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21 Mar 23

Updated: 21 Mar 23

Do AMZN analysts
discount assets?

'BuywPrime' success tests
signify biz resellers growth

All the press talk recently about Amazon has been negative: -27000 job cuts? Slower AWS growth? Slowing ecommerce, competitors catching up? Stalled Fulfilment Centre plans? Wishful thinking maybe? It's still winning market share across the board and perhaps readjusting itself for another big growth push? New developments are a Prime example!

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17 Mar 23

Updated: 17 Mar 23

Old OP Emperors

have no clothes!

Trad product sellers outed
by productivity srvcs shift

There's been much recession talk recently: macro economic headwinds, high inflation, depressing optimism. How much is real given the huge prices boost on lower volumes? Whilst ex-leaders eg. Acco, HP, Newell, 3M & VOW decline despite complacent commentary, progressive players reinvented to meet the 'personalized productivity service' needs of users. We highlight losers and the big winners..Complete

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7 Mar 23

Updated: 8 Mar 23

Newell nears nadir;
writing on the wall?

Typical Ravi rhetoric diverts
from core strategy failings?

Newell Brands, the $9Bn house of business & consumer brands, sales volume plummeted in home, commercial & writing products during 2022. Ex-Max Ravi Saligram is retiring as ceo, guilty of 'fiddling while the house burns', with market cap plunging -40% over the last year. What confidence is there that new boss Chris Peterson can break the 'same as the old boss' maxim? We comment....

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5 Mar 23

Updated: 5 Mar 23

The $2B Question:
Who are u at Work

Personality tests revival for
new era of hybrid working 

Employers are finding personality tests, measuring how employees think and feel, more useful than ever while navigating hybrid work. "But the tests are not always up-to-date " writes NYTimes' Emma Golldberg. How do leading assessors meet the challenge of a new office culture measuring engagement, satisfaction, collaboration, productivity? We discuss...

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4 Mar 23

Updated: 7 Mar 23

Downsizing Acco
accepting defeat?

"Happy" ceo cites inflation,
economy not dud strategy?

'OPI Talk' interviewed Acco ceo Boris Elisman last week after disastrous Q4'22 results: down -30% in OP volume v pre-Covid norm Q4'19. The "Happy with our strategy" chief blamed inflation, economic uncertainty, Ukraine war, as key factors, yet hardly mentioned terminal OP decline as a cause for major downsizing activity. Moreover, he ignored price inflation as a huge positive? Tomorrow

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28 Feb 23

Updated: 28 Feb 23

Wayward Wayfair
wasting a w a y?

Mgt compensation +60%;
operating losses top $1B

Wayfair, the $12Bn in sales, home & office furniture etailer, reported Q4'22 results last week. "They were a complete disaster" said Seeking Alpha analyst Dave Kranzler. "It's close to insolvency, yet if not unethically, management (ceo Niraj Shah) compensation soared" We review analyst's comments. 

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26 Feb 23

Updated: 27 Feb 23

Hybrid work future
hollows corp space

Entrepreneurs' rise drives
up 'officeless' productivity;
less latency eg. commuting

The contrast in opinions over the 'hybrid work future' & the 'return to work', is stark. New thinking is positive about the huge rise in entrepreneurial productivity. Old thinking believes a return to corporate office control is inevitable. Are corporations underestimating the hollowing out of office space; the time waste and the need to trust workers' motives? Updated

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22 Feb 23

Updated: 22 Feb 23

FEMSA's Envoy:  
'Four Sale' options?

VC/MBO Spinoff? IPO? Sale
eg Grainger? Stick v twist?

FEMSA the $27Bn Mexican based convenience store & fuel station chain (Oxxo) shocked business supply markets last week, stating it was "exploring strategic alternatives" over it's $2Bn Envoy rollup of US hygiene and packaging resellers. We explore the strategic options available to the conglomerate. We feel this will not play out without major difficulties ahead... Updated 

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21 Feb 23

Updated: 21 Feb 23

Brands 'shrinkflate'
packaged prices

Deceptive mkting ignites
consumer battle v Pvt label

From toilet paper to snacks, original brandmakers are exploiting the inflationary environment by increasing prices or sneakily reducing pack sizes/quantities aka 'Shrinkflation'. Mondelez ceo Dirk van Put  admitted as such, in an interview with CNBC this morning. We highlight current examples of this practice in the broader business supply market...

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13 Feb 23

Updated: 17 Feb 23

10 Traditional Trade
Traits T R A S H e d

Digital mktg drives user 
benefits not navel gazing

The business supply market was historically characterized by trade traditions focused on reseller gross margins. The emergence of Amazon (2006) & iPhone (2007) facilitated a transformation from maxing profits to maxing consumer satisfaction: e.g optimizing 'personalised productivity services'. The leaders of this revolution are the most successful (The MANUSA's). We explain the 10 trashed traits with examples... Updated

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