UK supermarket Sainsbury’s takeover of Asda (UK subsidiary of Walmart) was blocked today by UK’s competition regulator CMA. Inconsistent & strange decision given it allowed the #1 supermarket Tesco to takeover Booker food service wholesaler in March 2018?
StoraEnso: prices
Global #2 papermaker Stora Enso reported strong sales & profits in Q1'19 exc. papermaking. CEO Karl Sundstrom described transformation 'repurposing' plans to cut paper capacity and investment in new growth opportunities in renewable packaging materials ...
ServiceNow's
Leading digital workflow productivity provider to corporationsServiceNow reported stellar results in Q1'19. We discuss how CEO John Donahoe's "make work better for people" principle has delivered success...
Mighty Microsoft
Microsoft reported strong results for Q3'19. Since CEO Satya Nadella took over 5yrs ago the reinvention and focus on cloud computing via Azure & Dynamics business software has produced powerful results
Depot deception
Seeking Alpha analyst Value Adventurer headlines 'Office Depot: Oversold on short term executional issues'. Has VA been living under a stone? Since 2007 Depot/Max core sales have plummeted from $25Bn sales to a current $9Bn in 2019. Moreover, all recent moves made by CEO Gerry Smith have failed to lift off, as sales/customer service standards decline...
Death of Indie
Does size matter? The office market over the past 35yrs has been dominated by bigboxes & Amazon #1 in business supplies, points to a continuation. But emerging trends show the big guys in deep decline & Godzilla grinding. The rise of progressive resellers providing 'personalised productivity services' embracing mobile technology, can & will succeed.. Updated
'Industry Week'
The Business Supplies Asctn (BSA) plan to rationalise vendors' heavy schedule of 20+pa shows & create an 'Industry Week' has been quashed. Understandably, leading wholesalers & resellers wouldn't cooperate. Great idea, so what's Plan B? We feel thought be given to a more customer centric 'Business Productivity Show' for the IDC. We spoke w/BSA presBarry Lane... Updated
Stanley tools
Stanley Black & Decker, the $14Bn tools, storage & OP maker maintained strong sales & profits growth in Q1'19 but expects slower growth for the full year
Amazon starts
Amazon has begun to market its PillPack medical supplies service to its 100m Prime members. We expect this to revive the slowing etail growth trends reported in recent quarters. Get Q1'19 results analysis first here tomorrow
Antalis' adversity
Europe's #1 paper merchant, ailing Antalis continued its deep decline in Q1'19 in spite of c20% paper inflation during 2018. The CEO is in denial: "resilient" rhetoric and blaming Brexit uncertainy; with no growth or reinvention strategy, as it steers towards the sunset
Twitter #1 News
"Twitter is not a social network" said founder Jack Dorsey, we want to be the #1 fastest live & interactive news broadcaster. The huge events over recent years have proven his claim to be correct with improving growth & profitability results in Q1'19
HP subscription
HP's EMEA chief Nick Lazaridisinterviewed with CRN recently on the vendor's PC/print strategy including 'Device as a Service (DaaS)' and future developments. We discuss....
Amazon's Key
Amazon has launched its Key in-house delivery service to Prime customer homes, garages, warehouses & businesses first announced at CES in January.
P&G gains in
Procter & Gamble (PG), the leading personal, home & business care brand maker reported powerful Q1'19 results. Continuing action to win market share has succeeded v K-C and margin pressure
Coke growth
Coca-Cola sales volume growth slowed boosted by by higher prices and favourable mix shifts. The US/Europe markets buoyed results, but the beverage giant was out performed in business supply by PepsiCo. We compare progress...
PepsiCo plans Today PepsiCo the food & beverage giant announced a new beverage dispenser for the food service sector—a 'hydration platform' rollout that attempts to reduce plastic usage by prompting consumers to fill up their own reusable bottles.
"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