AWiggins owner
Sequana, parent company of papermaker Arjowiggins and currently the majority shareholder in Europe's #1 paper merchant Antalis is to be liquidated, a French court has ruled. How will CEO Herve Poncin restructure Antalis?
Rise & Rise of the
MPS is dying! Long live "Managed Technology Services' providers that drive productivity improvement for customers. We profile the Top 7 independent resellers that are leading the US market and making regional acquisitions to fuel expansion... Complete
CCL's ascent
CCL Industries, the $5Bn in sales specialist labelmaker, including Avery, reported stronger sales growth for Q1'19 fuelled by acquisitions
Industry awards
Jennifer Smith, CEO of Innovative Office Solutions, the rapidly growing business services US reseller, will be honoured at BSA's Leadership Award dinner in September. We speak with Jennifer... Updated
Alibaba amasses
Alibaba Group, the $56Bn+ in sales, Chinese Mcommerce giant accelerated sales growth in its Q4'19 report by adding millions of new users, driving local delivery services, plus its rapidly growing Cloud Computing division...
Overstock over
Failing furniture & business etailer, $1.8Bn in sales, Overstock again reported heavy losses in Q1'19 as continued to seek withdrawal from its core ecommerce business. How much longer can its CEO Patrick Byrne survive, especially after dumping his shares ?
Imperial bags
Imperial Dade, the largely Eastern Seaboard US reseller of paper, hygiene, food service and packaging supplies, resumed its rapid roll up of regional specialists following the new capital injection of Bain Capital, announced recently
DCC/E x e r t i s
UK IT & OP wholesaler Exertis' parent company DCC Group today announced full year results to 31 Mar'19. CEO Donal Murphy (pic left, on left) reported impressive growth via 3 acquisitions (inc. 2 in the NA), plus steady organic growth
Autonomy CFO
The former CFO of UK software company Autonomy was sentenced to 5 years in prison, after a U.S. jury found him guilty of fraud over its $11Bn sale to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Konica contractsKonica Minolta the $9.6Bn Japanese MPS/printer group published steady Q4'19 results today. Will it accelerate Its acquisition drive to compete with HP's moves for large MPS providers?
Amazon Sellers
Amazon reported last week that its global marketplace sellers sold $160Bn on its platform in 2018. The 2019 Small Business Impact Report provided insightful analysis into market trends and top product categories. We discuss...
Signs of Kodak
Eastman Kodak reported declining results again for Q1'19. The new Chairman reports for the first time with an inevitable focus is on maximising short term cash flow....
Last August, WBMason CEO Leo Meehan announced plans to double up distribution capacity in the NYC, NJ, PA and DC region. In mid March a new 400k+ sq.ft Central NJ DC was opened in Cranbury (NJ) ahead of schedule. We spoke with regional chief Eric Gervais about plans to fulfil a faster, more personalized 'one source' customer experience. Updated
Ricoh reacts to
Leading printer brand maker Ricoh is considering its future plans under a 'Ignite' tag, given the sliding demand in its core printer sales. Can it truly transform itself into a managed 3D/MPS/workspace design services powerhouse?
Navigator Paper
Leading quality brand papermaker The Navigator Co. of Portugal reported strong sales growth in Q1'19 boosted by more sales to US from favourable $/Euro exchange rates and big paper price hikes
Sappi's sapping
Sappi, the South African based papermaker, reported another complacent 'in line with expectations' Q1'19 set of disappointing results. What is CEO Steve Binnie's (pic left) reinvention strategy?
"Tomorrow's News Today,
not yesterday's news tomorrow."
Etailers escape
Five years ago, we reported that the rapid OP etailer expansion was peaking, as a result of Amazon's aggression and the incidence of high customer churn from its disloyal 'casual dating' model. Progressive resellers exercising a deep customer intimacy model have achieved sustained success as etailers escape the market...
Etailers maul
Seeking Alpha analyst Wolf Richter reports on the rise and rise of ecommerce at the expense of retail stores especially, the mall locations. We discuss and analyse his findings... Later today
Is it all clicking
"Wayfair, the #1 US furniture reseller is a newly minted Fortune 500 entrant. It has two visionary founders, 2,300 data geeks, and skyrocketing sales. Now it just needs to turn a profit" writes contributgor Jeffrey O'Brien. We discuss his article plus its growing delivery service issues weighing on the brand
AMZN v Walmart
Walmart's steady growth trend has attracted praise from financial press. However, its important to get real when comparing progress v #1 Amazon. Godzilla's US sales online are 6X v Walmart from faster webstore experience & delivery service. We compare the key metrics.....Updated
Will Tariffs trump
The huge hike in tariff rate to 25% proposed on Chinese imports will almost certainly be passed on where possible to consumers. However, will businesses resist particularly on paper-related private label products? Updated
Disconnected
Late last century, normal OP dealer motivation was maximising margins and maintaining relationships with stationery buyers. Enter the digital 2000's, Amazon has led the market with personalised service beyond the buyer to Lucy, the typical user chooser, with faster delivery service across a broader business supplies selection. Time to go beyond the buyer! Complete
Will Bain expand
VC Bain Capital an original investor in Staples has invested in the FM/Hygiene supply market in recent years. In 2017, it bought a top hygiene brand Diversey from Sealed Air and last week took a majority stake in Eastern US jansan reseller Imperial Dade. What's the plan? We look at the options to invest further or flip? Complete
Will A l i b a b a
Alibaba, the Chinese based global ecommerce marketplace giant, formed a 'collaborative partnership' with Office Depot last month. What is Alibaba's intent given that it has yet to penetrate the US market successfully? Complete
Fastest delivery
"Traditional retailers "Walmart and Target are a step ahead of Amazon in delivery moving to same-day" according to retail equity analyst John Zolidis. Keep up, Amazon have been delivering same day to the world's major cities progressively since 2014.
Will AMZN's CRaP
Amazon's etail growth rate has slowed dramatically over recent quarters. Meanwhile, it's cutting its 'CRaP' defined products; shifting to imported private label; cutting back on small vendors; and splitting deliveries into multiple drops. We discuss the consequences...Updated
Stanley's Smart
Home Depot's
Printers plunge