|
|
An insider's view of the new rocket
scientists joining the OP industry.
29 Jun 08
Hits and Myths
Why do we have an inferiority complex about our industry? Why do some leading participants still insist this business is boring…dull…all about pens, paper and paperclips?
I've lived near the forefront of the industry for 30 years and yes the general line wholesalers are often accused of being box shifters, Yes, back in the 80's it was difficult meeting brain surgeons socially and capturing their imagination by telling tales of Tippex.
I realise when outsiders join the industry, it must on the surface seem trivial, maybe small minded, low tech and let's face it pretty simple. But, as always the devil is in the details and this often floors (and flaws even) many overconfident outsiders coming into the marketplace.
Read an insider's view in Frost Bites later today.
__________________________________________ |
|
|
.jpg "New Image") | 2008 Office Buyers
Survey Results
Get online with Lucy…personally |
|
|
They want: to order online plus human touch; eco-friendly products and service; packaging collected; management contact list.
27 June 08
Here are the headline statistics just in from the 2008 Proficiency Index survey of UK women office buyers, primarily user choosers with executive power and influence*. The latest research in the USA and UK confirmed that women are responsible for 84% of office buying decisions.
Read the full summary report in Latest News.
_______________________________________ |
|
|
 | Breaking News
Express in mess
in Florida |
|
|
Con-tract Confusion…overcharging…raising prices without agreement….discrepancies between catalog list price and online Eway system.
26 Jun 08
Collier County (Florida) Auditors has issued a report on the office supplies contract between Corporate Express and the Collier County Purchasing Department.
Read the summary report in Latest News.
________________________________________ |
|
|
 | Illusion or Innovation?
Brand wars: manufacturer v house. Who wins? |
|
Big box's are now manufacturers' biggest customers and their biggest competitors.
25 Jun 08
If you are a 'brand' filing or desk top accessories manufacturer with few new products in the pipeline, you might be struggling as the big-box players match and beat you with imported house brands. If you are truly innovative like 3M, HP, Fellowes, Logitech, Safco and Pilot then the future is brighter. It is still tough though and manufacturers face a massive dilemma.
Read the full story in Frost Bites (click here).
______________________________________ |
|
|
.jpg "New Image") | Amazon to flood
the office market |
|
Big Box retailers shares dived up to 11% yesterday
24 Jun 08
Amazon.com announced yesterday that it has opened a new office supplies store that it said will carry more than 500,000 products (is this a guess?). Currently they carry 49,000 office supply items.
With our enormous breadth of selection, we have paper, pencils, sticky notes, pushpins and much more, all available for purchase with the click of a mouse, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Chris Rupp, director of merchandising for computers and office supplies for Amazon, in a statement.
Read the story in Latest News and opinion in Frost Bites
_________________________________ |
|
|
 | Staples chief...easy soulful listening
Sargent Simplicity
Fascinating interview with the
OP industry's most admired CEO
20 Jun 08
Last Thursday, I was privileged to visit the OP world's most admired reseller chief…Ron Sargent of Staples. My sense of timing was immaculate and coincidental. The day before Staples had inked the deal to acquire Corporate Express for $4.8Bn (inc debt).
The new combo will bring sales in 2008 to around $28Bn…$16Bn in delivery, making the 'retailer' tag the minority share of sales for the first time. My purpose was to enquire about his philosophies, his mantra, the driving forces, the current and future trends in what we both agreed is a fantastic marketplace.
The consistent message running through our discussion was customers…people…communication…easy…soulful simplicity. |
|
|
|
 | ODgate Update
Schmidt hits
the fan
Depot damned and debarred by Georgia, dismisses 200 corporate staff, with management facing criminal arrest
13 June 08 |
|
|
You couldn't make it up! This has been another bad week at Office Depot. On Monday, the State of Georgia commissioner's office decided to debar them for one year from office supply contracts. Read Frost Bites for a news update and comment.
The behaviour of Depot's president of the business delivery division Steve Schmidt has become increasingly desperate as he struggles to deflect arrows coming in from all directions and he shows all the bluff composure of a man leading a company riddled with guilt.
Today we learned that Depot laid off 200 of their Florida based corporate staff…10% of the total employee numbers, before they move into their shiny new palace on the "Odland" estate in Boca Raton.
Then we hear that management implicated in the State of Florida fraud case could face criminal arrest. Read the latest story in Latest News.
_________________________________________ |
|
|
Please visit Frost Bites to read cutting edge comment and news analysis on the BIG issues in the Office Productivity marketplace worldwide.
Get the latest quarterly financial reports, critical analysis and comment on the leading BIG BOX players, dealers, wholesalers and manufacturers. See Latest News
Leading dealers and personalities, sector success stories, including the rise-and-rise of the new beed of superdealers - see Proficiency Profiles.
Check out the latest statistics and research in Proficiency Index...
_________________________________________________ |
|
|
 | Advertisement |
|
|
Make a
Positive move!
Act now to get your sales and marketing team moving before.... |  |
|
|
2 June 08
Introducing the 8 point Positive Marketing Partners programme to help you boost sales growth via higher order values and a greater share of your customer's potential spend. We can help you double order values and increase share of customer spend from 40% to 60% by selling in new product categories
Positive's personalised sales and marketing systems help you attain and retain new customers:
1. RAPPORT Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) system
2. PROM personalised emarketing system inc video demos
3. Positive 24/7 Open webstores
4. eco-SYNOPSIS personalised single source system
5. Proficiency Index Best Practice Benchmarking for dealers
6. Positive Edge training and recruitment (sales and marketing)
7. MAXPro from GOPD match'n'beat competitive pricing service
8. MAGIC magalog, specialogs lifestyle catalogs to suit
The whole package is designed to enable you to go to market with an irrresistible proposition under your brand name:
"Delivering office productivity
in a personalised and eco-friendly way"
The time take positive action is now! Office Depot, OfficeMax and Corporate Express are losing their way. But these powerhouses will return with a vengeance. Make sure you have the right tools with a well motivated sales force to out-market them profitably.
We have a top team of marketers; designers; catalog producers; IT and web technology and systems analysts; and trainers ready to speed your development .
|
|
These programmes are available as a package or individually. Make a positive move, please call for more details:
Peter Frost on +44 1932 784887 or email peter@positiveofficegroup.com;
or call James Wilson on +44 7767 303021 or email: james@positiveofficegroup.com
______________________________________
|  |
|
|
 | Proficiency Index
Review of the Year
The Best
and Worst
of 2007
The Best Leaders…
The Best Companies…
The Best Products…
The Best Ads… |
|
31 Dec 07
2007 wasn't heaven, but 2008 will be great!
Please go to Frost Bites for the special feature
___________________________________ |
|
|
|
 | Power is shifting from Big Box players to…
'The New Propellers'
of office productivity
The renaissance of the progressive superdealer
11 Nov 07 |
|
|
Is the BIG BOX phenomenon or power channel era, as it is more often called over? It started back in the 90's when the publicly funded superstores rose rapidly, first through organic growth and then through acquisition into mail order and contract stationery.
It was a remarkable transformation of the OP industry from a market dominated by regional superdealers and mail order specialists, focused on B2B to one led by the rapidly emerging power channel. The leading BIG BOX players were Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax and Corporate Express.
Fast forward to today and there is strong evidence that their period of market domination is over. Apart from the Staples and Lyreco strategic combo, the BIG BOX operators are struggling. Moreover, powerful regional superdealers are coming back as a new breed of PROPS….Providers of Office Productivity Solutions
Welcome then, to the era of the New Propellers…the new dynamic version of PROPS, who are going to market with a more positive drive….propelling the way forward. It's no longer a renaissance though, it's more a resurgence.
Read the full story in the Office Megatrends (click here) preview
_______________________________ |
|
|
 | Al Gore's $100M+ carbon cutting campaign
Can a big ad campaign turn awareness into action? |
|
|
12 Oct 07
Whether it's for national security reasons or to protect the environment, nearly everyone agrees the US should use energy more efficiently.Yet energy use is going nowhere but up. By 2030 it's expected to jump 35 to 40% in the U.S. alone.
Read about how Al Gore the former vice president, Oscar-winner and now Nobel Peace Prize recipient is embarking on a climate-change advertising campaign estimated to cost between $100-$200 million a year, one of the largest public service campaigns in history.
Please go to GoEco (click here)
_______________________________________ |
|
|
 | What women want in the office.
They want eco-friendly products and services; want to order online; want packaging waste collected and recycled. |
|
|
2007 Office Buying Survey results
29 June 07
Here are the headline statistics just in from the Proficiency Index survey of UK women office buyers, primarily user choosers with executive power and influence*. The latest research in the USA and UK indicates that women are responsible for 84% of office buying decisions.
Read the full analysis in Latest News
_______________________________________ |
|
|
|
