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?
Papermakers plan
Leading papermakers Burgo Group & Lecta have followed Sappi as the latest to confirm price rise plans in the European market in April. We doubt that merchants and dealers will stockpile ahead as demand continues to tumble
Virus fears clear
The Coronavirus outbreak has caused consumers to react & stock up on hygiene supplies. Both Amazon & Costco the usual first call for everyday supplies have been cleared out of essentials e.g. water, toilet tissues, hand sanitizers, cleaning fluid & face masks. Leading business suppliers report huge surges in demand with manufacturers increasing production
Staples makes
Staples Business Advantage the $10Bn in sales B2B division under CEO Sandy Douglas has made its first acquisition move this year by buying the largest OP dealer in Montana. We discuss plans with Douglas...Later today
HPE Honeymoon
Old tech giant HP Enterprise's CEO Antonio Neri, has failed to follow up on impressive early growth results, in latest Q1'20. What's he doing to drive growth? Losing share in a growth market with products and services that enterprises don't want?
Sysco stalks
US Foodservice giant Sysco Corp. has approached German owned wholesaler Metro AG about a potential takeover, as it plans to expand in Europe following its Brakes (UK) buy back in 2016
Target's tumbling
Leading US retailer Target reported decelerating sales growth trends in recent quarters compared with 2018. Q4'19 sales, fell to its lowest growth rate in organic terms in recent years. CEO Brian Cornell outlined new initiatives at the analyst's meeting
AMZN amasses
Amazon has opened a series of small warehouses closer to big US cities to shave hours off delivery times for its Prime Now same day delivery service. Meanwhile, it announced a surge in demand caused by the Coronavirus as confirmed by Costco.
#WATCH Out!
Proficiency Index analysis of Q4'19 financial reports to date, confirm consumer & business supply brand sales growth declined for the 6thQ running (w/exceptions eg P&G, Costco, Starbux, Apple). Yet stockmarket euphoria has belied the slowdown & CEO's cooling confidence e.g. #WATCH retailers (WMT, AMZN, Target, Costco, HDepot). We analyse results to date.. inc Target today
R e a c h for the
Proficiency Post has championed the 'productivity with personalization' principle since 2003. Model behaviour has been practiced by many progressive independents e.g. WBMason, but few major companies. The ultimate User eXperience (UX) continues to be Starbucks. We profile progress and highlight independent business supplier best practices. Updated
Cott converts
Cott Corporation, the international beverage distributor, today announced the completion of the acquisition of Primo Water Corp. a leading provider of water dispensers & purified bottled water in the US/Canada. It will now change its name to Primo
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