Bouncebackability
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
Healthy Hygiene
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
Top 50 Women
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.
Office Mkt Legends
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
Hybrid work future
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
Depot buys back
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?
Westrock: doing
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
Imperial Dade
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?
Honeywell chief
Honeywell International the $35Bn aerospace, building, tech, safety and productivity solutions conglomerate announced veteran and current COO, Vimal Kapur (pic left), will succeed Darius Adamczyk (pic right) as CEO. Adamczyk commented optimistically on his successor's Accelerator platform's promise...
Midwich's mighty
International AV specialist distributor Midwich confirmed record results for FY2022. CEO Stephen Fenby was excited about its growing portfolio in Unified Comms (UC) and visual coms that boosted its tremendous growth beyond £1.2Bn ($1.5Bn). "The AV market is highly resistant to recession fears" he said.
Pacific & Marco
MPS is dying! Long live "Managed Technology Services' providers that drive productivity improvement for customers. We profile latest progress of the Top 8 resellers that led the US market in 2022, although slowing in acquisition activity of regional independents. First, we look at the two $400m+ in sales, market leaders Marco and Pacific (ceo Doug Pitassi, pic left) ...
A i l i n g Apogee
HP's UK MPS subsidiary Apogee, bought in 2016 for $500m has seen sales dive from $300m to less than $100m in 2022. Now it's invested in a French MPS joint venture? What is ceo Aurelio Maruggi's plan given the whole MPS market is cannibalizing rapidly, mirroring HP's own protectionist practices?
Tesco screwing
Suppliers and farmers have warned tough new fees imposed by Tesco on produce sold through its webstore could put them out of business. The UK's #1 supermarket announced last week ‘fulfilment fees’ per item sold online. CEO Ken Murphy reports results next month. Will the leopards change its spots?
HP is again causing print customers angst, as new firmware locks out the use of third-party ink. The news comes days after its Instant Ink subscription service was criticised as dodgy, difficult & far more expensive than claimed. We report Enrique Lores' protectionist remarks at the Morgan Stanley conference that ignored inflationary price hikes that offset plunging volumes, now less than half of 2010 levels.
German staty mkt
A new report by Marketmedia24 forecasts German stationery market growth up to 2030? Unbelievable? The European office supply market volume was down -50% from pre Covid 2019 norms in 2020; and still down -20 to 25% in 2022. Given the inefficiency of paper based communications and the digital transformation that accelerated through Covid, how can it forecast anything other than massive decline?
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