16
| P2P Magazine | Spring 2013
Winter
6
01732 759725
PREDICTIONS
The Industry View
CONSOLIDATION &
DIVERSIFICATION
Michael Gardner,
CEO,
BOSS Federation
“The Office Products Industry is going
through major change, with consolidation,
diversification and new entrants to the
market impacting the supply chain. In the
last 12 months, the wholesaler/contract
stationer relationship has changed, with the
merger of Spicers and OfficeTeam (SPOT),
and the merger of VOW with Office2Office
(EVO).
“The much heralded merger of Staples
and Office Depot is currently not supported by the FTC in the USA or
by the regulatory authorities in Europe who are concerned over the size
of some of the contracts involved. However, Staples is determined to
push this merger through.
“On a smaller scale, there are fewer dealer groups in the UK, with
XPD going into administration, and fewer independent dealers, as
lifestyle businesses are not being passed on to family members and
have limited sale value.
“The traditional market for stationery continues to decline, with a
reduction of 3% in the moving annual total B2B value. Paper, filing &
storage and EOS are all showing a decline as the internet and the cloud
change the way people print, save and store items.
“However, the industry is extremely resilient, and most forward-
looking companies have embraced new products and services,
particularly in Technology, Facilities Management and Managed Print
Services. No longer is the industry referred to as Office Products; a
better description now is Business Products and Services.
“The traditional market is valued at £5 billion in the UK, but with
these new markets there is the potential to grow to £15 billion. The
concepts of single-source suppliers and one-stop shopping mean that
many traditional office products suppliers are now seeing major growth
and profit by expanding into new and developing markets. You can get
stationery, print, tea, cleaning materials, iPhones, almost anything used
in business delivered next day through your local or national Office
Products supplier.
“The only certainty in our industry is CHANGE.”
Pens & Paper
THE CRAZE FOR COLOURING
Rachel Woolley,
Marketing Manager,
Staedtler (UK) LTD
“The stationery market has exploded in the last few months with the
adult colouring craze and this is having a really positive impact on
HP Everyday Papers.
A complete printing
solution now
available from the
Make it matter
For more information email
or
visit
The only
constant is
change
Leading lights from the office products industry
pick their top trends for 2016
