X e r o x in HP's
Since activist investor Carl 'Chainsaw' Icahn (pic left) took a 10% stake in Xerox in 2015, he has thwarted a Fuji merger and formed a strategic partnership with HP that has effectively crushed leading reman/compatible distributors. Can we now expect HP to cement the relationship with a takeover bid, giving Icahn a huge return? Updated
Depot. Different!?
Last week Office Depot presented at the Goldman Sachs Global Retail Conference in NYC. Reports indicate it was at pains to stress its "pivot" from a run-down retailer to a "different" business supplies & services provider. Truth is, its copycat 'Staples 2012' strategy, burdened by the crazy Compucom acquisition, looks like driving deeper disintegration
Dealers' decision
Back in 1994, the OP wholesalers led the stockless dealer drive that fueled the expansion of single source supplier success. Now with uncertainty surrounding wholesalers' future, its decision time for dealers. We explore the options available for those who are committed to becoming broadline business suppliers. Refreshed & Reviewed
Wily WeWorkIn the real estate world, WeWork drew admiration as it built an empire of co-working spaces for freelancers, start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. However, doubts are rising rapidly about the ethics of CEO founder Adam Neumann, who controls ownership & its ability to make money given the uncertain future of US economy
Weisler waves HP
Last month, HP Inc. reported a second quarter of serious decline, the Spring 2020 departure of its long serving CEO Dion Weisler; and a management reorganisation to champion its channel customers. The reason given for the CEO's departure was an imprecise "family matter". Word on the street is this might be performance related?
Depot's Cheesy
The Back to School TV ads season has peaked. The best commercial by far we feel is the Target campaign. The worst undoubtedly Office Depot's ridiculous attempt to play a Shakespearian actor serving a school girl with pens. Cheeeeeeesy in the extreme!
Millennials make
A CouponFollow survey also finds millennials (under 40yrs) make 36% of their total purchases using mobile devices, up 20% from 2017. Plus, 64% of the millennial online shoppers make half or more or their online purchases from Amazon. We analyse the survey and draw some broader conclusions....
Amazon's CRaP
Amazon has disproved the theory that trees don't grow the sky. However, the strategy evolving over the past year indicates a weakening of its rapid growth momentum. The customer centric champion is showing signs of maximising short term profits at consumers' and vendors' expense. We discuss...Updated
Remote workers
Inc. magazine research reported by Brian de Haaff maintains that remote/home based workers outperform office based workers & even create better teamwork? This flies in the face of a greater need for collaboration, closer communication & cultural team building drives. Updated
Amazon loses
Just like web giants e.g. Facebook & Google that have failed to tackle misinformation on their platforms, Amazon has proven unable or unwilling to effectively police 3rd party resellers on its webstore WSJ investigates and we comment on its business supplies offer
FedEx: fearful &
Why AMZN boss 
Flex Tech takes