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?
PepsiCo powers
Leading food and beverage maker PepsiCo has agreed to acquire Rockstear Energy Beverages, the popular energy drink maker for $3.85Bn. Pepsi's "Winning with Purpose" strategy is gaining serious momentum in both its healthy snacks and energy refreshments portfolio
Newell Brands:
House of OP brands Newell entered an expensive & fateful $19Bn merger with Jarden in Dec'15. Ever since there's been furious activity to sell off asets to pay off the $10Bn debt. Then CEO Mike Polk has gone to be replaced by ex-Max messer Ravi Saligram. How can it survive?
B2B marketing
Even experienced and seasoned OP pro's don’t seem to get that B2B and B2C marketing distinctions are dead! Resellers need to reach decision makers now, not just commodity buyers. That means personalised marketing beyond the buyer Sally to the lovely user chooser Lucy...like Amazon and progressive dealers do.
The most important
It’s no secret that we’ve entered a “post-truth” era, with myriad instances of deep fakes, misinformation campaigns, gaining viral traction and shaping the decision-making of millions — all too often driven by prominent leaders. One of the biggest web design trends of 2020 will be designing truth.
FEMSA's huge
Leading Mexican reseller FEMSA, $24Bn in sales, has acquired the leading US network of jansan & packaging distributors. Expect NYSE quoted public company to compete strongly in the rapid roll up race of regional hygiene supply distributors e.g. Bunzl, CNG & Imperial Dade
Walmart's late
At last retail giant Walmart is planning to launch a paid membership program called Walmart+. Experts say it should use the loyalty program to leverage its national network of stores and offer perks Amazon cannot match. But, what are they?
HON's sound
HON the leading US transactional furnituremaker has announced a partnership agreement with a acoustic solutions producer. As open office collaboration trends grow, so the need to provide 'hear yourself think' spaces for individuals increases....
Bunzl bundles
Bunzl, the $12Bn international business supplies distributor, that had a stalled growth year in 2019, has accelerated its acquisition programme with a renewed focus on hygiene & safety, foodservice and packaging supplies
Alibaba attacks
Chinese MCommerce giant Alibaba launched its ecommerce platform for US resellers last summer and is rapidly growing its base of SMBs using the platform inc. Office Depot. Here, Industrial Distribution's Mike Hockett talks with North America B2B president John Caplan (pic left) to learn more about progress
Coronavirus: Your
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