JBHunt driven into
JBHunt the $15Bn US transportation giant reported weaker results in Q4'22 in spite of continued higher prices per load. Long haul demand was steady. but other segments suffering lower volume. CEO John Roberts was oblivious to the high price hike effect!
Midwich maintains
International AV distributor Midwich reported record results for full year 2022. CEO Stephen Fenby was excited about its growing specialist portfolio in Unified Comms (UC) and visual coms that have boosted the group's relentless progress. "The AV market is resistant to recession fears" he said.
Is print recycling
VC owner of Clover Imaging Group, the ink & toner cartridge & mobile phone recycler, is reviewing its strategic options in the face of competitive pressure and secular decline in its core markets. After exiting Europe, stripping brand assets, it is now consolidating its remanufacturing facilities.
US's Most J u s t
Just Capital just announced the 2023 Rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies, in collaboration with CNBC. This year, out of the 951 companies ranked based on what public most prioritizes in just behavior, business supply leaders Apple, Microsoft, HP, Ecolab, Starbucks, Amazon and Best Buy featiured highly.
Biz Supply Market
2022 was characterized by a conflict between Wall St's 'recession obsession' and strong corporate sales & profitability hiked by double digit inflation. Looking ahead, CEOs feel optimistic about positive economic trends for jobs & consumers, especially in industrial, tech and business supplies; yet conservative investors are still pessimistic? We preview Q4'22 results, analysis due over next few weeks.
WMT apes AMZN
Global #2 retailer Walmart wants to sell more tech services to other retailers as part of its GoLocal program. It has struck a deal with Salesforce to get in front of more potential customers and market its customer insights, fulfillment services and digital advertising. Another copycat move from the Amazon playbook destined to fail?
BradyIFS bounces
The hygiene & packaging market is on fire with M&A activity! Advent's Imperial Dade & FEMSA's Envoy lead the way in acquiring regional jansan dealers, now BradyIFS after a 5 month hiatus, has resumed the chase. CEO Ken Sweder last month announced acq #16 expanding further beyond $1.3Bn sales and today #17 in Chicagoland...
Judges deny 3M
3M faces more than $10Bn+ (conservatively) in losses because of lawsuits brought by veterans who blame hearing problems on faulty earplugs, A federal judge has rejected 3M's repeated bids for bankruptcy protection from more than 230,000 lawsuits over earplugs used for more than a decade. Moreover,
'Forever Chemical' litigation is looming on the horizon as well. Full analysis here...
SPR secured by US
OP wholesaler SPR, formerly known as SPRichards, bought by a Yancey Jones led investment group in June 2020 from Genuine Parts has been acquired by the US #2 paper merchanting group CNG. This move was long anticipated given the OP dealer market demise and lack of SP investment in growth categories e.g. hygiene, foodservice and packaging. We look inside the deal...
Premier Paper's
Japan Pulp & Paper owned Premier Paper Group made its third recent acquisition following moves iin the UK packaging market in 2022. Delighted ceoMike Beever said "these moves follow our strategy of achieving organic growth in new categories and acquisitions in complementary geographies
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