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Supplying the modern office – WHEREVER IT IS Anticipating and responding to industry trends at an early stage has stood ACCO Brands in good stead and allowed it to offer customers the products that they need right now

As demand for products in the business supplies sector has fluctuated wildly in this pandemic year, ACCO Brands EMEA has been steady in offering solutions to the challenges its customers have encountered. OPI spoke to SVP of Marketing Arild Olsen about the products that have helped these consumers to manage and thrive in what has been uncharted territory in many ways.

OPI: It’s been a testing 2020 for all the obvious reasons. What has been your experience over the past ten months or so?

Arild Olsen: ACCO Brands EMEA’s performance pre-COVID was very strong but, like all businesses, the company was hit by the global pandemic in March 2020. All markets were affected to different degrees, but pretty much in line with the spread of the virus.

Thankfully, we were able to continue serving our customers during this difficult period due to our flexible organisational set-up and robust supply chain. Measures were put into place quickly to ensure the safety of our employees, and all our distribution centres remained open at all times.

We have also benefitted from our very broad product portfolio and years of focus on anticipating and responding to upcoming trends such as working from home.

Leitz IQ: one of ACCO Brands’ shredders for the small and home office Make yourself at home with Leitz Cosy

OPI: ACCO’s product portfolio is huge. Where have you seen the highest growth versus perhaps a tailing off in demand?

AO: Rather than a drop-off in demand for specific categories, we have seen an adjustment in the mix of products – that’s probably the best way of putting it. In the business machines segment, which includes shredders and laminators, for instance, we are selling far more smaller machines.

Shredders like the Leitz IQ and Rexel Momentum are perfect for working at home and ensuring that data protection and GDPR guidelines are still being met by employees. We’ve had fantastic feedback for these products.

The need for temporary signage in a wide range of environments has also meant a big uptick in the demand for laminators and their accessories, both at home – with the Leitz WOW model for example – or in the office where our innovative GBC Foton Automatic Laminator is very popular.

In addition, and again with signage solutions in mind, our visual communications brand Nobo has generated great demand. We have also developed a completely new category of Nobo divider products to enable businesses such as restaurants and offices to address social distancing requirements and to continue trading.

Other items that are very sought after are computer accessories – we see huge demand for these solutions. We’ve made considerable investments in keyboards, mice, docking stations and ergonomic products under the Kensington brand. With people now much more conscious about a healthy workspace – at home or in the office – our Leitz TruSens Air Purifiers have seen remarkable success.

As people spend more time at home, we have seen great demand for storage solutions such as Leitz MyBox and Click & Store which both fit perfectly in the home environment as well as the modern office. At the same time, our Rapid DIY tools as well as our fine art pencils from Derwent have seen further growth and popularity.

OPI: Before we talk more about this new hybrid workforce, I wanted to ask you about the topic of sustainability. Has that taken a backseat at all, in among more pressing issues?

AO: It hasn’t. As a business, we are only too aware of our impact on the world around us and the responsibilities associated with that. Our work to continually improve our processes and products has been an ongoing task for many years.

On the product note and due to increased demand, we have recently launched the first CO2-neutral lever arch file as well as 100% recycled pockets and folders. We’ve also expanded and relaunched the Leitz Recycle range in October which is completely CO2 neutral, 100% recyclable and, depending on the product, made from recycled plastic or card.

OPI: Let’s go back to the current homeworking phenomenon. Products for this setting are not really new to you, are they?

AO: No, they’re not. We’ve seen the rise of the home office for many years and invested relentlessly in this segment. About ten years ago, we launched the immensely popular Leitz WOW range which matches home interior design trends. Our new WOW colours were introduced in January of this year and are now more relevant than ever. We have continuously extended our portfolio for this demographic in order to meet all requirements.

Cleaner air with the Leitz TruSens Air Purifier

A hybrid working arrangement that is split between the home and the physical office will become the norm

A new range addressing this customer segment is Leitz Cosy, launched in October 2020, where we yet again expanded our product portfolio with great solutions specifically for homeworking.

Leitz Cosy perfectly blends a functional homeworking set-up with nice home interiors. It features a minimalist design, inviting matt-finish colours, premium quality as well as completely plastic-free packaging. We’ve seen tremendous interest in this range.

The line includes wireless phone chargers, wall clocks, an attractive storage range, including the stylish storage carry box, as well as sophisticated note-taking accessories, such as magnetic glass whiteboards, wipe-clean glass desk notepads or desktop easels.

OPI: Do you foresee a return to the office and, as such, changing customer behaviour again?

Meeting customer demand: Leitz Recycle and the first CO2-neutral lever arch files

AO: Homeworking was already a slow-burning trend. It was hugely accelerated by the crisis, but will continue after the pandemic subsides I’m sure.

A hybrid working arrangement that is split between the home and the physical office will become the norm – and the expectation of staff – in the future, I’m convinced of that.

OPI: That surely represents a massive opportunity for you?

AO: It does. We have a full range of solutions that are designed to create a modern workspace – wherever it is – in terms of aesthetics, quality and functionality as well as, of course, employees’ health and safety.

OPI: Too much future-gazing appears rather futile at a time when it’s hard to predict what the next week or month might bring. But let me just ask this: how well positioned for the future is ACCO Brands EMEA in your opinion?

AO: Over its history of more than 100 years, ACCO Brands has been through many crises. We have always managed to come out stronger at the other end. I believe this will also be the case this time. 2020 has been a record year for us in terms of new product launches. We have made substantial investments to ensure we can continue to react quickly to new product demands. We also work closer than ever with our reseller partners to guarantee the best service for end consumers.

From a company point of view, the current crisis has really brought the teams across Europe together. There’s been a fantastic commitment and passion throughout the organisation to get solutions to our customers quickly and support them at this difficult time. So yes, to answer your question, I think ACCO Brands is very well-positioned going forward.