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21 Jul 21

Updated: 21 Jul 21

Mega Merger
mania mounts

Record pace maintains
inc regional consolidation

Over 50 megadeals have been agreed year to date matching the number in all of 2020 and that pace is likely to continue, according to M&A experts. Merger volume is expected to keep record pace in 2nd half of year. We review the M&A activity in the business supplies market and speculate on those in the pipeline.... Updated again today 

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20 Jul 21

Updated: 22 Jul 21

MillerKnoll merger
debuts new design

Resimercial rise facilitates
hybrid work collaboration

Three months after the news of Herman Miller’s $1.8Bn acquisition of Knoll first broke, details about how the two major design players will come together are now released. The new name speaks to the iconic design brands’ closer partnership, while continuing to trade on the reputation both have earned over the years

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20 Jul 21

Updated: 20 Jul 21

Optimism rising on
US/UK economies

High start-ups fuel growth.
Inflation only negative fear

Amidst all the negative commentary surrounding rising inflation in US/UK economies we read two positive articles over the weekend that were positively bullish.  One from The Telegraph based on the WFH tech revolution and rapid growth in UK start-ups and the NYTimes focused on the latter in the US....

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19 Jul 21

Updated: 20 Jul 21

JBHunt high on 

'essentials' drive

Huge demand for Truck
ICS & final mile delivery 

JBHunt the $10Bn US transportation giant held up well during the Covid disrupted Q2'21. Long haul demand recovered strongly enhanced by integrated capacity and high final mile delivery service demand for essentia goods

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19 Jul 21

Updated: 19 Jul 21

BTSchool buyers
to go BIG online

WFH tech enables students
& parents greater choices

Parents and students of students dexpect to spend 20% more online this 'Back to School' season compared with 2020, according to a new survey from Deloitte. This seems obvious given the lockdown but also reflects the huge increase in mobile commerce over the past 2 years...

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19 Jul 21

Updated: 20 Jul 21

Zoom booms on
cloud call centre

$15Bn move aimed at

enterprise market entry

Zoom Video Comms has acquired a cloud call centre leader in the USA. The buy is expected to help "bolster its presence with enterprise customers and allow the acceleration of its long-term growth opportunity" stated ceo Eric Yuan...

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17 Jul 21

Updated: 20 Jul 21

Avery acqs DTC
planner provider

Personalised 'web to print'
portfolio powering ahead

CCL Industries, leader in label, security and packaging solutions and parent of Avery has acquired another direct to consumer (DTC) personalised stationery provider in the US. 

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17 Jul 21

Updated: 19 Jul 21

Social Commerce
soars past $36Bn

China market is 10X larger.
WeChat dwarfs Facebook

Social Commerce sales in the US are picking up, but the size of the market pales in comparison to that of China, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast.The Live stream shopping trend started in China is expected to boom in US & Europe over the next year.

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16 Jul 21

Updated: 16 Jul 21

Essity's h e a v y
hygiene hit eases

Weak WFH brand strength
causes soft bounceback

Essity, the international hygiene & health supplies maker, made a slow Covid recovery hurt by weak WFH brand awareness. CEO Magnus Groth's growth strategy hype is in tatters following Q2'21 disapponting results which are still well below the pre pandemic 'normal' Q2'19

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16 Jul 21

Updated: 17 Jul 21

Staples stakes

school supplier

Acquires California dealer
w/more buys in pipeline

Staples Pro business supplies division (ex- Staples Business Advantage) have confirmed the acquisition of a leading school supplier in California. We understand that there are more $20m+ in sales dealers in the pipeline following a costly Covid survival struggle...

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