Stanley's Smart
Stanley Black & Decker, the $14Bn tools, storage & OP maker plans to open a new Craftsman manufacturing plant in North Texas. This follows the launch of its Manufacturing 4.0 Centre of Excellence centre in Connecticut last month
Exertis Plugs
UK Based tech reseller Exertis held its annual 'Plug In' partner event last week, in the illustrious surrounds of Silverstone race track. New group MD Tim Griffin outlined his differentiation plans v international powerhouses Ingram & TechData....
Home Depot's
Home Depot the $108Bn+ home & business improvement supplier again reported slower growth in direct sales. In contrast its $3Bn PRO (ex Supply Works) wholesale division is gaining strength with business service providers....
Printers plunge
Sales of printer hardware through distributors in West Europe (WE) were sharply down by 4.2% in Q1 2019, according to the latest distribution data published by CONTEXT.
Softcat soars on
UK's fast growing #2 IT reseller Softcat, reported tremendous progress in its Q3'19 trading update. CEO Graeme Watt (pic left with Michael Dell) talks about market share gains and the huge upside potential...
Depot federates
Desperate Office Depot continues to add OP dealers to its 'Federation' programme, whilst its core business & the $1Bn toxic Compucom acquisition sinks. Meanwhile, Staples, Essendant & SPRichards compete with capitalisation plans of their own.
KP Tissue on a
KP Tissue (previously known as Kruger), the Canada based leading international brand tissue maker, continued to win share in the US consumer & business supply market with its quality brands drive, boosted by price rises
Amazon stakes
Amazon lead a $575m funding round in the UK-based food delivery company Deliveroo, continuing its diversification into the takeaway market. Will the US be the 15th country of its rapid expansion?
Walmart awokenThe world’s #1 retailer, Walmart (inc. Asda UK) continued its strong 2 years recovery pattern in Q1'20, with above average market growth online, but a tiny & deficient offering compared with Amazon's rapid delivery service...
AWiggins owner
Sequana, parent company of papermaker Arjowiggins and currently the majority shareholder in Europe's #1 paper merchant Antalis is to be liquidated, a French court has ruled. How will CEO Herve Poncin restructure Antalis?
CCL's ascent
CCL Industries, the $5Bn in sales specialist labelmaker, including Avery, reported stronger sales growth for Q1'19 fuelled by acquisitions
Industry awards
Jennifer Smith, CEO of Innovative Office Solutions, the rapidly growing business services US reseller, will be honoured at BSA's Leadership Award dinner in September. We speak with Jennifer... Updated
Alibaba amasses
Alibaba Group, the $56Bn+ in sales, Chinese Mcommerce giant accelerated sales growth in its Q4'19 report by adding millions of new users, driving local delivery services, plus its rapidly growing Cloud Computing division...
Overstock over
Failing furniture & business etailer, $1.8Bn in sales, Overstock again reported heavy losses in Q1'19 as continued to seek withdrawal from its core ecommerce business. How much longer can its CEO Patrick Byrne survive, especially after dumping his shares ?
Imperial bags
Imperial Dade, the largely Eastern Seaboard US reseller of paper, hygiene, food service and packaging supplies, resumed its rapid roll up of regional specialists following the new capital injection of Bain Capital, announced recently
DCC/E x e r t i s
UK IT & OP wholesaler Exertis' parent company DCC Group today announced full year results to 31 Mar'19. CEO Donal Murphy (pic left, on left) reported impressive growth via 3 acquisitions (inc. 2 in the NA), plus steady organic growth
"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