Beyond OPocalypse to
Before the Coronavirus pandemic tragedy the OP market was collapsing with paper & printer makers running below half 2010 demand levels. The 'Essentials' supply focus is a stark reminder that unless business suppliers' service includes hygiene & safety, refreshments, foodservice, IT & packaging products, the future is bleak. Every cloud has a silver lining.... Weekend
'Essentials' ease
The CV shutdown of all businesses except 'Essentials' supply by national & local government in US & UK would normally close office supply dealers. Those progressive resellers that have embraced broadline business supplies, have continued inc. home delivery, even though it means more, smaller individual drops at higher cost to serve....
Mask up delivery
"The coronavirus (CV) pandemic shows the need to overhaul how to treat delivery & frontline customer service teams" writes Business
Insider's Diana Enriquez. Good advice for dealers in business supply to ensure service teams 'mask-up' to reassure customers & get CV tests if they sense the symptoms... Updated
Hygiene Suppliers
The Coronavirus pandemic has hammered consumers & business supply demand with worse to come. Meanwhile, food & beverage, pharmacy & home technology suppliers are booming inc. makers & distributors that responded to the urgent need for greater personal protection & higher hygiene standards.. We review case studies... Updated
Buybacks v
Veritiv, the tailspinning US #1 paper merchant just announced a share buy back plan at a time when sales & profits were crashing pre CV. Meanwhile, many corporations are calling for bail out support from government as survival becomes their priority. How do they reconcile this greed with the CV pandemic about to explode across the US?
Herman Miller
Herman Miller, the leading upscale furniture maker, reported a major growth decline in its fiscal Q3'20. Like rival Steelcase it saw a slowdown in demand for project furniture
Facemasks: a
"Why US government telling people you don’t need masks backfired" writes Dr. Zeynep Tufekci in NY Times. To help manage the shortage, the authorities sent a message that made them untrustworthy. She lists reasons why masks work based on the successful practices
FedEx: fatefully
FedEx CEO Fred 'Smug' Smith reported bare bones Q3'20 results to 29 Feb. It again suffered serious declines in sales & profits, inspite of price increases. 'Smug' continued his excuses & arrogance towards the media and losing out to Amazon, USPS & UPS with an outdated, inferior service model
S o f t c a t soars
Softcat, the UK's fast growing #2 IT reseller, reported tremendous progress in the Half1'20 fiscal year. CEO Graeme Watt talks about passing $1Bn full year revenues and the uncertainty ahead from the Coronavirus pandemic
Costco invests
Major international consumer & business reseller Costco has increased its investment in ecommerce and consumer delivery service with the acquisition of third party delivery firm.
HD Supply's
HD Supply, a leading US industrial distributor today reported steady growth rates in Q4'19. CEO Joe D'Angelo commented on the recovery from declining sales earlier in the year, but no forecast was provided given the coronavirus uncertainty
D i x o n s drops
Embattled electronics retailer Dixons Group self styled saviour CEO Alex Baldock's 2 year tenure looks tenuous after a series of own goals and market share decline. Moreover, he continues to hype dull performance, but only now, has decided to drop the anachronistic
Car Phone Warehouse brand with severe consequences
Advantage
Many hygiene product makers & distributors are reacting to huge demand caused by the tragic Coronavirus pandemic. Progressive broadline suppliers that provide immediate & flexible user delivery e.g. Amazon, WBMason are gaining market share, with the former adding 100,000 workers to its service force,
Will Walmart
World #1 retailer Walmart is proceeding with the planned sale of its UK #3 supermarket chain Asda after attracting initial bids from 3 buyout firms. This after the proposed merger with UK #2 Sainsbury's failed to be approved by UK competition regulators
Coronavirus Alert!
Last month we highlighted the Starbucks & WBMason user experiences as the ultimate role models of personalized productivity. Today we highlight the same duo as first responders to the Coronavirus pandemic. Their dynamic leadership and customer intimacy principles are shining examples of how agility and flexibility can help consumers in crisis.
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