Opi us 258 april 16

Office Products International ISSUE NO.2 5 8

The word in office.

magazine

Big Interview

Gavin Ward, CEO, Office Brands p14

April 2016

APRIL 2016 WWW.OPI.NET

Staples’ growth plan p10

EOPA winners unveiled p30

p23 Is the OP catalogue dead? p58 BREXIT or not for UK OP?

Contents April 2016

www.opi.net

News

Events

6 Round-up

30 EOPA

US purchasing alliance halted; Novexco CEO to retire; Guernsey buys jan/san reseller

All the winners from this year’s awards ceremony – and why they walked away with the prize

9 News Analysis

39 OPI Partnership

Senior executives from across Europe met for two days of highimpact meetings and networking

Franchise concept steps up in US; Staples explains core priorities

Features

40 ISSA/INTERCLEAN

14 The Yellow Brick Road

A glance at what’s to come at this year’s major cleaning industry event in Amsterdam

OPI talks to Gavin Ward at Australian dealer group Office Brands – about dealers in Oz, the need for scale and for embracing technology and, of course, Staples and its future

Category Analysis 46 Paper

23 Can the catalogue survive?

It’s a tough – and declining – category, but it’s not all doom and gloom in the paper segment

14

What place does the printed catalogue have in today’s digital world? It depends who you ask...

29 The Spider Report US: back to basics

50 Education

Plenty of potential coupled with some caveats sum up this sector

Regulars

30

Basic, reliable and rapid functionality – that’s what B2B OP purchasers want from their web experience

5 Comment 55 The generation game Bob Shulman

42 The paper experience

57 5 minutes with...

While the paper sector is clearly in a state of flux, International Paper is one player that’s embracing the challenges – and winning

Jhenielle Brown

46

ISSUE NO.2 5 8

The word in office.

magazine

Big Interview

Gavin Ward, CEO, Office Brands p14

April 2016

APRIL 2016

23

Steve Harrop

Office Products International WWW.OPI.NET

“The printed catalogue is more important than ever and, if anything, we’ve seen an increase in uptake. Its decline was predicted years ago, yet sales of our main catalogue continue to grow, so I don’t think it’s going to disappear any day soon. Therefore, it makes commercial sense for us to continue to develop our offline offering as strongly as our online one.”...

For the full story, turn to page 23

58 Final word

Staples’ growth plan p10

EOPA winners unveiled p30

p23 Is the OP catalogue dead? p58 BREXIT or not for UK OP?

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

3

Editorial Editor-at-large Andy Braithwaite +33 4 32 62 71 07 andy.braithwaite@opi.net

Editor Heike Dieckmann

Comment

+44 (0)20 7841 2950 heike.dieckmann@opi.net

Deputy Editor Michelle Sturman

A fight to the finish

+44 (0)20 7841 2942 michelle.sturman@opi.net

Sales and Marketing VP – Continental Europe, Middle East and Africa Ewan Dickson +44 (0)20 7841 2954 ewan.dickson@opi.net

VP – North America and UK Chris Turness +44 (0)20 7841 2953 chris.turness@opi.net

Director of Growth Services Jeremy Hughes +44 (0)7807 810617 jeremy.hughes@opi.net

Digital Marketing Manager Aurora Enghis +44 (0)20 7841 2959 aurora.enghis@opi.net

Events Events Manager Lisa Haywood +44 (0)20 7841 2941 events@opi.net

Production and Finance Designer Joel Mitchell +44 (0)20 7841 2943 joel.mitchell@opi.net

Operations & Production Eda Sismanoglu +44 (0)20 7841 2950 eda@opi.net

Accountant Mark Wallis +44 (0)20 7841 2956 mark.wallis@opi.net

Publishers CEO Steve Hilleard +44 (0)20 7841 2940 steve.hilleard@opi.net

Director Janet Bell +44 (0)20 7841 2941 janet.bell@opi.net

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No part of this magazine may be reproduced, copied, stored in an electronic retrieval system or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with provision of the copyright designs and patents act of 1988. Stringent efforts have been made by Office Products International to ensure accuracy.

However, due principally to the fact that data cannot always be verified, it is possible that some errors or omissions may occur.

Office Products International cannot accept responsibility for such errors or omissions. Office Products International accepts no responsibility for comments made by contributing authors or interviewees that may offend.

Hopefully, this will be one of the last occasions you’ll hear me going on like a stuck record about the strungout Staples/Office Depot saga. By the time you read this, we should be well into the court hearing in Washington DC brought about by the Federal Trade Commission’s challenge to the deal. The end is nigh!

I’ve been following the pre-trial documents on a daily basis and it looks like Staples is going to put up a good fight, even if the odds are still stacked against it prevailing.

If you haven’t been keeping EOPA is now firmly tabs on exactly what is going established in conjunction on, check out opi.net for with OPI’s Partnership regular updates.

Another European Office event as an important and Products Awards (EOPA) highly productive few days evening has been and in the European business gone in the past month. supplies calendar Congratulations to all the winners for their well-deserved recognition. EOPA is now firmly established in conjunction with OPI’s Partnership event as an important and highly productive few days in the European business supplies calendar, attracting an impressive number of senior executives from all channels.

See pages 30-39 for all the details.

Paper is one of our featured categories in this month’s issue. Despite the digitisation of the workplace, paper is still a key product for many resellers – but the sector faces many underlying challenges and even “a fight for survival” in some cases. Read more on page 46.

Have a great month.

Andy Braithwaite Editor-at-large

Office Products International Ltd (OPI), 2nd Floor, 112 Clerkenwell Road, London, EC1M 5SA, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7841 2950

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w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

5

News n Round-up

News from opi.net Waltons continues to disappoint South African conglomerate Bidvest has said that its Waltons office supplies business had a disappointing H1.

Bidvest didn’t break down its divisional numbers for the six months ending 31 December 2015, and Waltons now sits in the broader Office and Print unit.

However, the group admitted that Waltons’ performance “continued to disappoint” in the current financial year following the senior management shake-up in 2015.

Bidvest’s Office and Print division reported interim sales of R5.15 billion ($330 million), a 3.5% year-on-year increase, but an inflation-adjusted decline of between 2-3%.

There was a stronger performance on the bottom line with operating profit up almost 25% to R415 million.

Bidvest highlighted wholesaler Silveray and distributors Kolok and Konica Minolta for their good performances, and furniture brand Cecil Nurse was praised for doing “exceptionally well”.

Large Resellers

Dealer Groups

US purchasing alliance halted Efforts to group the direct purchasing of larger US dealers via the American Purchasing Alliance (APA) have come to a standstill after one of the two members resigned.

The APA is an initiative aimed at bringing together the purchasing power and market strength of the large independent dealers from the Direct Purchasing Catalog Group (DPCG) and TriMega’s Dealer Supplier Collaborative (DSC).

However, in a press release, dealer network AOPD – which was acting as a neutral facilitator of APA – has confirmed that DSC has resigned from APA, effective immediately.

APA was quite far down the road in terms of vendor contract negotiations, with some awards imminent, OPI understands, so it seems odd for DSC to pull out at this late stage, some 18 months after the initiative was announced.

TriMega President Mike Maggio had no further comment to make beyond the content of the press release.

APA said it would be suspending contract negotiations “until further notice”, but there is no point in an umbrella group existing with just one member remaining.

AOPD’s Executive Director Mark Leazer told OPI that he was “disappointed” in the outcome but that he still believed in the APA concept and the need to align the buy side and sale side in the large dealer community.

Despite the news, Kinetic, the combined AOPD annual meeting and TriMega’s Contract Forum One On One, proceeded as planned in mid-March in San Antonio, Texas, with DPCG also in attendance in the same location with its own event.

And it was clear during the event – also attended

by OPI – that bringing together representatives from all major dealer groups in the US was a popular move. One of the key themes was the ‘interdependence of independents’, underlining the need for the independent dealer community to work more closely together.

Novexco CEO to retire Leading Canadian multichannel office products operator Novexco has announced the retirement of CEO Robert de Montigny.

De Montigny, who has been CEO at the wholesaler/dealer group/contract stationer since 2006, will officially retire on 31 May. Under de Montigny’s watch, Novexco acquired Corporate Express’ wholesaling business, the Club Express dealer group and Lyreco’s operations in Canada. The group also made a major investment in its facilities and supply chain infrastructure, opening a state-of-the art distribution centre in Quebec in 2011.

Novexco said it expects to name de Montigny’s successor in the coming months.

People 6

OPI Magazine | April 2016

Robert de Montigny

Large Resellers

Staples invests in Poland Staples has expanded both its Global Competence Centre and Staples Advantage business in Poland.

The reseller opened its Global Competence Centre – somewhat under the radar – in the Polish city of Gdańsk last year with the support of local government body Invest in Pomerania.

Initially employing a dozen or so staff, the centre has now outgrown its original location and recently moved into a new, permanent home in the Olivia Six business centre in Gdańsk.

The centre employs specialists from a variety of disciplines, including IT, e-commerce, supply chain and telecommunications.

It provides strategic, analytical and operational support to Staples’ offices throughout Europe, as well as telecommunications support globally.

Currently, around 120 staff are employed, but there are plans to eventually increase this number to 250, OPI understands.

Staples said that it has also made key investments in its Staples Advantage business in Poland – which is also based in Gdańsk – and that this division is “growing rapidly”.

SC Johnson to re-enter professional market Consumer products giant SC Johnson has announced its re-entry into the office market and says it will launch a new professional line later this year.

The US-based firm has said that it will begin to sell its consumer pest control and air care products directly to professional, office, healthcare and institutional markets. Brands in these categories include Raid, Baygon, OFF!, Autan, Glade and Brise.

In addition, in countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, professional and institutional purchasers can start to purchase a broad range of SC Johnson’s consumer products direct, the company said.

At the ISSA/INTERCLEAN show in Chicago in October, SC Johnson will unveil a new professional line that will be available in 2017.

More details about this “full re-entry” into the professional market will be released in due course.

SC Johnson’s former professional business, Johnson Wax Professional, now forms part of Diversey, which was bought by Sealed Air in 2011.

SC Johnson acquired the Diversey plant in its home town of Racine (WI) last year, and Sealed Air is in the process of moving Diversey out of the site and into a new headquarters facility in North Carolina.

Facilities Management

Facilities Management

Guernsey buys jan/san reseller Leading US independent dealer Guernsey has acquired SunAmerica Supply, a Virginia-based jan/san distributor that predominantly services the Washington (DC) market.

All former SunAmerica staff are transitioning employment to Guernsey.

In addition to end-user sales of janitorial and facility supplies, SunAmerica brings expertise in the repair and maintenance of floor care machines and production capabilities in customised packaging.

CEO Dave Guernsey told OPI that his company was “by no means done” with developing its janitorial and facilities category and that it was working on other deals which would enable it to build scale and reach in this segment.

Dave Guernsey

Mergers & Acquisitions

Pukka to acquire paper business

The UK’s Pukka Pads is to acquire the A4 copier paper business of John Heyer Paper.

Pukka takes over this particular part of the John Heyer Paper firm on 1 April. Exact details of what is involved were not revealed, but Pukka said the acquisition gives it the opportunity to further strengthen its position as a credible copier paper supplier within the retail and office stationery sectors.

John Heyer Paper Managing Director Chris Heyer told OPI it would be “business as usual” at the paper supplier in its other operations. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

7

News ■ Analysis

Taking the franchise route Two recent franchise concepts in the US are starting to gain momentum

IN

February, a press release from US-based Regency Franchise Group (RFG) announced that Virginia dealer Coastal Office & Promo Products had joined its network.

Coastal owner John Wilcox said that there “was not much wrong with the company”, but that its business model had not really changed since it started in 1992. Under the Regency umbrella, Wilcox argued that “Coastal will look a lot more like a business services company than a peddler of pencils and pens”.

RFG was born out of fast-growing dealer Regency Business Solutions, co-founded in 2002 by current President Eric Beguelin. Regency Business Solutions’ success was built on a stockless dealer model (first-calling with SP Richards) underpinned by a best-in-class e-commerce platform, a focus on customer service and differentiating itself from the competition in areas such as managed print, promotional items and apparel available in a single shopping cart.

RFG’s Pete Redondo, left, and OfficeZilla’s Susan Mintmire, above RFG, but the dealerships maintain their own name and brand. Redondo said this was a “critical” aspect in order for established businesses to consider working with RFG. That said, start-up owners have the option to use the Regency Business Solutions brand and website.

What’s interesting about RFG is its focus on adding value to mid-sized

“Coastal will look a lot more like a business services company than a peddler of pencils and pens” “The events over the past several years have shown us that there is a real need in the independent dealer community for better technology, more resources and a unique differentiator in their local marketplace in order to be able to focus on growth,” explained RFG VP of Sales Pete Redondo. “We believe our programmes can help other dealers use the tools we have developed to focus on growing again and not only help them compete with, but beat, the power channel.”

In this respect, RFG is similar to EO Group (formerly Euroffice) in the UK with its Office Power business, where a top-notch technology platform and e-commerce expertise are made available to other dealers. Dealers also keep their own identities – their websites may make reference to

enterprise accounts through the managed print, promotional products and apparel categories. These are traditionally areas where most OP dealers do not have a strong foothold within their customer base. The basic premise here is that dealers can add value in niche areas and move away from competing just on price in commoditised categories such as office and cleaning supplies.

Beguelin and Redondo walked OPI through a demonstration of the technology platform using a multi-location car dealership as a customer example, and there are certainly impressive customisation features and front and back office tools available.

RFG is not the only kid on the OP franchising block, however. Another company making waves in the US

is OfficeZilla, an online franchising concept started by the founders of successful franchising businesses such as Flip Flop Shops.

OfficeZilla was originally established in 2012 as an online office supplies reseller, but decided to take the franchising route after encouragement from its wholesale partner United Stationers (now Essendant). Again, the main point of differentiation for dealers is access to a technology platform which gives smaller resellers a serious set of back office and e-commerce tools that would probably require too much investment on a go-it-alone basis.

OfficeZilla President Susan Mintmire presented the platform to OPI, highlighting a number of sophisticated dealer pricing and purchasing manager system tools that add value. She also explained the concept in more detail, such as dealers co-branding with the OfficeZilla brand, thus enabling a unique marketing message and brand image to be communicated once the network builds up more scale.

RFG and OfficeZilla are likely to appeal to different kinds of dealerships and entrepreneurs looking to set up a business supplies reselling business or inject a new lease of life into their existing businesses.

We’re not saying everyone should take the franchising route, but they are two concepts worth taking a look at. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

9

news n Analysis

The power of three Staples says it will focus on three critical priorities in 2016

ChanCes

are that when you read this, a federal court hearing will be taking place in Washington (DC) that will determine the outcome of the proposed acquisition of Office Depot

by Staples.

That hearing is not scheduled to deliver a verdict until early May. In the meantime, Staples has been working on what it calls a ‘Plan B’ for growth in the event that the Depot acquisition does not happen.

During its fourth quarter earnings conference call in March, CEO Ron Sargent provided more details of what he intends to do over the next several months in order to get the company back on a growth trajectory following yet another year of declining sales and profitability pressures.

Critical priorities “In 2016 we’re completely focused on doing fewer things better,” he said, adding that Staples is focused on three “critical priorities” this year.

The antitrust concerns with the Office Depot transaction have been over the enterprise customer segment

Driving store traffic is a critical priority supplies to small and medium-sized businesses.

And, as a result of recent structural changes at the reseller, it will attempt to create better synergies between its store network, dot.com website and mid-sized contract customers.

Responsibility for North America – both contract and retail – has been handed to Shira Goodman, and during the conference call she highlighted the opportunity to develop better cross-selling between channels. The stores service

“In 2016 we’re completely focused on doing fewer things better” and there is talk of independent resellers coming up with a solution to better service these types of clients. Nevertheless, dealers will need to make sure they are not taking their eye off the ball with their bread-and-butter mid-market customers: a fresh attack on the mid-market (companies with 10-250 employees) is Staples’ first priority.

The big boxes have said this kind of thing before, of course, but dealers would be foolish to take Staples lightly.

Sargent confirmed that the company would increase its mid-market sales force by 20%, enhance its mid-market loyalty programme and add specialists to grow sales of products beyond office

10

OPI Magazine | April 2016

hundreds of thousands of customers who probably don’t even realise there is a contract business aimed at them, she explained.

Mid-market customers currently account for around 20% of North American Commercial (NAC) sales, so there is clearly an opportunity for Staples to grow its share. However, it will still need a cultural shift internally to ensure that the sales efforts of each channel are pulling in the same direction, and that will arguably be the main challenge.

The two other priorities for 2016 are the continued expansion beyond office supplies (BOSS) and driving stronger traffic to stores and online.

BOSS categories – which include jan/san, breakroom, copy and print,

packaging, safety, promotional products, furniture and tech services – now represent almost 50% of total company sales. Focus categories for 2016 will be cleaning and breakroom, mailing and shipping, and services, confirmed Sargent.

Store challenges Weak traffic in stores and on the customer-facing website in the US continued to be an issue in 2015, notably in the fourth quarter.

Staples.com sales, for example, only edged up by 1% year on year, a meagre return given all the digital investments and hundreds of thousands of new products added online (although profitability did improve).

Store traffic was down partly because of fewer promotions during the 2015 holiday season and the decision not to open in the US on Thanksgiving Day. The question is: how do you drive customers to stores without that promotional ‘carrot’?

The answer to that was not revealed.

Will underlying top-line growth be seen in 2016, therefore? That is by no means certain – Staples is predicting that its Q1 sales will be down year on year, but that includes factors such as negative currency translation and store closures. 50 stores are set to close this year, bringing the total in a three-year period to almost 300.

So overall, the likelihood is for a year of growth in the North American Commercial unit, offset by continued challenges at retail.

News ■ And finally...

Comment

TWEET CHAT follow us on Twitter @OPInews, @andy_opi

@PilotPenUK

This month, OPI asked industry members how technological advances are affecting products in the education market, about the available opportunities, and what they think the future holds for the category. (To read more on the education sector, read the Category Analysis on page 50) Handwriting is not going away, it’s just changing. While consumers may not necessarily write long letters, they continue to write to-do lists, take notes and doodle on their tablets with a stylus. Educators are also highly engaged with preserving writing in the classroom as they recognise that it has many benefits for students.

Janel Lewis, VP Marketing & Business Units, BIC US As different generations begin teaching careers, their work styles and preferences are shifting and may differ from previous generations.

Specifically, millennial teachers want to place orders electronically, as opposed to using a catalogue exclusively.

We also observe that millennials are able to connect with the concept of active classrooms, because the use of movement, flexibility and technology are all reported to be components of their preferred work environments. Products that utilise these characteristics of ‘active classrooms’ have the potential to grow within the education market.

Allison McHale, Marketing Coordinator, Safco Products Currently, digitisation has no significant impact on the school market in the writing instrument sector, besides the availability of some apps and pens with stylus function.

The apps offered mainly support ‘learning how to write’, and are still far from being able to play a relevant role in schools and the classroom. However, we do assume that the school market will be strongly influenced in the future by technological progress.

Martina Schneider, Head of Public Relations, Schneider Pen Education has been forced to evolve rapidly, partly because of the need to follow the technological evolution, namely digitisation, and the introduction of new ways of teaching.

Beth Wright, Chief Commercial Officer, Bi-silque Technology in the classroom undoubtedly has an impact on sales of conventional products, but ‘old’ and ‘new’ can co-exist and, in fact, complement each other quite successfully. There is evidence to suggest that children’s neurological development is enhanced by learning to write by hand and improving their handwriting skills.

Wendy Vickery, Marketing Manager, Pentel It would be good if our trade body got behind our push and started lobbying the UK government. The BOSS Federation needs to challenge the government about the unfair pricing practices that specialist suppliers are allowed to deploy because of their non-profit status.

I am sure that traditional OP dealers would bring a fresh approach to this sector that would be welcomed in the education market.

Tim Beaumont, Managing Director, NEMO

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

Pilot Pen UK Retweeted @stuart_barker Like there was ever any doubt!! ;) #Winners #EOPA @BIFM_London

Mental health is the elephant in the room in the office. 400k people called in sick today thanks to mental health @GFSmithpapers

Glasgow yesterday, today Manchester... We are on a paper roll. #GmundApplied @weareprinton

Wow! Baroque Paper Wigs: Historical hair pieces made entirely from #paper.

Cool #design

$2.2 trillion

Annual cost of ‘unwellness’ at work in the US

62%

Percentage of office workers that prefer their to-do list on a piece of paper

$20.2 billion

Expected value of the global writing and marking instruments market by 2019

78.1 million

Number of wearable device units shipped in 2015

SNAP SHOT At the recent Junk Fashion Show in Kraków, Poland, students of the School of Art and Fashion Design proved their creativity working with paper and other materials. The idea behind the initiative is to create art using sustainable and recycled materials.

Mondi’s IQ Color dress opened the show impressing with its bright colours.

Italian sculptor Daniele Papuli has created an astonishing and beautiful array of installations made entirely of paper. The ‘Erto’ sculpture (pictured) is a table composed of two moveable sculpted forms, made by selecting and mechanically cutting thousands of paper strips, which are then positioned, moulded and inlaid by hand.

Visit www.danielepapuli.net.

Big Interview | Gavin Ward

Following the Yellow Brick Road OPI speaks to Gavin Ward about dealers in Oz, the need for scale and for embracing technology, and – of course – Staples and its future…

by Heike Dieckmann heike.dieckmann@opi.net

AUSTRALIAN

dealer group Office Brands has been around for about 15 years, but it’s seen plenty of upheaval in that time, much of it to do with restructuring and branding.

Overall, it’s been a relatively steady four-year reign of current CEO Gavin Ward.

But beneath the surface of that stability lies a huge amount of effort and investment – time and cost-wise – by Ward and his team to make sure the group’s dealer members are as prepared as they can be for the changes that are happening – and will continue to happen – in the business supplies sector.

The good news is that many are doing very well indeed and the opportunities outnumber the challenges for those that are in tune with market developments.

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

Office Brands | Big Interview OPI: You’ve been with Office Brands for almost four years now – what brought you to an office products dealer group?

GW: Going back a fair way, I worked for a Japanese firm called Akai Electronics for ten years, running its Australian and New Zealand operation. I then got involved in a company called Leading Edge, which was a retail-based buying group and franchise operation for home electronics products.

After doing that for 22 years and growing 11 different buying group businesses under Leading Edge, I felt I needed a change. So I got out, took some time off and learned to fly a plane before deciding to get back into something. I contacted Office Brands to talk about potentially doing some consultancy work for them. They ultimately said they didn’t need any consultancy work, but they did need a new CEO as Andrew Boath had left a year earlier and did I want to apply. I did and here I am still, almost four years later.

So while the office products industry was pretty new to me at the time, the concept of trying to bring together large groups of members to develop the tools they need to succeed is pretty common to what I’ve been doing over the years.

OPI: We last talked to your predecessor Andrew Boath back in 2009, two years before he left the group, and following some major restructuring and rebranding.

Could you give me a quick rundown of Office Brands and how it has evolved?

GW: Sure. As you know, the group was formed about 15 years ago and it was the collation of three groups. One was called Office Force, which had 37 members; there was Office Network with 63 members; and then we had the business machines business under the APT brand with 28 dealers. All these were brought together to form Office National.

The principal objective of the combined group at that time was clear: it needed to achieve scale, partially to be able to compete with the likes of Corporate Express [now Staples] when it came to Australia, and to cost-effectively deliver the kind of services that customers were considering as base-level support, like large comprehensive catalogues and, ultimately, websites.

There was a fear back then that Corporate Express Australia was going to come into the market and wipe out the dealer community.

The solution: band together and get some scale. That principle is still very valid today.

The group make-up of what is now Office Brands has changed substantially over the years. We’ve got 185 members under

“There was a fear back then that Corporate Express Australia was going to come into the market and wipe out the dealer community.

The solution: band together and get some scale”

the overall Office Brands umbrella, with a combined revenue of around A$350 million (US$263 million). Administratively, we have 21 staff here in Sydney.

As a general rule, the distribution of members across the country matches the overall population distribution, so we’re well covered across Australia.

More than 90% of our dealers are commercial B2B operators. They have a store, but it’s a warehouse-type setup and not really a retail proposition. It’s a little different in the regions where there’s a bit of retail, but the trend is certainly away from retail, particularly in metropolitan areas, and towards B2B. OPI: Can you explain a bit more about your tiered membership?

GW: We operate two premium brands which are higher-value, larger service level brands.

So we have almost 100 dealers operating under the Office National brand and a further 30 members operating under the Office Products Depot brand which we license out of New Zealand. In another tier, we have the O-Net group, about 30 smaller stores that are unbranded. Dealers in that group typically have revenues under A$1 million.

Then in October of last year, we acquired the Office Power group and we support 30 members under that brand, also predominantly in the A$500,000-A$1 million turnover range. Lastly, we also license our brand to Africa, so there is Office National Africa, but it’s an independent body.

Our branded members receive the most comprehensive range of services and get the largest amount of support from the group.

That is reflected in their annual fees.

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

15

Big Interview | Gavin Ward

OPI: Before we talk about dealer performance specifically, how would you say the industry has changed in Australia over the past few years?

GW: I think the sector globally is changing very rapidly. We know there’s a systemic decline in the industry of around 3-7% depending on who you talk to and which country you’re in. A lot of that is centred around core stationery. By example, there has been a notable drop-off in filing products and associated merchandise. As such, the need to develop diverse products and embrace categories like furniture, fit-outs, education, workwear, and occupational health and safety is absolutely essential.

Janitorial and kitchen supplies used to be ‘nice to haves’ and dealers have done reasonably well with these over many years, but now they are another essential component – you have to get into these new categories.

OPI: So overall, how is Office Brands doing as a group right now?

GW: That’s quite a tricky one to answer. We have been fortunate to have had like-for-like growth over the past two years of around 4%.

It’s common to get industry commentators who say: “Well, we as a group are up 1%” or “We as a group are down 2%”. While that might be true overall, it suggests that the industry is relatively stable, but under closer examination the picture is very different.

I would say that just under 50% of our members have really embraced the changes we’re facing and have taken on the challenges, expanding their furniture business, getting into education, janitorial and kitchen, etc. The majority of these members are experiencing growth. We have quite a few dealers strongly up – 10%, 15% or even 20%.

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

At the other end of the spectrum, we have dealers that are having difficulty embracing new technologies or categories and they can be down as much as 15% and 20%. This takes away their ability to compete, they’re struggling to get back on top of their business and they find it difficult to have the time and money to invest in these growth areas. Then, in the middle somewhere, with flattish sales and coping but not excelling, are the remaining dealers which account for about 40% of our members.

Of course, there are always local issues which also take effect, but these merchandise challenges are core to all dealers.

It’s this investing in the future of your business and helping dealers keep up with the constant innovation, especially in technology terms, that has been one of the most compelling tasks over the past four years.

We need to drive the change that’s happening and provide the tools – and products – to our members to be able to create growth in their markets, with minimum effort and investment so those aren’t barriers for them.

“We need to drive the change that’s happening and provide the tools – and products – to our members to be able to create growth in their markets”

OPI: How much of a headache has the Australian economy, and in particular the value of the dollar, been for your dealers?

GW: Clearly, we’ve been in a market of consistent price increases for the past 2-3 years, particularly in the past 18 months or so when the currency has declined virtually 30%. I think the majority of customers accept that prices are going to have to go up if the currency changes by 30%.

I’m extremely grateful that we took the time and effort to develop our pricing matrix tool which prices all our products, scans websites, takes in competitive data, etc. It shows us the margins that we’re making and, as all these price increases come through, it can help us by suggesting new ones on the basis of structured and dynamic parameters. At all times, we can run models against actual sales and unit numbers to ensure we are maintaining and growing margin for our members.

If we didn’t have that kind of facility, it would be much more difficult to manage the business and to make sure that we’re not negatively affecting our members.

OPI: You reported some excellent rebates at your dealer expo last October, I believe.

GW: I did. I’m not sure I should share the total quantum of rebates, but what I can say is that our annual payments to members have grown over the past four years by about A$1 million.

That’s very encouraging from two points of view: of course, it’s nice for members to get bigger cheques, but what it has also meant

Office Brands | Big Interview is more members are doing more compliant sales with the suppliers. We’re really trying to match our members’ businesses better and are dealing with more categories that are important to them.

For example, we’re up 35% in furniture, partly because we’re dealing with more suppliers. It’s the same with education: more revenues, more new suppliers, more rebates.

And we are expecting the rebate pool to grow again this year, driving more support back to our preferred suppliers.

OPI: Who are your ‘rivals’?

GW: We’re a group of local operators and a lot of our market is within geo zones close to our members. Our core target customers are small businesses with 5-150 white-collar workers – they make up more than 90% of our entire business. The other operators that are playing in this market are Office Choice and the ASA group, so they form our most direct competition.

But there’s no doubt that the dominant player in Australia is Officeworks. In fact, if I look at what’s happening in Europe and the US I think Officeworks is probably the leading stationery retailer in the world right now.

They absolutely dominate the B2C and the micro market, ie businesses with fewer than five employees. But they are mostly retail-focused and also do a fair bit online – about 14% of total turnover – so we’re not clashing on many occasions.

They haven’t typically been very strong at the SME account market, however, nor have Staples, OfficeMax or Lyreco in Australia.

Lyreco is virtually a non-entity here, and OfficeMax and Staples – as well as Complete Office Solutions – are predominantly focused on the corporate sector.

These players have the scale and the systems to go for that very high-end business.

And they seem happy to sell at well below cost price on a basket of goods during the tender process and then work over the next 2-3 years to claw that money back.

All of them – including Officeworks – are looking at the SME market and have been doing that for the past 18 months or so. The reality is that they haven’t got the personal service, the commitment and the relationships that our members have with their customers – that is the key difference. Their model just doesn’t work as well in the SME environment.

That’s not to say that they will never get it right, but at the moment it’s not working well for them and when we come across an Officeworks customer, it will be one of the easiest to convert to one of our dealers.

But they’re such a pull-through organisation: they promote really well, they’re excellent content marketers and they’ve got three key strong messages – price, range and service.

Our smartest members, with the help of the services we provide to them, can compete with all of that. So Officeworks is not only one of our biggest competitors, it’s also our biggest opportunity. We just need to get a foot in the door and talk to their customers.

OPI: Are you also after the corporate business of the big players ?

GW: We secured inclusion on the Queensland Government Local Buy panel in 2013 and we’ve recently secured a position on the New South Wales Government secondary furniture panel that is now starting to generate regular business. Our Northern Territory (NT) members also picked up a position on the NT Government panel. So, we are picking up elements, but compared to our overall business, it’s peripheral and certainly not core.

Of course, as much as the likes of Staples and ‘Max are pushing down, we’re pushing up. But neither party is particularly good at infringing on each other’s territories. Let’s say it’s a growth opportunity for us.

“Officeworks is not only one of our biggest competitors, it’s also our biggest opportunity”

OPI: Talking about Staples and ‘Max, the favourite subject for many months now has been will they or won’t they merge?

What’s your opinion? The deal has already been approved in Australia, of course.

GW: There’s no doubt that the topic has caused some instability at Staples here in Australia. But I believe Staples has actually turned a bit of a corner and is performing better than it has over the past five years.

OfficeMax’s performance has been more problematic and we’ve picked up a lot of business from them, particularly in

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

17

Office Brands | Big Interview the education category where they have historically been very strong. This was due in part to ‘Max restructuring its sales force, taking it off the road and putting it into call centres.

Any change creates opportunities, so if the merger went ahead I’m sure we would gain business out of the process. How long for? I don’t know. And it won’t substantially change the competition in our sector. If anything, it creates another opportunity because with one less competitor in the public tender business, we could feasibly be another contender to make up a competitive panel.

OPI: How difficult is it to run a dealer group in a country as big as Australia?

GW: It’s problematic. Firstly, our members in the more regional areas need to carry more stock because customers by and large want the same service wherever they are. These members are also using the same promotional tools than those in, say, metropolitan areas, and they want the products at the same price.

Getting deliveries to remote locations is expensive and can be a loss-making exercise.

OPI: Apart from GNS, which mainly supports newsagents, there are no real nationwide wholesalers in the country, are there? That’s always been an Australian peculiarity.

GW: Yes, there’s GNS Wholesale Stationers which is also the predominant supplier to the Office Choice group.

Office Brands uses a network of regional wholesalers and they are an important part of our business. It would be very difficult for our members to survive and to provide a reasonable service without that wholesale support. We meet regularly with the independent wholesalers and share our marketing and strategic objectives.

OPI: You mentioned some kind of consolidated warehousing among your members a while ago?

GW: We’re still looking at that. It could take the shape of a number of members in the Sydney area buying a warehouse and relinquishing their own facility, for example.

These members would then effectively have sales offices, but operate out of a centralised operation with aggregated costs to give them better buying power, faster deliveries and basically all the scale that you need to make a warehouse work really efficiently. It’s a great idea in theory, but it definitely requires a lot of commitment.

Another way is for large dealer members to outsource part of their warehouses to

other members. We’ve got one dealer like that in Western Australia. It’s an extra business for them whereby they do all deliveries, invoicing, etc for other members.

It works very well for them, but it’s a completely different mindset for those members that now don’t have a warehouse anymore, have far fewer employees and different systems in place, etc.

OPI: What does the rest of this year hold for Office Brands?

GW: Well, we’ve spent the past 18 months ‘re-engineering’ the group, putting structures in place with technology solutions like the price matrix, endless aisle CRM, automated marketing, and so on. This year is about settling down and making sure that we deliver best practice within all that technology.

If I can say to you in 12 months’ time that we are the best practice provider in digital marketing, I will be a really happy man.

“Office Brands uses a network of regional wholesalers and they are an important part of our business”

OPI: Lastly, how do you see the future for independent dealers in Australasia?

GW: Consolidation is inevitable – among our members as well as independents worldwide.

Ramping up scale and maintaining efficiency so that we’re relevant to suppliers is vital.

At the same time, we need to allow them to maintain their profitability because suppliers can only support us in everything we’re doing from a healthy base.

If we can work together and create that scale, we can all be really important parts of the future business supplies community.

For more exclusive content from the interview, such as progress on new buying group collaboration OPANZ and Office Brands’ ongoing relationship with BPGI, please visit opi.net.

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

19

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Catalogues | Hot Topic

Can the catalogue survive?

At first glance, the printed catalogue may seem out of date in our digital world. However, as many industry players point out, it still has an important role to play as a sales and marketing tool

by Andy Braithwaite andy.braithwaite@opi.net

IN

“Dealers need to be prepared to say goodbye to the catalogue and give their customers what they demand”

a recent blog on opi.net, entitled Is it time to say goodbye to the catalogue?, Steve Robinson, Group Development Director of EO Group’s dealer platform Office Power, questioned whether traditional catalogues were still relevant in today’s digital world. He concluded that “it won’t be too much longer until they have no role to play at all”.

“The explosion in online consumer shopping and the move to ‘couch commerce’ – browsing and shopping on laptops and tablets while sitting on the sofa – is fuelling the appetite among small businesses to shop online for business purchases,” notes Robinson.

“More and more customers want to shop online and dealers must offer a multichannel experience that has e-commerce at the heart of the strategy – not as a bolt-on,” he continues.

“If dealers are to keep their customers, never mind win new ones, it is critical they start selling them what they want, at the price they want, via the channel they want.”

EO Group (formerly Euroffice) stopped producing printed catalogues a year ago, and Robinson explains that this has not had

a detrimental effect on business; just the opposite, in fact.

For most dealers, wholesalers, dealer groups and mail order operators, though, the annual catalogue – supplemented by periodic or category-specific publications – is a key selling tool, as evidenced by the swathe of press releases that are sent out trumpeting the publication of the latest tome.

Say goodbye Even Robinson realises that the move to a purely digital experience cannot happen overnight. “Change can be achieved in stages, [but] the day is rapidly approaching when dealers will need to radically reshape their business and marketing activity to find other, more interactive, ways to promote purchasing and engagement,” he says.

“As the younger generation comes through as our new purchasing customers, they will expect an effective and engaging online shopping environment as the standard. So, for this new generation, online isn’t the future, it’s the now and dealers need to be prepared to say goodbye to the catalogue and give their customers what they demand.”

There are certainly those who concur with Robinson’s point of view.

“We are producing fewer catalogues than we were a few years ago,” confirms Mike Foster, w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

23

Hot Topic | Catalogues Director of Merchandising at US dealer group Independent Stationers (IS). “Today, there is still a need for printed catalogues, but in the near future they will be a thing of the past: catalogue use by the end user is diminishing and the younger workforce goes online to buy product. Vertical market pieces still seem to be of value, however.”

Bob Geens, Chairman at UK dealer group Advantia, doesn’t believe the printed catalogue has long left. “I don’t see it disappearing in the next 2-3 years, but it could go within the next five years,” he suggests.

The reason? “They have gone from being our main selling tool to more of a reference guide,” adds Geens. “Today, they are still important, but with the move away from office products and the influence of the internet, they will be far less important to us by 2020.”

But it is far from a case of all doom and gloom for the trusty catalogue, and it would appear to still have a future as an important selling tool as opposed to serving as a stand-in computer monitor riser. At ADVEO in Germany, for example, around 70% of its dealers’ sales are directly linked to the hardcopy catalogue.

In France, a recent study by distance selling trade association FEVAD concluded that virtually all resellers that used a paper catalogue wished to continue with it as a marketing tool, but are targeting it more carefully towards the right users. The handful of companies that abandoned the print catalogue altogether subsequently performed a U-turn, it was revealed in the study, because B2B clients still crave a hardcopy version of the catalogue.

Still effective While TriMega’s SVP of Marketing Michael Morris agrees that the use of printed catalogues has declined, he notes that it has only “waned slightly” over the past few years.

“Printed catalogues, especially ‘contract books’, are still surprisingly effective,” he says. “They help dealers align their stocking strategies with their sales and merchandising plans to lower COGS [cost of goods sold], improve margin, increase rebates and sell preferred supplier products. They also help facilitate browsing consumers and decision-makers versus simply ‘searchers’.

The difference is appeal.”

Emma Nourry, Head of Marketing at UK wholesaler VOW, goes a step further. “We have seen a 2% increase in catalogues ordered by publications from 2011-2016,” she reveals.

“All our research and ongoing conversations with resellers show that printed catalogues

24

OPI Magazine | April 2016

are as important as ever and represent a useful reference guide and sales tool for resellers and their customers. That’s why we continue to produce a print version of the VOW main catalogue as well as category-specific options. We’re seeing more customers order electronic versions, but the printed catalogue still retains strong sales.”

Laura Hodges, Creative Production and Publications Manager at VOW’s parent company EVO Group, adds: “Our surveys tell us that the printed catalogue is more important than ever and, if anything, we’ve seen an increase in uptake. Its decline was predicted years ago, yet sales of our main catalogue continue to grow, so I don’t think the catalogue is going to disappear any day soon. Therefore, it makes commercial sense for us to continue to develop our offline offering as strongly as our online one.”

She continues: “Digital complements print. It doesn’t need to be an either/or situation, but is a case of putting extra sales tools at our resellers’ disposal. We naturally expect online demand to grow as more millennials hit the workplace, but for now the catalogue is still huge.”

It’s a similar point of view from dealer group Integra’s Director of Marketing Sian Haskell. “The printed catalogue is still a mainstay for many of our dealers and a vital part of their multichannel communication plan,” she affirms.

And that hits the nail on the head: physical catalogues are still an integral part of a balanced, multichannel sales and marketing process. This means that catalogues are not necessarily being replaced per se, but complemented by online equivalents and other digital marketing initiatives that overcome the shortcomings of the printed version.

At VOW, for instance, resellers can access a dynamic version of the main catalogue allowing them to have full control over their margins and update the pricing at the click of a button. “They can reach new audiences by sharing specific pages via social media,” explains Hodges. “Additionally, they can

Connected catalogues are bridging the physical and digital worlds

“Our research and ongoing conversations with resellers show that printed catalogues are as important as ever”

opi.net poll results Do print catalogues still have a future in the business supplies industry?

Yes: 49%

No: 51%

Hot Topic | Catalogues take advantage of the outstanding analytics package to view their customers’ browsing and purchasing behaviour.”

Taking a printed catalogue and putting it in a digital format is nothing new. Flash-based ‘flip’ catalogues have been around for a number of years, with users able to click on embedded links taking them to the online product page. Now, this ‘marrying’ of physical and digital is being adapted for the mobile age as an increasing amount of B2B purchasing and browsing is carried out via smartphones or tablets.

For example, European packaging and workplace supplies group Raja has introduced a ‘connected’ catalogue for 2016. Via an Android or iOS app, users can scan pages in the printed catalogue on their devices and the app then takes them to additional, interactive content such as more product photos, demo videos, ‘how to’ guides, and services such as direct customer service contact.

Overcoming the drawbacks One major drawback of the printed catalogue that has frustrated both vendors and resellers is the long lead time involved with the annual cycle, meaning that it is impossible to get new products in front of consumers in a timely manner via this medium. This has been particularly true in the fast-moving technology category.

That problem is now being addressed by a variety of printed and digital solutions.

“E-content, email marketing programmes and promotional flyers are all playing a part in replacing printed catalogues,” notes TriMega’s Morris, who points to the success of his group’s Torque programme.

“Promotional printed flyers are actually growing in popularity, circulation and results,” he continues. “They are particularly effective at showcasing valuable and time-sensitive consumer offers and new products outside of the typical catalogue launch schedule, and spotlighting products that are discretionary, trade-up or value-added and which very often have higher margins associated with them. So, as the reliance on catalogues declines, we see the usage and impact of email marketing and printed flyers on the increase.”

VOW’s Hodges adds: “We recognise that in some categories, such as technology, the catalogue can only offer a snapshot of what’s available and there will always be products that are superseded by the time the print catalogue comes out. This is why we complement this with year-round, monthly technology mailings, which cover the latest launches and street brands.”

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

The other thorny question surrounding the preponderance of catalogues in the office products world has been their use as an income generator for the wholesalers, dealer groups and dealers. If catalogues die out, where will these organisations turn to for other revenue streams?

New Pukka Pads Managing Director Mike Thomsett admits that it is a “bit of a bugbear” for the manufacturer to have to pay to be included in some publications. “Most of the time we are happy to do this for groups and wholesalers, but not quite as happy to pay the dealers,” he says. “We do recognise that it is necessary to pay for insertions – if we don’t there will be other manufacturers that will happily pay to take our catalogue space!”

Catalogues are proving successful in vertical categories such as education

Marketing funds Integra’s Haskell has the dealer group perspective: “Products/brands still demand to appear in the main catalogue, but there is increasing off-catalogue and online activity to support and which catalogues can help to drive traffic to.”

IS’s Foster elaborates: “Vendors do provide catalogue and marketing funds to help support the cost of catalogues. We have had numerous conversations with our vendor partners about moving those funds to e-marketing to support the costs associated with that and e-content. Almost all are willing to do that. It gets more of their products in front of the end users and new products in front of them in much less time.”

A more fundamental change might be required though, argues Advantia’s Geens.

“The economic importance of the catalogue is reducing as we move into new product sectors that do not attract vendor funding,” he points out. “I can see the time when we will completely change our model and we will not be reliant on vendor funding.”

That sounds like an interesting topic for a future article…

“The economic importance of the catalogue is reducing as we move into new product sectors that do not attract vendor funding”

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The Spider Report | Research

The

Report US: back to basics

Office products are increasingly bought online.

Why is that and what are the must-haves for OP buyers? The answers are simple and complex in equal measure, as The Spider Report reveals...

IT’S

not rocket science: basic, reliable and rapid functionality – that’s what OP purchasers in the B2B space essentially need from the web store they order from, irrespective of their geographic location.

Simplicity and functionality are core to the ideal web experience of those purchasing office products online – that’s one of the key messages from the US volume of The Spider Report, a survey of 400 online OP buyers recently published jointly by OPI and specialist OP market researchers Martin Wilde Associates (MWA).

Results of the research – split into two separate surveys in the UK (see ‘The Spider Report: complex simplicity’, OPI February, page 32) and the US – indicate that a wide variety of job functions in the US buy OP online, but they mostly spend little time doing so and also often order infrequently. As a result,

online OP purchasing is primarily about delivering an overall customer experience of low price, convenience and speed/ease of use (see Fig 1).

The overall online purchasing process needs to be customer-friendly: a website must load and search quickly and effectively, be easy to use/ navigate, and not crash or ‘hang’.

Comprehensive product information was another key component to get right (see above right).

Focus on the basics Outside of these basic three requirements, The Spider Report identifies many other additional features that online buyers require, but none of these matter if the basics of the site do not work properly.

The US version of The Spider Report also covers a wealth of detail on how OP is purchased online, including how online purchasing affects the number

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

It’s easier/more convenient It’s cheaper It’s quicker It’s easer to find products Product range available online is wider Suppliers only offer us this option Company policy is to buy online Other

Source: MWA

Percentage of respondents

Fig 1: Why do you buy OP online?

What makes a good web store?

58% – Easy to use/navigate

42% – Good detailed product descriptions

40% – Quick to load of buyers and suppliers used, as well as how the main OP supplier is found and selected. It investigates the spend controls placed on online buyers, the current and projected share of OP being purchased online, and the identities of the key online suppliers being used to source each key category of OP. It uncovers what online buyers would like from their current online suppliers but are not receiving, as well as the categories that they would never consider buying online.

Simon Drakeford, CEO of UK online OP reseller EO Group, knows all about the opportunities and pitfalls of buying OP on the internet. He comments: “Selling OP successfully online is not easy: anyone can set up a website, but not everyone has the resources and knowhow to make sure that the online shopping experience meets the exacting expectations of B2B OP buyers.

“The Spider Report provides many insights into the minds and experiences of online OP purchasers and shows what should – and should not – be addressed by those companies that wish to trade successfully in an increasingly competitive online world.”

The Spider Report is available in two volumes – one for the US and one for the UK. To order your copy, go to www.opi.net/spider. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

29

Event Review | EOPA 2016

A magical evening… nOW

in their third year as part of OPI’s Partnership event (see Partnership review, page 39), the European Office Products Awards (EOPA) welcomed the best of the best at their 15th outing.

The awards ceremony took place at the five-star Hotel Okura in Amsterdam on 9 March. It was an evening filled with great food, wine, company and celebration.

With over 170 guests attending the awards – about 100 of whom were already in-situ as OPI Partnership delegates – the affair kicked off with a glorious gala dinner during which guests were entertained at their tables by British 'Magical Champion' Darren Mac. Dinner was swiftly followed by a reflective yet uplifting industry toast from Avery VP of Sales Europe Jonathan Smith. “It’s true to say we’re all facing a fast-changing and ultra-competitive industry, but when was that ever not true?” he said to the audience, adding that “there are many who have lived through turbulent times in this industry, have

The European Office Products Awards (EOPA) not only featured a rejigging of some of the categories, but also a few surprise winners…

survived at least four recessions, and will remember the doom-laden forecasts over the past 20-30 years.

And amazingly, we’re still here – how great is that?”

The results…

There were some interesting results this year, not least a perhaps slightly controversial choice for Reseller of the Year, while Fellowes took away the Vendor of the Year award for the second time in the past three years.

As always, the winners were not chosen by OPI, but by an independent panel of 19 judges made up from some of the industry’s most knowledgeable and active members.

By all accounts, this year’s judging – which took place in Budapest in December 2015 – resulted in some rather interesting discussions and decisions, one of which ended in the original Business Machines and Technology Product of the Year awards being combined into the Powered Product of the Year category.

This, the judges felt, better reflected the wide variety of entries.

Thank you to our sponsors

30

OPI Magazine | April 2016

While Professional of the Year winner Michel Van Beek was unable to attend the awards evening in person, OPI CEO Steve Hilleard had previously tracked him down and surprised him before the event to present the accolade. As such, Van Beek addressed the EOPA audience by pre-recorded video.

The Industry Achievement award was handed to Esselte CEO Cezary Monko to rapturous applause.

Also noteworthy are several firms that were highly commended by the judges, including Renz for its Ring Wire Opener in the Core Office Product category, Fellowes’ AutoMax 200C Shredder for the Powered Product, as well as ALSO International for Wholesaler of the Year.

EOPA 2016 | Event Review Core Office Product of the Year International Paper: Easy Open Solution

Core Office Product of the Year Wulff’s Veijo Ågerfalk (right) presented the award to International Paper’s Gerald Demets

According to the judging panel, this was a difficult category to assess due to an overall lack of product innovation – except for the winner International Paper (IP), that is.

The Easy Open Solution is a ream of paper that has a tape attached across the short side of the packaging and which can be pulled open like a zip. As the zip is on the short side of the ream, there is still enough strength for further storage if not all the paper is used.

What really impressed the panel about IP’s Easy Open Solution is that while it may not seem particularly exciting, it certainly meets an unmet need in the category. As one judge remarked: “It is an innovative new product with a real differentiating factor; it could be a game changer in the category if others copy it.”

Both the ream wrap and box base were adapted to communicate the new solution to end users, and based on year-on-year figures, Easy Open generated an additional 6% in volume purchases in 2015.

IP said the concept was developed from feedback from partners and end users who complained about the difficulty of opening reams of paper.

Vendor of the Year Fellowes For this particular award, size is irrelevant – the main criterion is which vendor sets itself apart from the competition.

There were several strong candidates, either with new product development or exceptional growth, such as Bi-silque, or with a completely new approach to the market like Epson.

But overall, Fellowes ticked all the boxes. It's made a considerable effort to diversify its portfolio, has a strong and respected brand, good sales performance and has reported market share gains. Fellowes has continuously built on its experience and expertise while thinking outside the box and exploring uncharted territories.

Fellowes’ corporate tagline is ‘Innovation in motion’, which it works towards in every aspect of its business. This has led to over 100 product solutions being introduced in the past year across its shredders, laminators, storage and organisation, workspace management and air treatment product lines.

The company has enhanced and maximised its core product segments and also expanded its offering into new and pioneering categories such as privacy filters (from zero to 31 million/$1.1 million in less than 12 months) and air purification (from zero to 33 million in less than three years for the AeraMax Personal specifically).

Despite a challenging European economy, Fellowes Europe achieved 16% growth in 2015, including double-digit increases in Spain, UK, France, Poland and DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). The vendor also recorded increases across all categories, delivering an additional 315 million in sales, including 77% growth in air purification, 16% in shredders and 40% in storage and organisation.

Vendor o f the Year Bruneau’s Nicolas Potier (left) presented the award to Charles Drevon-Balas of Fellowes

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

31

EOPA 2016 | Event Review Facilities Management Product of the Year Henkel: UniBond Aero-360˚ Moisture Absorber This category is one of the most challenging of all to judge – most products have been around for a long time, but for the most part are relatively new to the office products channel.

It's also one of the largest categories in terms of sheer diversity, as outlined by the shortlist, and the judges felt that all of them had something to offer. OPN’s Muggi and Newell Rubbermaid’s Slim Jim Step-On Container attracted plenty of attention, but it was Henkel’s Moisture Absorber that was crowned champion.

With today’s heavy focus on health and well-being in the office from both the employer and employee sides, it’s no surprise that a product aimed at promoting a more hygienic workspace caught the judges' attention.

The Moisture Absorber was launched to create healthier air in enclosed spaces such as offices. It is an aerodynamic device based on 360° air circulation for increased efficiency. It helps prevent mildew, mould, peeling paint, condensation and bad smells.

The device Amazon’s John is easy to Commiskey (left) handle with presented the its one-touch award to Henkel’s Raymond loading tray, Bourgonje draining spout and a transparent tank to monitor the amount of fluid collected. In addition, it won’t spill, makes no FM Product o noise and uses f the Year no electricity.

Judging the product against the category criteria, this cost-effective and well-conceived product was the clear winner.

Judges believed the product would do very well in the OP channel, and were impressed by the efforts Henkel has made with regards to marketing. This included a £2 million ($3 million) TV campaign coupled with print, digital and word-of-mouth campaigns that undoubtedly helped to push sales through the dealer channel.

Crunching the numbers, the moisture absorber market grew by 109% in 2014 versus 2013. This was driven by Henkel's UniBond, which managed to grow its market share from 44.1% to 63.5%, a growth trend that continued during 2015. For the first six months of last year, the market increased by 52% year on year, and the company's UniBond gained 42 points, reaching a market-share level of 78.4%.

Innovation of the Year

Lyreco’s John Watson (left) presented the award to James Webb of Fellowes

Innovation of the Year Fellowes: AeraMax Air Purifier This is one of the most exciting categories overall – it drives the industry forward, opens up new sales opportunities for dealers, can reinvigorate struggling categories or even create new ones.

It was another hotly debated category that had the judges questioning exactly what makes a product innovative – design, function, or a combination of both.

The AeraMax Air Purifier also taps into the increasing health and wellness trend. Fellowes specifically chose commercial target markets – offices, healthcare, education and hospitality – where it felt the product would create the most impact in improving air quality by reducing the presence of airborne germs, pollutants, viruses, allergens and unwanted odours.

The AeraMax system is smart and uses sensor technology to adjust its performance based on the needs of the environment. It is designed to seamlessly and safely integrate into a facility to become part of the building framework once installed.

Fellowes offers a five-year guarantee on the product which has patent-pending EnviroSmart Technology and makes the AeraMax a unique and innovative air purification system.

The first six months of results in 2015 put the product on track to achieve sales of 33 million ($3.3 million) in its first year. A lead-generation plan is also being implemented to develop awareness and understanding among B2B decision-makers.

Fellowes was applauded for entering a category outside its traditional remit. And while the product may pose some new challenges due to installation and servicing issues, it is a new segment and for those savvy enough presents a selling opportunity for the channel. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Event Review | EOPA 2016 Marketing Initiative of the Year Pilot Pen UK: Pilot FriXion Sponsors Best Solo Artist at the 2015 NME Awards This was one of the most popular categories with plenty of nominations leading to a very strong shortlist.

Pilot Pen’s campaign was hailed as the undisputed winner of the category for understanding its audience, campaign originality, innovative methods used and ROI generated. What impressed the judges the most was that Pilot Pen had looked at a totally new audience – the consumer of tomorrow – and come up with an original and creative concept with an overall brand-building goal.

There were a number of aims with this campaign, including: raise awareness of the FriXion brand to millennials; grow sales and market share in the office supplies and mass market channels; align the product with a contemporary, relevant brand for the target audience; and take an approach to audience engagement not seen before in the OP market.

The three-month campaign included a brand presence within NME magazine, its web platform and awards, as well as social media and other marketing activities that supported the 2015 NME Awards.

As this was a brand-building exercise, it’s not easy to accurately determine ROI, but at the end of August 2015, year-to-date like-for-like sales of FriXion pens had increased 25% in volume and 17% in value. Pilot Pen’s Twitter followers had also grown from 2,000 to around 6,000 by the time the campaign had finished.

Marketin g Initiative of the Ye ar

Sponsored by

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

International Paper’s Gerald Demets (left) presented the award to Pilot Pen’s Stuart Barker

Dealer Group of the Year

Sponsored by

HSM’s Susanne Fritz (left) presented the award to Aidan McDonough of Integra Office Solutions

Dealer Group of the Year Integra Office Solutions The judging panel was looking for a dynamic dealer group that gives its dealers a competitive edge.

While Integra Office Solutions came away as the clear winner, there was stiff competition, most notably from Netherlands-based Quantore.

What clinched the deal for Integra was the wide range of services that the group provides, as well as its treatment of each individual member. Integra enjoys a close relationship with its members who are highly engaged with the group – 90% of dealers adopt Integra’s award-winning catalogue programme; 89% are categorised as Initiative own-brand supporters (the Initiative brand was relaunched at the end of 2014); and 85% of Integra’s membership subscribe to the group’s online print and email marketing solution.

In 2015, Integra launched new publications for FM and Premium products, as well as Initiative-refurbished smartphones and a closed-loop MPS solution.

The recent repurchase of the group and a return to cooperative status – which took the board more than three years to secure – is fundamental to supporting its members and repatriating surpluses to dealers. After the buyout that saw the Integra management team acquire 100% of its share capital, the group appears abuzz with excitement about the future.

Event Review | EOPA 2016 Wholesaler of the Year JGBM With the largest number of entries, all of which came from different markets with specific demands and peculiarities, this was the toughest category of all to judge.

However, UK-based JGBM was the one entry that really stood out in terms of how it understands the importance of e-commerce.

The trade-only distributor specialises in office technology for dealers throughout the country, offering a high level of product expertise, backed up by a cutting-edge marketing department that incorporates an in-house software development team.

The distributor has added 'augmented reality' to its product catalogue, offers an in-house-built CD-ROM interactive catalogue, and re-writes its own enhanced data for each SKU. The wholesaler fully embraces the concept of e-commerce and customers’ digital needs. In addition, the investment the company Wholesaler is making in proportion to its sales is of the Year impressive. Importantly, JGBM is really attacking the Amazon 'threat' by being different, innovative and quick to market.

Sponsored by

Newell Rubbermaid’s Isabelle Gippet (centre) presented the award to JGBM’s (from left to right) Mike George, Carol Clarke, John George and Mike Poole

Pilot Pen’s Paul Phelan presented the award to Amazon’s John Commiskey (left), Thibault Legrange (middle right) and Lisa Sibanec

Reseller of the Year Sponsored by

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

Powered Product of the Year

Staples’ Thomas Nowak (left) presented the award to Epson’s Annika Fagerstrom

Powered Product of the Year Epson: EcoTank Printer Range This category is actually an amalgamation of two previous categories – Business Machines and Technology Products.

Despite having only been developed recently, Epson’s EcoTank was credited with the potential to turn a whole category on its head with its range of printers featuring refillable ink tanks. The colour printers designed for small businesses and consumers eliminate the frustration of running out of ink – the Supertank lasts around two years – and fewer ink refills also mean less waste.

When compared to a traditional printer, the ink included with the EcoTank is equivalent to around 20 sets of ink cartridges and reduces printing costs by 70% on average.

Epson is looking to carve out and establish an entirely new printer category with the Supertank. The concept itself is not new, but it's the opposite to the traditional business model in printing – customers usually purchase a cheap printer with expensive cartridges.

Reseller of the Year Amazon Following heated discussions that debated the pros and cons of the companies on the shortlist, one reseller not only met the requirements of all the criteria, but beat the rest of the competition hands down.

Some may consider Amazon a controversial choice, but it's a company that's impossible to ignore. Amazon is simply a game changer, and one that is inspiring other people and businesses to follow its lead.

Other resellers that deserve a mention in this category include Codex for its outstanding performance in the Irish market; Bluefish for its ability to transform from a traditional contract stationer and for its professionalism and growth, both organically and through acquisitions; and Büromarkt Böttcher for its phenomenal growth record.

EOPA 2016 | Event Review Professional of the Year Michel Van Beek, President, Fellowes EMEA The future of the business supplies space depends on the drive of individual professionals. This important award recognises a member of the office products industry who shows leadership, not only within their own company but across the sector.

Michel Van Beek began his office products career as a salesman with 3M in 1998 and steadily made his way up the management ladder. After a spell with GBC, he joined Fellowes in 2006, rising to become European President nearly four years ago.

No-nonsense, straightforward, proactive and with a unique ability to connect with anybody – not only within the organisation but also with customers – are just a few of the comments the judging panel used to describe him.

His passion for this industry is unrivalled, his reputation for integrity well deserved, and the support and respect of his team is unwavering.

As Van Beek was unable to attend the awards ceremony, OPI’s CEO Steve Hilleard surprised him while he was hosting a Fellowes European Leadership Team dinner to present the trophy.

At the awards dinner, Bi-silque Chief Commercial Officer Beth Wright took to the stage and introduced a video clip of Michel Van Beek where he admitted to be flattered, humbled as well as honoured to be recognised by competitors and Beth Wright of Bi-silque customers alike.

Sponsored by

n al Professio e h t of Year Michel Van Beek of Fellowes

Industry Achievement Cezary Monko, CEO, Esselte

Industry Achievement

Cezary Monko of Esselte For the most part, the Industry Achievement award has been given to senior OP executives nearing the end of their career. This year, however, it was presented to a man who is still in the midst of his career and will undoubtedly continue to make a significant contribution to the OP industry for many years to come.

The judges felt that he should be recognised for his outstanding contribution to the industry thus far.

Cezary Monko joined Esselte in 1992 as Country Manager Poland. By the late 1990s then Esselte CEO Bob Scribner predicted that he would one day become CEO of the entire company.

Over the next few years, Monko worked tirelessly to build Esselte’s presence in emerging markets, and in 2002 was promoted to head up all European sales.

He held this position for three years before he took responsibility for all of his organisation’s European and International business functions.

In 2010, Monko led the successful acquisition of large Sweden-based competitor Isaberg Rapid which continues to be an important part of the business today. In 2014, Scribner’s prediction became reality and Monko became CEO of the entire global organisation after the sale of Esselte’s Pendaflex North American business to RR Donnelley, which led to the retirement of former Esselte CEO Gary Brooks. It was a decision welcomed by colleagues who describe him as “well respected, trusted, popular and a strong leader”. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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OPI Partnership 2016 | Event Review

A successful partnership The third OPI Partnership certainly cemented its growing reputation as the event for senior executives from Europe’s most dynamic resellers to meet with leading vendors to enhance long-term strategic relationships

OnE

of our industry's steadily growing events – OPI Partnership – was once again held at the beautiful Hotel Okura in Amsterdam between 8-10 March.

It all kicked off with over 100 attendees enjoying a stunning welcome dinner at Sazanka, the only teppanyaki restaurant in Europe to have a Michelin star.

Over the next two days, a packed schedule of top-level one-to-one meetings between resellers and manufacturers took place, with the OPI team on hand to deal with any queries and ensure the strict itinerary was adhered to. All appointments took place in private rooms to ensure absolute confidentiality.

The OPI Partnership welcome dinner at Sazanka

In between these strategic meetings of minds, there were plenty of networking opportunities. And, of course, on the second evening more industry executives arrived to attend the European Office Products Awards, allowing even more time to catch up on old and forge new relationships.

Hitting the right notes Despite this being only the third time Partnership was held, the event is clearly hitting all the right notes with vendors and resellers, as the number of attendees once again rose. This was also the first year that service providers new to Partnership were able to participate in a small Expo.

In addition, the wide variety of manufacturers that requested to be part of Partnership demonstrates the increasing importance of this annual event, while the companies that attended also well reflected the ever-changing make-up of the office products industry today.

The meetings not only allow parties with existing relationships to reaffirm their strategies, but also provide a chance to investigate new opportunities and align future plans.

A major drawcard is the ability for resellers to meet with new and/or emerging vendors to discuss potential business solutions, and vice versa.

The invite-only resellers came to Amsterdam from across the continent and included executives from Staples, Lyreco, EVO Group, Amazon, Interaction and Office Depot. From the vendor side, traditional OP businesses such as BIC, Pilot Pen, Fellowes, The Navigator Company and International Paper were joined by more 'adjacent' and new players to the sector, including Duracell, SCA and Sofidel.

OPI CEO Steve Hilleard commented: “Early feedback suggests that the third OPI Partnership event was even more successful than the previous two, and that is pretty remarkable given the tremendously positive results we saw after those meetings. The largest and most dynamic players in the European business products industry clearly place great value on their strategic relationships, and Partnership provides the perfect low-cost, efficient opportunity to strengthen those bonds at executive level.” w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Event Preview | ISSA/INTERCLEAN

Gearing up for a clean sweep Innovation is the core theme running through this year’s major European cleaning event – ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam

From

10-13 May, representatives from the global cleaning industry will descend once again – for the 26th time – on the RAI Amsterdam Exhibition and Convention Centre in the Netherlands for ISSA/ INTERCLEAN Amsterdam.

Expected visitor and exhibitor numbers suggest that this year’s event will break all previous records, with some 700 companies from over 40 countries showcasing their products and solutions in a total floor area of about 60,000 sq m (600,000 sq ft). Exhibitors range from some of the largest and longest-established manufacturers in the industry to new technology start-ups.

This varied mix of exhibitors is designed to ensure that innovation remains a top priority at the event, a hugely important factor given the challenges that many users of cleaning equipment are facing.

Dianna Steinbach, Director of EMEA Services at event co-organiser ISSA, told OPI: “Across Europe, many

Seminar topics this year: ■

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■

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The supply chain shake-up: how will you survive and thrive?

The Internet of Things: how do we leverage so much data?

Changing the conversation from cost to profit Lease versus buy: harnessing untapped potential Selling clean: connecting safety and risk management Redefining innovation – opportunities of the EU circular economy package for professional cleaners

OPI Magazine | April 2016

cleaning service providers are facing mounting socio-economic challenges that will test their profitability, including increased minimum and living wages, potential pension requirements, the length of the work week, and the constant competition with other entry-level industries for solid workers. This is important for suppliers to understand, as the solutions they provide need to help these organisations become more efficient in managing their labour.

“The growing number of smart monitoring systems in facilities, for example, could pose an opportunity for our industry to better track where to clean and how often. This can help maintain quality services while allowing reallocation of staff where they are most needed.”

Innovation focus For the first time this year, an InnovationLab will be located in Hall 9 to provide a showcase area for the nine products nominated for the well-established and fiercely contested Amsterdam Innovation Award which will be announced on 10 May. Situated next to the InnovationLab will be the Management and Mobility Pavilion where visitors can discover the latest online solutions and dashboards for remote workforce management, cleaning machine and asset tracking, productivity enhancement, smart cleaning and other tasks from 15 specialist cleaning app developers.

Given the recent surge of interest in the use of robotic machines, plans are also being made to have a dedicated Robotics Arena at the show where different machines will be demoed and put through their paces.

Exhibition aside, the educational element of ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam has also grown steadily over the past few shows. This year, ISSA’s seminar programme will take place for the first time on the exhibition floor itself – again at the InnovationLab – and will feature a number of sessions on 11 and 12 May (see box, left).

Building on this theme of the importance of education, ISSA itself will have a larger stand at the show this year. In addition to showing the association’s increased collection of member benefits, tools and events, the booth will organise a number of meet-ups and networking opportunities from the various regions of EMEA as well as host a gathering of over 25 international cleaning trade associations.

For more details, go to www. issainterclean.com/en/amsterdam.

Vendor Profile | International Paper

The paper

Gerald Demets

experience

The paper sector might be in a state of flux with a host of challenges to overcome, but business is good, says global vendor International Paper

INTERNATIONAL

Paper is a global integrated pulp, paper and packaging producer with operations around the world. It employs 55,000 people and generated net sales of over $22 billion in 2015.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is one of the company’s core regions and one where its business is growing due to continuous investment and innovation.

OPI spoke to Gerald Demets, Sales & Marketing Director at International Paper EMEA to find out more.

OPI: Please tell me a little about International Paper’s operations specifically in EMEA. Gerald Demets: International Paper has been serving customers in the EMEA market for half a century. We continue to grow our business

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

in the region and invest in it. Our sales and marketing teams that operate from sales offices in ten countries in the region have a deep understanding of the local markets and provide expertise and marketing support to our customers. We believe it’s hugely important to have the capabilities that come with being a global player while at the same time being able to act very locally.

We currently have two paper mills in EMEA – one in Kwidzyn, Poland, the other in Saillat, France. Along with additional supplies from our mills in Russia, the US and Brazil as well as six distribution centres, we are able to efficiently supply customers across Europe.

We deliver consistent top-notch quality across our entire mill system thanks to common quality control and product specifications.

We also offer a wide range of marketing and technical support as well as supply

International Paper | Vendor Profile chain solutions, including vendor-managed inventory, collaborative forecasting and much more.

OPI: So what’s your core offering in product terms in this region?

GD: Our strength in cut size lies in the full product range that we offer – from commodity papers to value-added grades, and cut-size formats to folio sheets and reels. We are the only integrated mill in Europe, for example, that produces value-added grades for applications like colour printing.

International Paper is a key player in the uncoated woodfree office papers and converting papers market in EMEA. We have also recently launched enhanced papers for the growing high-speed inkjet segment.

OPI: In addition to just products, what services and solutions do you offer that make you stand out from the competition and that create an outstanding customer experience?

GD: We strive to be the paper producer that offers the best experience for customers – and by that I mean merchants and resellers – as well as end users. We pride ourselves on three core attributes: ■

■

■

we are easy to work with and offer superior value we have the most flexible service options to pick and choose we offer innovative products and services

Our aim is to create a future that we want to live in. That includes our commitment to sustainability [see ‘Sustainability credentials’] as much as our desire to shape our market.

International Paper continuously invests in better understanding the market and the needs of our customers. We use this knowledge to design innovative solutions across the value chain – from product development, supply chain services and marketing support to end-user convenience.

There is a global trend towards greater acceptance of price premiums for “the right experience”. We increasingly focus on creating this experience for paper consumers, taking into account changing print needs to propose even better solutions to our customers.

premium on the right product and service to fit their needs.

One medium-term challenge in the paper market is that we – as an industry – have not made it easy and intuitive to choose a paper adapted to different print needs.

Professional printers and resellers understand grammage and whiteness and brightness, but the average person or purchasing manager has a difficult time translating which paper quality is best suited for printing quality presentations or work in progress.

At International Paper, we are actively working to de-commoditise paper and drive understanding of the right paper for the right use. We believe that if we make it easy to pick the right paper we can drive understanding and desire for the paper that is most appropriate for the end user.

As such, our adapted solutions are heavily based on and influenced by end users’ selection criteria such as convenience and local production.

OPI: I presume that ties in pretty well with the need for more innovation in the category?

GD: Absolutely. That said, I really believe that innovation is a strong focus for the paper industry already. And as with any market undergoing change, the innovators will set the stage for how it evolves, and for who the winners will be.

At International Paper specifically, we think that innovation in terms of product and

Sustainability credentials Sound environmental credentials are prerequisites for any successful and future-oriented paper vendor these days. Below are just some of International Paper´s sustainability attributes: • One of Fortune Magazine’s ‘Most Admired Companies’ 12 times in the last 13 years.

• On the Ethisphere Institute’s list of the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ for ten consecutive years.

• We meet approximately 70% of our global energy requirements with renewable biomass.

• Our paper mills are up to 85% energy self-sufficient.

• Globally, we have reduced air emissions by 18% and waste sent to landfill by 17% compared with 2010.

• In Europe we have slashed greenhouse gas emissions by 73% since 1990.

• In 2014, we donated over $10 million worldwide to charitable organisations.

OPI: You mention paying a premium for ‘the right experience’. Are customers willing to do that and look beyond simply buying a commodity product?

GD: In many industries beyond paper we see consumers more and more willing to place a w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Vendor Profile | International Paper packaging is necessary, but not sufficient enough to ensure that market needs are met over the long term. We are actively developing an innovation platform around themes that we believe are critical for the future. The most important of these is convenience.

For example, we have just relaunched our Rey brand – the easy and effective brand – along with a suite of marketing support tools and services that make it effortless for channel partners to sell. At the same time, rather than messily ripping open a ream of paper, our Tear Strip packaging – designed as a thin strip around the ream – makes opening the Rey ream of paper clean and effortless for the end user by simply tugging at the flap and unwrapping at the seam. Tear Strip is also available on IP brands HP Everyday Papers and POL. International Paper has very recently won the Core Office Product of the Year category at the European Office Products Awards for this innovation [see also EOPA Review, page 30].

“It’s quite simple: paper and digital both have their place in society” OPI: What are the main challenges and themes in the paper market right now?

GD: It’s quite simple: paper and digital both have their place in society. The technological advancements of the last decade provide the need and the opportunity – but also the challenge – for the paper industry to re-think and re-define itself.

Paper companies need to adapt to the changing needs and requirements of paper consumers and provide a link between paper and technology to secure long-term profitability.

OPI: Rationalising their brand portfolio has become very common among resellers. How are you making sure that International Paper remains a core part of that brand portfolio?

GD: International Paper brands form an integral part of many customers’ portfolio.

This is in part due to long-term marketing collaboration with our reseller partners. Our recognised local and pan-European brands

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

Inside Internat

John Sims takes on new role

ional Paper’s Kw

idzyn facility in

Poland

are supported with full marketing packages targeting the entire sales chain down to the end user and are creating true value for customers.

We try to understand our customers’ selling and communication strategies and tailor International Paper’s support to best suit individual customers. Our support includes technical, environmental as well as marketing expertise.

The results speak for themselves: we have been able to continuously grow our International Paper brands, even in a declining to flat market and have plans to further grow them on a profitable basis in the years to come.

OPI: So what’s in store for the paper sector as a whole? It’s not all doom and gloom by all accounts.

GD: Of course, the global financial crisis has impacted the paper industry like it has any industry. But the European office papers market has been more resilient than people expected and more stable than many other OP categories like printing and writing instruments, for example.

In recent years, end-user demand for office papers in Europe has been stable or, in the worst case, slightly declining.

The upshot, in my opinion, is that paper will remain a key part of our lives – to communicate, to learn, etc.

It’s true that people print less and are more selective. They are printing for a specific purpose and with a clear idea of the impact they want for their print output. At the same time, they want easy choices and are more cost and environmentally-conscious than they used to be.

These evolving needs create plenty of opportunities for value creation because the need and the desire to print remains, of that I am sure.

As of March 2016, John Sims has been VP & General Manager of European Papers and Officer of International Paper. Sims is now responsible for International Paper’s uncoated woodfree papers, coated paperboard, and newsprint businesses in the EMEA region. He oversees about 3,000 employees and is in charge of annual net sales of around $1.5 billion.

Sims has worked in the paper industry since 1994 when he joined International Paper. Prior to that he was with the US Navy for seven years. Before assuming his current position, he served as VP & General Manager of the company’s North American Papers business since 2014.

He has been an Officer of the company since 2008 when he was appointed as VP of Strategic Planning for International Paper.

He then served as VP of Finance & Strategy for the company’s North American Industrial Packaging business before taking on general management responsibilities first for the US Imaging Papers business, and then for the North American Papers division.

Sims, who holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the US Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Michigan, refers to a number of highlights in his International Paper career so far: his involvement in the acquisition of Temple Inland and Weyerhaeuser; the combination of three North American paper businesses into one; the establishment of its Poland Customer Service Center in Krakow for US customers; and the launch of the Print Hammermill mobile printing app.

Category Analysis | Paper

Perfect storm

Declining sales have hit the paper industry hard over recent years, but a mood of wary optimism is now emerging – among some at least

by David Holes

REDUCED

market demand, weak pricing and intense competition. coupled with global oversupply have created the perfect storm in the paper industry, resulting in the closure of unprofitable mills and considerable consolidation across this category.

Data from The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service shows US dollar sales down 4% in 2015 while figures from GfK’s Office Total Store Report highlight a slightly larger decline of 5.3% in the UK, with sales of coated/ photo paper hit particularly hard and down 22.9% by value.

The recent collapse of paper merchant PaperlinX was symptomatic of this struggling sector, but some commentators OPI spoke to believe it might now have turned a corner.

Steady ahead Cristina Taboada, Senior Manager, Marketing & Innovation at International Paper (IP), sees encouraging signs: “The past few years have seen paper sales declining. However, industry analysts saw a slowing of this decline in 2015, with a return to flattish sales. If this trend continues into 2016 and 2017, we’ll remain cautiously optimistic.”

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

She adds: “With recent mill closures and conversions, overcapacity is not expected to be a challenge in 2016. The weak euro, in addition to global trade dynamics, are helping to make the European market less attractive for imports, and prospects are looking favourable for suppliers.

International Paper has been serving customers in the EMEA market for half a century and even in tough trading conditions we’ve continued to grow our business in this region.”

Recent figures from Portugal-based The Navigator Company (formerly grupo Portucel Soporcel) reflect this European optimism, with paper sales hitting a record 425,000 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2015 and revenues up 5.6% on the strength of higher pulp and paper prices.

However, it sounds a note of caution, citing continued pressure on commodity prices and slower economic growth in China as factors contributing to a highly unstable market. Fears are also emerging that the growth in demand which the company has experienced recently may fail to keep up with the new pulp capacity when it comes on stream later this year.

Things don’t look too rosy on the other side of the Atlantic, according to an executive at a leading US paper producer who prefers not to be identified but who highlights the challenges currently facing the US paper industry: “Supply continues to outweigh demand and manufacturers

must strongly consider taking additional capacity out of the market.

There’s also a continued push across corporate America to lower paper usage at the office – often more in an attempt to drive efficiency and monetary savings than to promote sustainability.

“With regards to foreign supply, the recent trade case for countervailing and anti-dumping duties imposed on five countries has not yet had a significant impact on paper availability. It’s early days and the dust needs to settle before anyone can claim what the true effect will be here – there’s still foreign paper in the supply chain and the strength of the dollar makes it attractive to keep importing paper into the US.”

Downward price spiral Back in the UK, Andrew Stacey, Vendor and Product Director at wholesaler VOW, also predicts turbulence ahead. “Supply and pricing disruption will dominate the market in 2016, causing pressure on margins, with mills and merchants looking to pass on any price increases quickly. At user level, this volatility will lead to further pressure to reduce paper use and this will exacerbate its long-term decline and, in turn, the demand for printer supplies. OEMs needing to protect profitability will increase the price of printer consumables, further driving end users to cut back on printing and paper usage.”

Paper | Category Analysis He adds: “Consumers are also increasingly trading down to lower grades of paper as they look to decrease their spending budgets.

This will put further pressure on EU mills, and if they pull out then the void is likely to be filled by imported products. The longer-term challenge facing the industry is how to keep users printing when technology is fighting on every front to dissuade them from doing that.”

As another commentator explains, the main problem has always been that whenever one of the players decides to fight to win market share by being more aggressive on price than its counterparts, it ends up destroying value along the entire supply chain.

Iwan Le Moine, Director at paper industry consultants EMGE, says that shrinking margins and lower prices have driven mills and merchants into a fight for survival: “They have become much more wary of new competition as well as each other and the ‘enemy’ hasn’t just been your competitor, with vertical competition

Johannes Klumpp

But, admits IP’s Taboada, while some blame for the commoditisation of paper lie with the industry itself and is a result of poor communication directly at consumer level, she believes that as the demand for printing declines, the value placed on actual printed content will increase. “After all,” she says, “if it’s valuable enough to be printed at all, then it’s valuable enough to be printed on quality paper.”

“If it’s valuable enough to be printed at all, then it’s valuable enough to be printed on quality paper” and squeezed margins at every level of the distribution chain.

“This competition both horizontally and vertically has seen years of fierce fighting, with the survivors looking to eat up market share when their competitor fails.

Unfortunately, this is not always conducive to establishing the good cooperative behaviour that could get the entire chain to improve.”

Commoditisation calls Stacey reports that loss-leading with a core, commoditised product like paper will always be an issue: “In the past, resellers have added value by getting consumers to trade up to more recognised paper brands or to recycled ranges. However, over the past two years the trend has been to downgrade rather than look for these unique characteristics, and the number of brands now leaving the market is reflective of this trend.”

The paper industry has struggled with a poor environmental image for many years, with a long-standing debate raging over the greenest way to manufacture its products.

Suppliers have been working hard to clean up their act and promote their sustainability credentials.

As Le Moine states: “There’s an ongoing battle between all parts of the paper chain and the rest of the world’s views. It’s a complicated issue, much dictated by perceptions and costs. Consumers say they want green, but what they want and what they do don’t always match up, with aspects such as paper price and whiteness playing a major part in their purchasing decision.

“Ecolabels can help differentiate between environmentally-friendly papers and those, primarily from parts of Asia, that are usually less so. For European manufacturers, the bar is already set very, very high, but

Andrew Stacey

the pressure to go further, reducing carbon footprints and ensure that all parts of the supply chain are as environmentally sustainable as possible, is constant.”

Environmental conundrum Taboada explains some of the complexities: “You can’t say that either recycled paper or that made from virgin fibre is the more environmentally-friendly option.

What matters is that it comes from a sustainably-managed forest. This is why environmental certifications and ecolabels such as FSC and PEFC are so important. The use of trees in the production of paper makes it a truly renewable resource. Want to grow more trees? Buy more paper.”

Johannes Klumpp, Marketing & Sales Director at Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, says that sustainable development makes good business sense too: “Our future relies on the responsible stewardship of the natural resources we need to source, manufacture and market our products. We work proactively with our partners on global issues, mitigating the local consequences of climate change, energy and the responsible management of ecosystem services and water.

“We constantly look for ways to achieve more from less, increase resource efficiency and extend the range of sustainable product solutions we offer.

“We entered into a global partnership with WWF in 2014, promoting ecosystem, manufacturing and product stewardship across w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Paper | Category Analysis “Fundamentally, the desire to print has not changed, it’s just printing behaviours that are changing” Chris Brown

our business. Caring for the environment makes sense not just for us as a company, but for the whole industry.”

At British papermaker James Cropper, Commercial Director Chris Brown believes that the key to sustainability is keeping waste fibre in the loop, thus significantly reducing landfill and maximising the use of recovered fibre.

“Our reclaimed fibre plant recovers the fibre from waste paper coffee cups and uses the high-quality cellulose fibre in fine papers. We’ve now secured a ready supply of single-use cups that may otherwise have been sent to landfill and convert them into a suitable pulp substitute – with no wastage whatsoever in the process. We’ve also begun a trial partnership with McDonald’s UK, allowing millions of paper cups from their restaurants across the country to be recouped and put back into the supply chain.

“There’s huge potential in the market for these options, and we’re experiencing strong demand from businesses looking to develop a greener supply chain and minimise

their carbon footprint. For example, Selfridges – we provide paper for their yellow bags – is championing the current sustainability movement in the fashion industry.

We are also seeing interest from businesses within a wide range of sectors, including greeting card publisher Glebe Cottage.”

Changing paper In a bid to counter the drive for an ever-cheaper, commoditised product, companies are looking to technology to help innovate and drive new products to the market.

At the beginning of this year, for example, ‘The Christian Doppler Lab for Fibre Swelling and Paper Performance’ was launched at Graz University of Technology in Austria, in partnership with Mondi and Océ, the Netherlands-based producer of digital printing machinery.

This project aims to investigate the swelling and de-swelling processes during paper production, printing and converting, with the aim of improving paper, inks and printing equipment.

Other technological advances include the launch of paper with ColorLok technology. Over four

billion reams of ColorLok paper have now been sold, with over 100 paper brands from worldwide sources having passed the ColorLok performance specifications and displaying the ColorLok logo.

Taboada believes that despite this progress in the core product, there is a lack of printers in public spaces which, at least in part, prevent people from using it: “People want to print, yet printer availability has not kept up with content availability. We can access our content whenever and wherever we are, yet the opportunities to print are few and far between outside the home and office. Thankfully, we are beginning to see start-ups placing printer stations in cafés and high-traffic areas in cities. At the same time, mobile applications like our Happy2Print app can now link mobile phones to any wifi printer in range, making it much easier to print when out and about.

“Fundamentally, the desire to print has not changed, it’s just printing behaviours that are changing. It’s crucial we all increasingly focus on these changing needs and create a tailored offering for the paper consumer,” she concludes.

“We’ve now secured a ready supply of single-use cups that may otherwise have been sent to landfill and convert them into a suitable pulp substitute – with no wastage whatsoever in the process” w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Category Analysis | Education

Top

of the class The education sector offers huge potential and those who’ve gained a foothold are reporting strong sales

by David Holes

FROM

early years to higher education, students and schools require a diverse array of products that the OP industry can supply. It’s a fiercely competitive market, but one that’s continuing to grow and which can offer rich rewards. Some of the key players OPI spoke to offered their insight and advice.

Nick Cash from UK educational supplier Nick Cash Agencies says: “The opportunity to do business with schools is massive. One office dealer told us that by the end of this year it expects its school business to be greater than the office business. This is a huge statement and shows the potential of this marketplace.”

At Safco Products in the US, Marketing Coordinator Allison McHale explains: “The education market is growing and our school suppliers report that educational funding is now increasing in some areas. As such, school administrations can begin to provide newer and more advanced products that benefit students, teachers and the classroom environment as a whole.”

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

In line with a growing focus on wellness in the office environment and all that this entails, the classroom is no different. ‘Active classroom’ products designed to keep students on the move, such as standing desks and active seating solutions, are in high demand right now, according to McHale: “Sitting still in class is a thing of the past because of the potential health

tasks, check students’ progress, send messages and collect work from their tablets. Cameras are also proving consistently popular – document cameras have been an unexpected growth area thanks to their competitive price point.

“During audits we’ve also noticed an increasing number of schools not conforming to health and safety regulations, with cable management

“One office dealer told us that by the end of this year it expects its school business to be greater than the office business” benefits of movement. Products such as our AlphaBetter desk with its ‘fidget bar’ footrest will see continued growth as funding increases and people become aware of their benefits.”

Technology impact You can’t ignore the impact of technology in this sector either, says Luke Jennings, Technology Product Manager at UK wholesaler VOW: “This channel has expanded for us in the past year. An increasing number of schools are working almost exclusively on tablets, with the actual work transfer done digitally. Using pre-loaded software, teachers submit

and associated trip hazards more prevalent due to the increased amount of tech in use. We’ll be running a campaign on this with our supplier D-Line, for example, a manufacturer with numerous solutions,” he adds.

At Germany-based Schneider Pen, the schools market is also developing well, with increasing sales across almost all product areas in many countries it operates in. The company’s Head of Public Relations Martina Schneider says: “Ballpoint pens are increasingly important in the school sector and by far the preferred writing instrument with the highest growth rates. By contrast,

Education | Category Analysis You can Bett on it

the market for ‘fancy’ fountain pens is in decline.

“Shape and colour are key, with increasingly younger age groups preferring plain, subtle shades. As such, we’re now only targeting more vivid colours at the very young, under ten-year-old, age group.”

Tim Beaumont, Managing Director at UK dealer group NEMO, mentions that 3D printing is already a significant opportunity in schools: “This will only continue to grow and develop as new technologies launch and traditional 2D vendors jump into the market.”

More opportunities ahead The biggest change in the education sector, however, will be the government’s requirement for all UK schools to achieve academy status by 2020, he adds. “Schools are now merging to form clusters as they come out of local council rule, making it easier for dealers to do business with them as they’re able to make their own purchasing decisions.

“The key targets in the future will be the lead school in the academy because they will have most of the buying resource.”

Selling into the education sector can be different from the commercial B2B sector, with many contracts traditionally awarded by competitive tendering. But according to Cash, the best way of getting school business in the UK is to go direct: “This doesn’t just mean leaving a catalogue; it means doing the detective work to find out who the key contacts are.

We categorise schools in three ways: firstly, those where the head or bursar has complete control over which

suppliers are used; secondly, those that let department heads or teachers decide; and thirdly, those where it’s complete mayhem and it varies from one department to another.”

He adds: “To make this even more complicated, new UK schools were often developed using public finance initiatives (PFI), so they may well have been built by a different company to that now running the school and responsible for purchasing replacement equipment.

“Again, it’s down to leg work, but if you can track them down you’ll often find whole groups of schools run by the same company. Also, don’t ignore private schools which account for 7% of pupils in the UK.” According to Beaumont, the office products dealer faces two major challenges in this sector: “The first is the presence of specialist non-profit making, government-backed suppliers. They are not very agile and their service levels aren’t always great, but their pricing policies represent an unfair playing field.

However, this isn’t insurmountable and office products dealers have so much more to offer, including service, product knowledge and the ability to visit regularly.

“The second obstacle is that some manufacturers don’t recognise our channel as working in this sector and don’t give education-level pricing to us, which is a handicap. They need to accept that this sector is now being targeted by us and if they don’t play fair on pricing they will be vulnerable to those manufacturers that do.”

That’s not to say all manufacturers have that attitude, of course. BIC takes a multi-faceted approach, says

Jack Terry Photography

Safco’s AlphaBetter desks with the ‘fidget bar’ footrest

The Bett Show, a leading event for learning technology, returned to the London ExCel in January. Now in its 23rd year, it remains one of the premier shows for anyone involved or interested in breaking into the education sector.

Every year, visitors are given the chance to see, touch and test the latest developments in hardware, software and IT services that look set to revolutionise learning.

Presentations from leading experts in the industry took place across the event, with Girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) being the core theme in the main Bett Arena.

Belinda Parmar, CEO and founder of Lady Geek, and Dr Sue Black, award-winning computer scientist and among the ‘Top 50 European Women in Tech’, took to the stage to deliver presentations focused on promoting the role of women in the science and technology industries.

This year, Bett also hosted its impressive KidsMeet forum again, giving young children the chance to experience some of the most exciting technology available. The event featured virtual reality experiences, including a trip into space. Children also shared presentations on their favourite school topics and became mini journalists reporting on the show.

Futures, the launch pad for UK educational start-ups, returned for a second year. This is where budding businesses that offer solutions to the pressing issues facing today’s educators were able to demonstrate their new products and potential educational game changers.

Bett 2017 will be held at the London ExCel from 25-28 January. w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Source: GfK

Source: The NPD Group

Education | Category Analysis

Janel Lewis, its VP of Marketing and Business Units in the US: “We conduct business with educational establishments in a few different ways. Firstly, by working with the customers that have contracts with school districts and showing them the best-in-value proposition we offer. Secondly, by attending the key educational trade shows.

We find that some universities will buy products directly from the manufacturer, while others go through regional wholesalers.”

Seasonality sells Unsurprisingly, the back-to-school (BTS) period continues to be one of the most important times of the year for those operating in this sector, but defining when it actually begins (and ends) is problematic.

Safco’s BTS season typically begins in April, McHale explains: “This is when administration starts to place large orders for products, so it’s the time of year when we ensure our resellers are aware of any new products and coordinate launches and other marketing campaigns.”

Beaumont agrees: “BTS starts in April, at the beginning of a new budget period for non-academy schools that still run under local council rule. This is when negotiations start in earnest and when dealers must explore what teachers require for the start of the school year in September. It’s also an opportunity to find out if any alterations or new buildings are planned over the summer, with possibilities to supply furniture.”

But buying patterns are by no means uniform across the

board – or even countries. Says VOW’s Jennings: “We usually see a small lift in October, with an increasingly bigger peak in January as schools return after Christmas. The busiest time is usually the end of June and start of July as schools order supplies for the following academic year.

Our educational team can make as much as 50% of their annual sales in this period alone.”

At BIC, peak selling periods are different again. Lewis explains: “BTS is a key driver, but return-to-school (second semester) results in another

crafts products. When discussing exercise books, get previous order copies to compare prices and specifically ask about the quality required.

• Start discussions about furniture from January onwards, but remember that suppliers’ delivery times get longer the nearer you get to the summer holidays.

Similarly, for larger building projects, start discussions from January onwards. These areas have the potential for better margins, but you’ll need a reliable builder that may need to sub-contract for electrics and gas.

“Traditional OP suppliers have talked about this market for a long time, but have really done nothing” significant bump in sales. We also see increased sales around days that are craft-oriented – Valentine’s Day, for example – and also around the winter holiday season. We’ve further noted that pen colours have seasonality, with sets involving ‘springtime’ shades of pink, purple, lime green and light blue selling particularly well around Easter.”

Cash offers some guidelines for different products in the education sector: • Resource materials are mainly needed during term times, but there are obvious trends around events such as Christmas for arts and

The potential for significant sales in the education sector is clearly available throughout the whole year and an increasing number of OP dealers are looking to get involved.

But, as Beaumont says, they really need to get cracking: “Traditional office products suppliers have talked about this market for a long time, but have really done nothing. Mistakenly, they’ve put products into their portfolio, but then attached the same business margin as they would for the commercial market, thereby making themselves uncompetitive. They simply must introduce specialists who understand the requirements of this sector – be patient and the rewards will come.” w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

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Your OPI

The generation game Bob Shulman, President of US dealer Suburban Stationers, seeks to redefine the answer to the age-old question: “What do you do?”

WHEN

many of us in the OP industry are asked what our company does, we probably respond with “we sell office products”. Why wouldn’t we?

Historically, that was the core of what we did, and it has naturally become the culture of our dealerships.

A common difficulty many companies face when recruiting and developing millennials – regardless of size or industry – is a misalignment of a company culture to meet their needs. My girlfriend is an HR director for a major manufacturing company. Some of our ‘work’ discussions revolve around these issues.

Succession planning She made a comment about culture and succession planning as part of a strategic initiative she was developing to help ‘plan for turnover’, and I was caught off guard.

She explained the importance of planning for staff turnover, but not in its traditional sense. If someone is promoted, away from work for an extended period of time, or leaves the company, succession planning gives you ‘options’.

This concept got me thinking about my dealership, succession planning in the OP industry, how we recruit and develop talent, retain said talent, as well as our take on Bob Shulman corporate culture.

Succession planning isn’t meant to immediately replace the veterans of our industry, but rather to prepare for the future. At one time or another, these veterans were in the same boat, being ‘the youngest person in the room’, and they had the opportunity to flourish within their own dealerships. The millennial generation needs these same opportunities.

Countless studies have been done on this topic, but there are a few common themes I’ve seen first hand from the millennials who currently work for our dealership, and those who left for various reasons.

“Most millennials don’t care how long the path is, but they need to know there is a path for growth within the company” First and foremost, too much attention is focused on ‘engaging’ millennials in my opinion. Millennials have an inherent need to believe in a cause, both professionally and from a social responsibility standpoint.

Once they believe in what they are doing, and see its value, they are immediately engaged. The challenge is keeping them motivated so that they remain engaged.

Growth opportunities need to be available to motivate this generation.

If these don’t exist within your company currently, start building them into your organisational structure. For instance, introduce junior level and senior level positions and offer cross-training to prepare for succession.

Most millennials don’t care how long the path is, but they need to

know there is a path for growth within the company.

Another common theme is flexibility in their positions. The ability to work from home, flexitime and holidays are important because they allow millennials to have a work-life balance that is critical to keeping them motivated.

Providing ROI The millennial generation provides both real and intrinsic value to all organisations, and we must have a willingness to invest in our people who will provide a true ROI. By understanding the needs of millennials, we redesigned our culture to embody the needs of all the generations of employees, in the process aiding the recruitment, development and retention of our entire workforce.

To accomplish this, we first needed to redefine the why, how and what we do so that our message is believable.

This message has now become more intriguing and is: “We sell programmes and solutions to provide real value for businesses.” It’s more than a mission, it’s a cause. It’s a “this is what we were meant to do”.

We’re focused on social responsibility that provides value above and beyond the concept of culture. By finding and developing opportunities for growth, we’ve been able to capture the value, work ethic and ingenuity of the millennial generation that has helped invigorate our entire company.

Ultimately, culture is king. So let me ask you, what do you do?

Are you a young executive and have a view for our Generation Game section?

Email us at editorial@opi.net

w w w.opi.net | OPI Magazine

55

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Your OPI

5 minutes with...

Jhenielle Brown, Marketing Manager, SP Richards

Describe what you do in less than 20 words.

I’m the Marketing Manager responsible for products and vendors in the Facility & Safety categories at SP Richards.

Your best piece of advice to a colleague.

People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

Your favourite office product.

A proper office product? My purse-shaped Post-it Pop-Up Notes Dispenser.

“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care” What sports teams do you support?

The University of Georgia Bulldogs because that’s my alma mater, and the Toronto Blue Jays because it’s my home team and I grew up attending their games.

Things you begrudge spending money on.

Student loans.

If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?

A summer home on the beach in Jamaica.

What would you like to be doing in five years’ time?

I would like to be working in brand management.

If you had to sing at a karaoke next weekend, which song would you choose and why?

Say You’ll Be There by the Spice Girls. I have always loved the Spice Girls…

Your biggest achievement.

Completing my MBA with a 3.8 GPA while working full time. It was both mentally and physically challenging, but I was a better, stronger person on the other side of it.

Any annoying habits?

My husband says it’s very annoying when I fall asleep on the couch while we are watching TV because I sleep like a rock.

What business book would you recommend as essential reading?

Strengths Based Leadership written by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie.

Interesting hobbies?

I collect shot glasses from every country that I visit. The hardest to locate was one for China, but I found one by a stroke of luck.

What do you think will be the biggest factor affecting the OP industry over the next five years?

E-commerce. The online landscape is much less forgiving than the customer you have known for years, and the switching costs for consumers are much lower too.

The best book you’ve read in the past 12 months.

The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.

If you could invite two famous people for dinner, who would they be and why would you invite them?

Lupita Nyong’o and Sandra Bullock. They both seem to be very energetic, humorous, poised, worldly, intelligent and relatable women. And they seem to be grounded in spite of their success. They represent the type of woman I aspire to be.

The first record you bought.

The Space Jam Soundtrack.

Your favourite holiday destination.

Paris, France.

If the world had a President, who would you vote for?

Angelina Jolie.

She cares about improving the quality of life of people all over the world, and she lives her life boldly and unapologetically.

Your OPI

Final word Your industry, your opinions

Steve Harrop, Managing Director, Office Friendly

BREXIT: a view from the UK TO

be or not to be – that is going to be one of the key questions of our generation in the UK. My view takes into consideration the impact that the UK leaving the European Union could have on independent resellers in the mid-market sector. As such, it’s not intended as a full industry overview, although we don’t operate without the influences of the wider industry, of course.

So what are the strands of BREXIT that we need to consider? Macro versus micro; isolationist versus internationalist; and what works and what doesn’t.

SMEs drive the economy Let’s start with the first of these then. We are hearing that the move to exit the EU will disadvantage the bigger international players and not really have any impact on the SMEs. It’s safe to say that we are all fed up with some multinational corporations, banks and huge institutions and the EU acting as a crony organisation to pander to the needs of big business.

Larger organisations by their very nature employ larger numbers of people and create massive volumes of products and services, but we’re always being told that it’s the smaller businesses that really drive the economy.

Didn’t Napoleon say the British were “a nation of shopkeepers”?

However, should we see real pressures for these larger companies to move more of their business interests away from the UK, then just what would the trickle-down effect really be? We don’t know and little genuine effort has been made to show us the effect in a way we can all understand. It’s a big food chain and everything trickles down. Even on contractual opportunities we (ie the independents) get the crumbs from the table of the corporate business. No crumbs, if no table.

The second point is very much a commentary on our position in the world. Trade exists as the foundation of any world economy, but it fluctuates. For example, Chinese growth – though still phenomenal – is in decline and structural change is inevitable as the country looks inwardly to that vast middle class consumer opportunity.

Being part of the largest trading bloc in the world helps us compete on level terms with the USA, China and the BRIC nations. Would being independent enhance that position?

Perhaps we have an overinflated view of our genuine influence in the world today. Despite being the world’s fifth largest economy and still showing better growth than the

eurozone, there is little guarantee this will continue and we certainly don’t want instability caused by having too big an ego. Isolationism of the US in the 1920s and 1930s proved to be a huge problem for world trade. And while I hear the argument that nothing will affect capitalism and the machinations of business, I can’t help but feel that we aren’t as well loved as we think we are – there are many competitors waiting in the wings to take over.

On the third premise, it’s clear that a number of aspects of the EU and its structures are, if not broken, then certainly not working. For the local independent OP reseller, the EU manifests itself in media headlines and the realms of bureaucratic time and cost, much of which laid at the feet of European politicians. Do we not ourselves operate a civil service and administrations that add to the costs of small businesses?

Negative suppositions It appears to me that the justifications for BREXIT are built on poorly-explained negative suppositions and that the ‘Remain’ campaign is using scaremongering tactics that seem to be in vogue with consultants and advisors.

Just like many other issues that have an impact on the SMEs in our industry, we will adapt and evolve, and learn to cope with the changes around us. Our industry-specific challenges won’t be majorly impacted by being ‘in’ or ‘out’, because they are having an effect on us already and we either adapt or die.

But the UK magnificently rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of a disfunctional Europe simply doesn’t ring true. History tells us a lot about some of the issues we are facing now, but we are not always willing to learn the lessons of the past.

For what it’s worth I’m ‘in’. Europe, its markets and cultures, opportunities and challenges are things we should embrace and improve from within.

For a global perspective on BREXIT, look out for the Hot Topic in the next issue of OPI.

“The UK [...] rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of a disfunctional Europe simply doesn’t ring true”

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OPI Magazine | April 2016

Want the Final Word? Email editorial@opi.net

IN THE NEXT ISSUE • Big Interview with Stefan Sonesson, RKV • Breakroom Special: OPI takes a close look at what’s happening in this hugely important category for resellers

Office Products International ISSUE NO.2 5 8

APRIL 2016

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