End of impulse

shopping? Nah!

Webstores enable smart shoppers

to accessorize & build order size

30 Nov'14 (Updated)

WSJ's CMO section headline story last week was 'The end of impulse shopping'.It argued that 'browse and buy' activity would lessen as a result of web shopping. Our research indicates the opposite is true...

B2B marketing?

So last century,

it's about B2U!

Confusion over old hat terms

diverts from reaching users

30 Nov’14

Even experienced and seasoned OP professionals don’t seem to get that B2B and B2C marketing distinctions are dead! Resellers need to reach user choosers now, not just commodity buyers. That means marketing beyond the buyer to Lucy…

Retailers rue

rising returns

Lesson: The better the service

given the less it costs to serve

29 Nov’14

Returns issue? It’s a familiar story for narrow-minded, penny-pinching resellers. Take responsibility for minimizing mistakes by improving merchandising methods…

Target to win

back footsteps

and fingertips

Omnichannel buyers dominate

Black Friday shopping activity

28 Nov'14 (Complete)

Black Friday's gone mobile with a 25% increase in purchasing activity via iPhone's. Holiday offers started early with Amazon last week; Targetis storming ahead, but Best Buy's webstore was down as we wrote this report...

B i g  Buyer to

Big Biz in 2015?

Time to refresh success. Add 

tech, hygiene, refreshment,

ergo & productivity supplies

28 Nov’14

It’s a trade show that carries a bigger buzz than most we have visited in the past 20 years: Italy’s #1 OP show BIG BUYER’14 & 19th edition maintained its tradition over the last 3 days. Time to build on the buzz with business supplies brands?

Amazon attack

ousts OTTO...

Pressure on service and price

from specialists forces sale

26 Nov'14

Last year Amazonovertook OTTO Group sales in Germany $10.5Bn v $9Bn, now Hamburg based behemoth has decided to sell its Office Division. What's next?

New HP not new

in marketplace

Dell disses disruption to

innovation when stock

market myopia takes hold

26 Nov'14

Wall Street analysts were impressed with HP's latest mixed results. CEO Meg Whitman's disingenuous 'best innovation engine for decade' claim, obscures it's decline in growth markets. Michael Dell is right about Meg's myopia...

Ink-sinking HP’s

Hollow Promises

Winsome Whitman’s Turnaround

tale in tatters. What innovation?

25 Nov’14 (17:00ET updated)

Hewlett Packard (HP), the world’s #1 technology maker, continued its decline in Q4’14 ended 31 Oct’14. CEO Meg Whitman’s air of clichéd confidence and broad brushstrokes failed to convince sceptics about her ‘New style of IT’ rhetoric. Where are the real growth businesses?

T e c h  D a t a

on a growth roll

Strong growth momentum

across US/European markets

25 Nov’14

Tech Data Corporation, the global #2 wholesaler of technology products, reported strong Q3’15 results to 31 Oct’14...

More users prefer

mobile shopping

Businesswomen drive the huge

shift to browse & buy via iPhone

away from in-store experience

24 Nov'14

42% of users say they will do more shopping via mobile this holiday season, according to new research from Dynatrace.

Sick Samsung set 

for senior reshuffle

Will co-CEO of TV/home division

Yoo swap with mobile chief Shin?  

24 Nov'14

Samsung Electronics, is considering a major leadership shake-up, according to people familiar with the matter, part of an attempt to revive its fortunes after a difficult year that has hurt its profitability, market share and stock price.

Meg's music

stops at HP

Whitman outlines plan

to restructure after split

24 Nov'14

HP CEO Meg Whitman has outlined her plans to restructure the giant's management ahead of its split and quarterly report tomorrow...

Best Buy chief's

analysis paralysis

Deluded over market share

gains, Amazon & NPS scores

24 Nov'14 (Complete)

Best Buy chief Hubert Joly and CFO Sharon McCollam are fond of enumerating their quarterly reports. Yes, its comprehensive stuff, but we feel, misses the BIG market picture...

Depot dances

with the D'elves

Christmas comes early for

Chainsaw Smith & Choppers 

24 Nov'14 (Updated)

Office Depot, the beleaguered bigbox, has paused its bloodletting, disintegration drive to have some holiday fun. We capture some of the action from its board 'Elfing itself'...

A dozen dangers

damning dealers

Complacent practices that can

cause serious loss of business life 

24 Nov’14

Over the 3 years we have written many articles about the death threats facing disconnected dealers. We give it another twist today and ask dealers to check what they are doing, not just to grow, but to survive the onslaught of the ‘personalised service to business users’ provided by the Amazon monster...

Uber undermines 

dealers & women

Super ride sharing & delivery 

service, spoiled by exec sexist

arrogance toward best clients

22 Nov'14 (Complete)

Just like Amazon3 years ago, both Google and Uberare under the radar and under-estimated by most OP dealers as competitive threats. Moreover, just like over-charging, under-serving taxi-drivers, Uber was underestimated as a rapid response delivery service for big resellers including Amazon. Take Uber seriously...

Ex-SYSTMX execs' 

$9m kickback con

Fiorentino brothers charged with

fraudulent dealings with suppliers

21 Nov'14

Two former Systemax (parent of CompUSA, Tiger Direct & Misco) executives have been charged for taking supplier kickbacks and hiding their ill-gotten gains from the tax authorities during their time at the US-based reseller

AV/Digital display

demand on a roll

Education & corporate markets

boost growth in Asia & Europe

21 Nov'14

Futuresourcehas reported that its quarterly sales round-up showed a boost in market where some sub-segments are often thought near saturation

Amazon: 1 source

mobile reporting

Intros enhanced management

analysis for business users 

21 Nov'14 (updated from 16 Nov'14)

$100m+ in sales dual etailer/wholesaler Amazon has updated its multi-user, dynamic departmental reporting for businesses. This completes its transition to the 'everything store for business' started in 2005.  Sales to companies are expected to reach $26Bn in 2015 overtaking Staples as #1 business supplies reseller...to be completed shortly

Amazon's Big

Apple advance

Leasing 0.5m sq.ft same-day

fulfilment center + offices

21 Nov'14

Amazon #1 business supplies etailer/wholesaler has leased a 475,000sq.ft property in Midtown Manhattan to facilitate same day deliveries and house is growing army of of marketers...

The new mobile

management era 

The Post PC generation grows:

officeless, PA less & paperless

20 Nov'14

There is a new dynamic happening in business leadership, replacing the sedentary style of last century. More managers are 'walking the talk' as guru Tom Peters used to say, ubiquitous athlete Frits van Paaschen,CEO of surging Starwood Hotels is a prime example of the new mode, writes WSJ's Steve Norton...

Moleskine digital

designs w/Adobe

Latest partnership to slow 

decline of paper notebooks

20 Nov'14

Moleskine, maker of high quality paper notebooks has extendedits digital partnerships with the addition of Adobe's creative software...

Wave is up at

Salesforce.com

Benioff: no software company

is growing faster as mobility

cloud, social & data dominate

20 Nov'14
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioffbrimmed with excitement about its new Waveanalytics cloud platform yesterday, reporting that it has taken off faster than any other product in the company's history.

Amazon's robot

army rarin' to go

Kiva pickers expected to cut 
order processing costs 30%

20 Nov'14

World #1 etailer/wholesaler, Amazon's huge investment in improving speed/lowering costs of order fulfilment, continued to accelerate with its Kiva robot installation program...

Best Buy battles

back to black


Renew Blue rally cry cuts 
costs

& restores profits; only Apple

iPhone6 secures positive growth 

Coffee king Keurig
growth brews up 

More brand portfolio additions.
2.0 brewer launched successfully

EMC can spin-off

VMWare quickly

Activist pressure pushing

towards merger with HP

19 Nov'14

Cloud data storage and computing giant, EMC plans to publicly address the question of whether to spin off the 80% owned, cloud leader VMware, reported CEO Joe Tucci (pic left)

Contracting

Stationers?

Narrow-line, immobile, 

outsourcing core services,

underserving & stationary 

19 Nov’14 (Complete)

Are the last century leaders, the contract stationers, withdrawing from national contracts and giving way to new forces e.g. Graingers, Amazon & WBMason alongside Staples?

Putting Tarz-jhay

back into Target

New CEO Cornell recapturing its

signature shopping experience;

plus entertaining engaging ads

19 Nov'14

Target posted impressive Q3'14 sales and profits recovery from a multiyear malaise capped by last year’s data breach. New CEO Brian Cornell seems ready for happy holiday season

Staples: Back to

business growth

Reinvention strategy progress in

specialist FM/breakroom supplies

offset by retail sales challenges 

19 Nov'14 (Complete 11:00 ET)

Staplesthe world's #1 OP reseller, showed improved sales trends in its main commercial and etail businesses in Q3'14 ended 1 Nov'14. 'Less stress, more savings' is happening! 

Trends shaping

workplace design

Gensler 2014 Study covers

the big 6 topics driving change

19 Nov'14

Gensler, the world's leading collaborative design firm's 2014 Design Forecast study covers mobility, wellness, technology, urbanization, globalization and new developments. We report on the key aspects in workspace design...later today

Millers on a roll
in Virginia Valley

Consolidating strength in Mid-
Atlantic region nears $50m sales

18 Nov’14 (Updated)

Millers Office Productsthe leading woman owned, business supplier continued its acquisition trail in the Mid Atlantic region. We speak with chief Wayne Stillwagon...tomorrow

ECi Releases

Red Falcon

Cloud software to facilitate

dealer growth in vertical markets 

18 Nov'14

ECi Software Solutions has released new software to enable OP dealers to expand into new categories and new specialist markets. We spoke with CEO Ron Books...

Vistaprint: vague

name change?

Parent name to dilute brand

with switch to Cimpress?

Invest in central systems

18 Nov'14

The parent company of the customized business card marketer Vistaprint has decided to change its name and invest substantially in bradening its web & systems platform. Why the need to change?

W h o l e s a l e r s

w a v e  i s  U P!

Latest results show strength in

FM/breakroom, tech & furniture

Can they match Amazon? 

15 Nov'14 (Complete, sorry)

"Wholesalers may die, but the role of the wholesaler, lives forever," so said godfather of OP wholesaling, United's founder Howard Wolfback in the early 80's. So true, even if OP wholesalers have struggled for real growth in recent years. Now that's all changing, but can they respond to Amazon?

London’s

Sustainable

Office Supplier

Wiles Greenworld’s CEO reveals

his progressive growth strategy

2 Nov’14 (Completed, at last, sorry)

On 30 Sep, we visited London’s most progressive and sustainable office reseller Wiles Greenworld in its new eco friendly facility. We met with ‘walk the talk’ CEO Peter Duncan…