Top 100 Resellers 2007

Since its establishment in 1994, Office Depot Mexico has come a long way. And under the leadership of Angel Alverde Losada since 1996, the company operates 138 stores across Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and Honduras. With its extensive product offering and strong presence in the region, the company is going strong.

The frenetic activity that characterises Office 1 and its CEO Mark Baccash has showed no signs of slowing. A master of the franchise concept, the company has continued to enter new markets. In August, Office 1 announced the addition of three new master franchisees in the Kingdom of Jordan, Qatar and St Marten. Baccash has said that the next few years will see a slowing of expansion to allow Office 1 time to develop in its current markets.

As a 12-year veteran of Staples, Jay Baitler has led the firm's contract division from its inception to become Staples fastest growing business, with double-digit growth for the past six years. The division serves the business-to-business customer, from the medium-sized company up to the Fortune 100.

Baitler has developed a keen eye for successful acquisitions. In 2005, Staples acquired Prime Office Products and most recently, Kross Office Outfitters in Kansas City. Both of these companies have been easily integrated into the Staples family by comfortably complementing the firm's operating ethos.

Having started off in 1997 as an Argentinean company, Officenet has since evolved to become a Brazilian company with an Argentinean branch, tapping into South America's largest office products market.

In 2004 the company was acquired by Staples and has become the largest B2B eCommerce company in South America. It now offers more than 10,000 products to its corporate customer base, which currently stands in excess of 22,000 across the region.

Since Charlie Cleary joined TriMega in 2005, the dealer group has seen record growth for the number of members and rebates. Last year, the group spearheaded TriSupply, a sourcing initiative for private label and branded products from wholesalers United Stationers and SP Richards. The furore surrounding rival dealer group is.group will have helped bolster TriMega's position in the US dealer community, but according to the group's surveys, member satisfaction is at an all-time high.

Robert de Montigny is a new kid on the block for Canadian dealer group Novexco and indeed for the OP industry. And, having taken over from interim president/CEO Donald Forman (now chairman) last June, he's keen on making his mark. With 80 members and a current primary focus on Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, de Montigny freely admits that he's on the "expansion" trail and looking for merger, alliance and acquisition opportunities to extend Novexco's coverage - also known as BuroPLUS to a more nationwide membership.

Paul Donahue joined SP Richards in 2003 as EVP of sales and marketing. He was responsible for marketing, merchandising, national account sales, sales operations and the company's wholly owned subsidiary, HorizonUSA. In 2004, he was promoted to president and COO. In these roles he continues to be actively involved in sales and marketing areas while also assuming responsibility for the operations side of the business. He works closely with CEO Wayne Beacham to execute corporate strategy. Over the past year SP Richards has been developing its Enhanced E-Content while expanding its workforce and pursuing the jan/san market.

When Tech Data expanded its senior management team by splitting the roles of chairman and CEO, Robert Dutkowsky joined the distributor, replacing Steve Raymund as CEO. While Raymund continues in his role as non-executive chairman of the board, Dutkowsky is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business. At the time, Dutkowsky commented: "I am excited to be a part of an extremely dynamic and successful organisation. Steve and the talented management at Tech Data have built an industry-leading IT distribution company with an extensive global reach, an exceptional team of employees and highly focused operating fundamentals." Keen to reach new markets, Dutkowsky has been very much involved with the company's recent joint venture with wireless distributor Brightstar in creating Brightstar Europe, a pan-European organisation seeking to capitalise on the evolving mobile and wireless device market in Europe.

Founder and CEO of Shoplet Tony Ellison is carefully steering his company forward and taking advantage of the rapidly growing eCommerce sector. Founded in 1994 and profitable since 1997, the company now sees triple-digit growth year on year. Such has been the extent of its growth that Shoplet has had to relocate its HQ to larger premises for the second time in only three years. Government contracts and a focus on the SMB market have helped boost Shoplet's sales and Ellison has strong ambitions for the company. He said: "We experienced a phenomenal 2006 and we're looking forward to 2007 as another banner year."

The world's largest independent channel for copier, printer and multifunction peripheral (MFP) technologies, IKON Office Solutions operates out of 400 offices throughout North America and Western Europe. IKON integrates systems from manufacturers including Canon and Ricoh, and document management software from companies like Captaris, Kofax and eCopy. Its tailored products are solutions implemented by its global services organisation - IKON Enterprise Services.

In April last year the firm announced the completion of the sale of over $300 million of US lease receivables to GE Capitol Solutions, a transaction that netted the company around $70 million.

Paulo Garcia is the media-shy director of family-run Kalunga. Founded in 1972, Kalunga is Brazil's largest specialist wholesale supplier of office, school and computer-related products. Taking advantage of the lack of international players and power channels in the country, the firm has built up a large share of Brazil's stationery, school and OP markets - a market estimated to be worth $5 billion. Kalunga has adopted a multi-channel approach, combining wholesale with contract stationer operations.

Now in its 30th year, is.group could be forgiven for having a selective memory about the past few years. In 2006 the group found itself in a legal dispute with former members over charges relating to the RDC programme. Riding the storm through 2007 and out the other side would show real strength and see the group well on its way to another 30 years.

Guernsey and his company maintain a high profile in the independent dealer camp. One of the chief engineers behind the creation of the BPGI, Guernsey has grown his business and now operates two distribution centres serving B2B contracts to the Washington DC region. The firm also has a few national accounts, which are accomplished through a third-party logistics (3PL) partner.

Guernsey Office Products saw organic growth in double digits during 2006/2007 and has stayed away from the industry-wide acquisition activity so prevalent in past years, preferring instead to work with larger dealers to develop its ability to win major accounts.

United Stationers is embarking on an ambitious strategy to take $100 million of cost out of the firm. Known as the War on Waste (WOW), the initiative aims to reduce United's cost structure by simplifying processes, increasing operating efficiency, achieving productivity improvement and reducing corporate overheads. In 2005, the OP giant successfully saved its target of $20 million and by the second quarter of 2006, United had achieved over 60 percent of its $20 million annual target. For the 12-month period ended 31 December 2006, the company reported net sales of $4.5 billion, up 6.3 percent from $4.3 billion in the previous year. Net income was $132.2 million, up 36 percent from 2005.

Last year saw a drastic restructure of CE's North American outfit designed to save the company $30 million, including the appointment of six new executives to its board. Part of the restructure included the construction of stand-alone OP, furniture, facility supplies, imaging and computer graphics supplies (ICGS) and document and print management divisions, each with their own presidents. Experts described the changes as a reflection of the firm's commitment to tackle the tricky SME market and a shift in focus towards customer segments.

Mark Leazer has been president of AOPD since 2001. Currently, AOPD has 59 independent dealer members across 40 states, from Alaska to Hawaii. Recent additions to the group have included Sandia Office Supply and Office Essentials. AOPD finished 2006 with contract sales up 37 percent over 2005, marking the third consecutive year of double-digit contract volume growth. Leazer intends to maintain this level of growth in the coming year with a commitment to improving the core business areas.

Office Depot veteran Monica Luechtefeld has clocked up over 13 years with the company, managing its B2B website since its creation in 1993. Her passion for eCommerce has played a key role in building Depot's huge annual web sales, which have grown to $4.2 billion over the past year. Luechtefeld also manages global M&A activities. Recent acquisitions include Allied Office Products and Papirius.

Sean Macey has been president of Basics since May 2006. He told OPI that 2006 was "quite a year for change", although mostly in a positive way with figures that report the highest amount of business in terms of volume as well as record dealer benefits. In addition, 2006 showed a significant leap in profit for the group's private-label range.

Staples celebrated 15 phenomenal years in Canada last year. Known as Staples Business Depot (or Bureau en Gros in the French-speaking provinces) this milestone was celebrated at the first ever store, with the first ever employee and Steve Matyas presiding over the ceremonies. Now president of the Canadian venture, Matyas can in fact be credited with converting the company into the nationwide player that it is today. And apart from his role at Business Depot, Matyas is also something of a retail authority, serving on a variety of councils and advisory committees.

Kenneth May replaced Gary Kusin as CEO of FedEx Kinko's last January, having previously served as EVP. At the time, Kinko's had been experiencing falls in income, which the company attributed to decreased demand and a continued competitive pricing environment for its services. May is head of strategic direction, growth and development across Kinko's 1,500 locations. The company plans to open up to 200 new smaller-format stores across America, which are designed to manage growth efficiently by reducing costs associated with construction, equipment and overheads.

Though it has been running since 1898 as a rubber stamp company, WB Mason can attribute much of its current success to CEO Leo Meehan. Since he began running the company in 1978, WB Mason has become the largest privately owned office products dealer in the US market. With over 930 employees, 200 delivery trucks and as many as 25,000 items listed on its online catalogue, it is one of the few major challengers to the power channels.

During its 17-year history, DC Mayorista has become Mexico's number-one office supplies wholesaler, stocking more than 5,000 SKUs including paper, computer equipment, furniture and sanitary products. The company now supplies 5,000 OP resellers across the country. Over the past few years, the company has made a significant investment in developing an ERP for its dealers, which is linked with the most advanced office supplies web site in Mexico, Pedidos.com. This system enables resellers to sell online with an advanced CRM, and a four-hour product delivery promise. The company is also committed to the environment, having obtained its sixth consecutive ISO 9000 certification in December of last year. And with year-on-year sales growth and healthy profits, DC Mayorista's future looks bright.

An industry veteran with over 30 years experience, Preston was elected to the CEO role in 2002. The corporation currently boasts over 3,500 members from 20 dealer groups across 12 countries. In November the group celebrated its tenth anniversary, in a year that saw a record rebate collected and distributed to members. Preston has ambitious plans for the future. His main objective for the coming year is continuing the drive for pan-European pricing and programme agreements. He explained: "The variation in prices charged by vendors for the same products in different European countries is huge and unsupportable. Independents cannot continue to provide an ongoing source of profit for this type of pricing model."

ECI² has 3,300 dealers using its software and has an impressive combined annual purchasing power of over $15 billion. Its eCommerce engine handles over $2 billion of B2B transactions every year. On top of this, the group has been continually expanding. The software company acquired Britannia in July in a move that staked the firm's intention to put up a fight against the SAP system released in conjunction with  United Stationers in 2005. And in January, ECI² added OMD Corporation, a provider of business system software, to its portfolio.

Roman Ross has served as CEO since September and has a proven track record of developing and implementing strategies that improve business results. 2007 has already been busy since the company announced a $1.6 million investment to enhance more than 210 in-store training rooms across the US, enabling businesses to forego spending their own resources to create and maintain expensive in-house training rooms. It is this kind of innovation that is driving the company's success and has made CompUSA Technology Training the largest privately-owned national training and workforce development company in the US.

Bob Scribner is the president and CEO of ActionEmco. He has built up a wealth of experience in the office products industry having worked for Esselte and SP Richards. He joined the newly formed ActionEmco in 2003, which had absorbed the loss-making Emco Sales and Service Holdings. Under his leadership, the ailing wholesaler's fortunes were reversed by a management buyout in partnership with investment firm Center Partners. Scribner's focus continues to remain firmly on his relationship with resellers and the company is planning a major marketing refocus next year to target the female buyer.

Eighteen months into the job and Gregory Spierkel continues to drive Ingram Micro's impressive growth rate. The firm expects to see a record fourth quarter, reflecting Spierkel's steady hand over his short tenure. Last April, the firm branched out by setting up its own marketing and communications agency and in June it acquired Symtec Nordic, a distributor of automatic identification and data capture technologies. Ingram Micro has also found itself higher up the Fortune 500 list at position 72, up four places from 2004.

As VP of stationery, Eddie Tutt is responsible for the OP product category at Wal-Mart Stores. The company is a major stocker of back-to-school and art and craft supplies. It also offers a selection of photocopiers, printers and shredders. And as the world's largest retailer, with 2006 revenue of $312.4 billion, it is a force to be reckoned with in the OP industry due to the sheer extent of its purchasing power.

School Specialty's president and CEO, David Vander Zanden, has been instrumental in the company's successful acquisition strategy, which has involved the takeover of 50 companies. The education supplies business is well-known to be fragmented and as such Specialty has taken it upon itself to make specific acquisitions for the benefits of its customers. And the strategy has paid off. Sales for the fiscal year ended 29 April 2006 were $1.02 billion. For the first six months of the financial year, which represents the back-to-school season, revenues were a record $764.1 million, representing 8.8 percent growth over the same period in 2005.

Wood continues to have a big impact on the Canadian OP sector as he heads Grand & Toy, now a wholly-owned subsidiary of OfficeMax. Described as 'a visionary leader', he brings more than two decades of experience in driving positive corporate change and motivating people. Always customer-focused, and with a broad base of experience with companies like Loeb, Rogers, Budget and Bell, Wood definitely leads by example.

Grand & Toy is Canada's largest commercial office products company, with 2,200 associates in 26 commercial sales offices, seven distribution centres and more than 50 retail locations from coast to coast.

Spicers Germany has been making progress over the last three years, developing its business and expanding its market position. The German division of the wholesaler has taken a cautious approach to operating in the largest market in Europe. Apelrath has achieved steady growth by aiming his focus at the traditional dealer channel, which looks destined to see the consolidation that has already occurred in the UK and US.

Mark Austen founded Office Club in 1992. It now has 270 member resellers and 350 stores in the UK. Last year was a healthy one for the group, with a proven reseller margin improvement of between four and eight percent (depending on member profile and product category). Austen has overseen Office Club's entry into the art and craft supplies sector. He always maintains the importance of the group's membership of the $10 billion BPGI. He was elected vice-chairman of the buying group's executive committee in May.

Kingfield Heath managed to pick up the European Office Products Award 2007 award for Wholesaler/Distributor of the Year in January, marking an impressive 12 months for the UK's second biggest wholesaler and distributor.

Barclay, who headed an MBO at the firm in 2004, has seen Kingfield increase in size to equal that of Spicers - not that the man himself is paying any attention. As he told OPI last year: "Within our business, our focus is much more on making certain that we are the best wholesaler rather than just the biggest."

Barclay is also chairman of interACTION, the pan-European wholesaler co-operative.

Zurich-based Office World is a leading provider of office products and services in Switzerland. Office World has an extensive product offering across its retail and eCommerce network. The company offers 6,000 SKUs across its retail operation and 10,000 SKUs online. CEO Matthias Baumann has set in place a multi-channel approach, consisting of catalogue ordering, new superstores and online shopping, to drive the company forward. By 2010, he wants the company to be operating 35 stores in the country.

Sergey Bobrikov is one of the most notable success stories of the Russian OP industry. With true entrepreneurial spirit, he set up Komus in 1991 in the first few turbulent years of Russian capitalism. Recognising the bureaucratic need for paperwork and therefore paper products, he set up his business. Komus now operates the largest retail network of stationery and office products in Russia. In addition to its retail and wholesale operations, the company also manufactures office, paper and adhesive products from its four factories. With a history of 35 percent year-on-year growth to maintain, Bobrikov is hardly likely to rest on his laurels any time soon.

As president of Office Depot's international operations, Charlie Brown has got a wide and varied role, overseeing all of the firm's operations outside North America. And after some challenges in the last couple of years, the global OP retailer's Q3 results suggest that the international division is now doing well, posting sales increases of 13 percent last autumn. Last year's acquisition of Papirius, an OP supplier based in the Czech Republic, for example, is likely to substantially boost Depot's performance in Eastern Europe in the years to come.

For the last two years, Franz-Josef Busenkell has been at the helm of Kaut-Bullinger, Germany's largest independent dealer. After years of restructuring and streamlining, Busenkell has steered the company into calmer waters. With a formidable presence in the southern states of Germany, declining sales have finally reached a level that industry insiders believe can now be sustained. And that's in no small measure due to Busenkell.

The past year saw a changing of the guard at office2office with the recent news that CEO Ray Peck was to step down. David Callear, who has served as chairman since February 2001, has taken on some of Peck's former responsibilities as an interim measure. During his tenure, Peck managed to acquire independent OP company Alpha Office in the summer of 2006. With revenue up by 9.1 percent over the half year, the future CEO will be stepping into a successful organisation.

Fiducial Office Solutions has taken the European OP market by storm. Present in France, Belgium and Spain - and now with China to add to the list - it has over 52,000 customers and in 2005 recorded turnover of €190 million ($241.8 million), making it the third largest OP supplier in France. Dimitry Denoyelle spent the majority of his OP career at Lyreco. In 2001 he left to set up a web company, then in 2003 he returned to the OP industry with Spicers before joining Fiducial.

Stefano di Veroli is the CEO and owner of the Italian stationery and gift shop C'ART and the Office 1 chain of OP superstores. Established in 1900 in Rome, C'ART is now the biggest wholesaler in Italy, operating 106 stores across the country. In 2000, di Veroli partnered with Itainvest to open the first Office 1 superstore in Italy. The chain now operates 34 OP superstores there.

Since 1979, Gerold Dobusch has been involved in the OP industry. Starting out as a fresh-faced 25-year-old, Dobusch started his own company, ITEM 2000, focusing on the distribution of ribbons and paper. In 1991, when Despec was officially founded as the wholesale arm of Jonkers International, it acquired ITEM 2000 which by then had become an international business. In addition to his responsibilities at ITEM, Dobusch at the time also became general manager of Despec Germany. In 2005, he was promoted to the post of CEO of Despec Europe, with responsibilities for the wholesaler's operations in the Nordic and Benelux countries, Germany, Austria and former Yugoslavia.

Dr Benedikt Erdmann has achieved what many doubted - turning around ailing German dealer group colossus BRANION. Now a lean operation with a formidable wholesale offering to its members, the largest dealer group in the country never had luck on its side, with the perennial economic gloom and plenty of internal battles. Part of the group (formerly Soennecken) for over a decade now, Dr Erdmann has perhaps witnessed more downs than ups, but it appears that BRANION now looks into the future with new optimism - and that's in no small part due to Dr Erdmann himself.

George Gerardos, started Plaisio in 1969 while a student at the Technical University of Athens. In 1988, the company officially established its computer business. The success of which comes from customising computers based on specific customer needs under the Turbo-X brand. Then, in 1992, the company started developing its store network, opening a 5,000 sq ft store in northern Athens. In 1995, it went on to open a 40,000 sq ft logistics centre and later commenced its B2B operations. The company is now listed on the Greek Stock Exchange and operates 16 stores.

Founded in 2000 and with sales approaching £15 million ($29.2 million) a year, Bluefish Office Products is one of the UK's fastest growing office products dealers. In 2005, the firm was named in the top ten of the 2005 Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 annual league table. Centrally located in Northampton with over 40,000 sq ft of warehouse, the company stocks over £3 million-worth of office products available for next-day delivery. Its main catalogue features over 20,000 products. In 2004, Bluefish acquired Risdene Press, expanding its portfolio to include a complete stationery design and print service. Forecasts for 2007 show a 10 percent increase in sales, and a 20 percent increase in profits.

Jose Luis Herna¡ndez has been referred to as one of the titans of the OP industry in Europe. He co-founded Carlin with Mark Baccash in 1989. The company now has a staggering presence in Spain, operating 450 active franchises accounting for annual sales of €160 million ($207 million). Run with only 17 employees, the firm is seen as a miracle of efficiency.

Carlin holds minimum stock as shipments are made direct from vendors to franchises in the majority of cases. Larger franchises carry some back-up stock for other franchises, thereby maximising decentralisation and flexibility.

It's been an amazing ride for Karibian since he co-founded the online supplier Euroffice in 2000. The UK company, which had been seeing 35 percent year-on-year growth, managed to turn in a whopping 60 percent growth last year. Known for setting exceptionally high targets, Karibian has reached his vision of "20/20", which equates to the enviable position of £20 million ($39.1 million) sales with 20 staff.

The launch of a subscription model for medium-sized companies, Eurowholesale.co.uk, in January 2006, and a BOSS award for dealer excellence towards the end of the year, were some of the other highlights for this progressive director.

Pragmatic Express has dramatically ascended through the OP ranks to become Russia's number-two contract stationer, reporting annual revenues of over $60 million in just seven years since it was born. More impressive however, has been the company's ability to grow 50 percent over the last year despite challenging logistics and IT problems caused by its relentless expansion. The company's efforts were recognised at the European Office Product Awards this year in Frankfurt, where Pragmatic Express picked up the Emerging Reseller of the Year award. Congratulations are in order for Kudryashev.

After selling stationery products for a couple of years following the completion of two university degrees, Martin Leitgeb co-founded Czech wholesaler Activa with his partner Arnost Broz in 1992. Since then, the two entrepreneurs have carved a sizeable niche in the fragmented Czech OP market. Activa is also becoming a strong force in Slovakia with 2006 revenues of €6 million ($7.8 million) in the country.

Jesus Lomana is the managing director of Lyreco's Spanish subsidiary Ofiservice, the contract stationer's first business start-up abroad. He has been the driving force behind increasing the subsidiary's sales from €72 million ($94.5 million) to €121.5 million within a five-year period. During that time, Barcelona-based Ofiservice's workforce has also nearly doubled to 625 in 2005. Lomana is responsible for introducing cataloguing to the Spanish OP industry and the company's impressive growth rate has secured its position as Spain's number one.

Last year was the one that saw ATG join the Buhrmann family and become the largest player in the Nordic region. Maarud successfully oversaw the NOK2.2 billion ($343 million) deal, which included the Norwegian retail chain Binders. ATG will keep its name during the coming year but Buhrmann will brand both TG Skrivab and CE Sweden as Corporate Express (CE). The firm is in the process of building CE Denmark and will take responsibility for the Nordic region and the Baltics under its new parent company.

Having been in charge of Germany-based Buroring for less than two years, managing director Carsten Marckmann has already made his mark by scooping the Dealer Group of the Year award at the European Office Products Awards. And while membership numbers remain relatively static - with new recruits counteracting the departure of members that closed down due to succession problems - it is the group's successful wholesale business that has seen considerable growth.

Bit by bit, Office Depot has become a top seller in the Hungarian OP market over the past decade. With a background in retailing as well as wholesaling, Istva¡n Miholek has been there all the way, first as president of Depot's franchise partner Elso Iroda Superstore and now as CEO of the firm's wholly-owned subsidiary.

The majority of Depot's business in Hungary is generated through its 12 retail stores, with about 30 percent coming from B2B sales. The company also has a growing internet business.

Founded in 1997 from the merger of two dealer groups, Instat and the National Dealer Association, Integra currently has 370 members. Consolidated member sales now total around £700 million ($1.3 billion).

Twice winners of the award, Needle will have been pleased to see the group make the final of the OPI Dealer Group of the Year for the fourth time. The CEO has also taken on direct membership of BPGI.

Nearly two years into his term as head of the UK business, Dick Neff appears to have managed to turn round the retailer's fortunes in the country. Sluggish European sales have been a concern for the retailer, none more so than in the UK, where until 2006 same store sales saw negative results for three consecutive years. This ended in 2006 with Neff's turnaround plan bearing fruit in the form of a flat result. A new advertising and direct mail campaign in 2006/7 aims to build on the firm's small-business customer base in the region.

Roger Ortola is the managing director of Buro+, the French dealer group set up by parent company Safcom in 1979. The group is one of the most successful in the country with more than 180 members. Despite more than 20 years of experience within the OP industry, Ortola remains a man of mystery to many as he is notoriously media shy.

There are still plenty of chapters in the success story of former OPI European Office Products Awards Young Professional of the Year Alexey Popov and his Moscow-based giant Bureaucrat.

In the 2006 financial year, the company's revenue increased to an estimated $540 million from $354 million the previous year and maintained an awe-inspiring growth rate of 50 percent over the past four years. The company has a manufacturing segment which accounts for ten percent of its total revenues, and outside its home turf of Russia, the company serves customers in Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

With Bulgaria's entry to the European Union this year, 2007 could be another milestone in the development of Panda and Raichev is braced for more change. As the master franchisee for Office 1 Superstore International in Bulgaria, Raichev controls the country's biggest chain of office supplies superstores with a network of 112 retail outlets.

He has appeared in the Top 100 Reseller list for the last four years running and has reinforced his position as an industry figurehead since winning the European Office Products Award in the Retailer of the Year category in 2003.

With a career spanning 30 years, Serve's CEO Mayir Saranga has been described as a master of all trades. Coming from a manufacturing background, having worked for companies such as Rotring and Esselte, he set up his first company, Mahir and Numan Stationery Collective, in 1980. He founded Serve in 1998, which became one of the few OP companies to be listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Saranga briefly served as the master franchisee for Office 1 Superstore in Turkey, and served as president of the Turkish National Franchising Association between 2000/04.

Throughout its 30-year history, Printus has specialised in the distribution of office products. It has a product offering of more than 12,000 supplies. The company is now the leading office supplies firm in Germany. It attributes its success to its modern management techniques, customer-friendly philosophy and the strength of its marketing campaigns.

Patrick Seghin's appointment in 2005 as head of Staples European catalogue business came as no surprise. The talented former managing director of the firm's German retail unit was described as "uniquely qualified" by president and CEO Ron Sargent to run the company's important international division, and spans 15 countries, including Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.

Staples operates ten different catalogues and websites in these countries, making it a mammoth continental task for Seghin, whose swift rise through the ranks seven years ago reveals Sargent's confidence in the man.

Leonid Spiridonoff founded Top Pen with Andrei Kourchenko in 1994. The wholesale enterprise has seen consistent growth, reporting a rate of 20 percent last year. Yet Spiridonoff is quick to play down the company's success. He refers to the rate as being "nothing special, we had the same the year before that". Growth of between 16 and 19 percent is forecasted for the coming year. Having served as chairman of the Association of Manufacturers and Resellers of Russia (AKPOR) for the maximum two-year period, Spiridonoff's official responsibilities have recently came to an end but he says he will remain actively involved in the association.

An integral part of the European OP industry, Anton Stahrlinger has his fingers in many pies, from contract stationery and retailing to wholesaling. As CEO and majority shareholder of Austria-based PBS-Holding, Stahrlinger has expanded his group of companies into Central and Eastern Europe, while also making a big splash in Germany with the creation of nationwide wholesaler PBS Deutschland. He's a firm believer in efficient supply chain management, ideally resulting in a strong electronic collaboration between end-users and suppliers.

Papirius is the Central and East European-based supplier of office equipment that was acquired by Office Depot last September. Co-founders Petr Sykora and Jan Cerny continue to lead the company, which has more than 540 employees and a 2005 turnover of €47.5 million ($62.3 million). Papirius is the leading supplier of office products in the Central and Eastern European region with a product offering that includes paper, toners and consumables for computing technology. The company is also keen to promote a green agenda and since 2004 has planted more than 70,000 new trees as part of its ecological programme, Trees for Life.

Integration and consolidation has been the name of the game at PBS Deutschland in 2006 and managing director Dieter Taffel has been busy streamlining the four regional wholesalers that now make up the company. With about 18 years' experience in the wholesaling business, he's well placed to get the job done. The company expects its first "normal year of operations" this year. 2007 has also seen the launch by PBS Deutschland of Buroprofi, a small licensing network.

Patrick Timmermans and his brother Michel took over the running of the business from their father, Georges, who founded the company in 1954. Initially, the company's wholesale business operated in Belgium alone, but expanded into Northern Europe. Timmermans was acquired by Spicers in October 2005, but the brothers remain in charge of the wholesale operation, taking advantage of their new purchasing power. The business currently boasts over 15,000 product lines, including own brands Class'ex and Gallery.

For the past year, Rob Vale has juggled the roles of CEO for both Spicers Europe and Spicers UK. Despite a slump in UK profits, the European business goes from strength to strength and now accounts for 50 percent of revenue. Now the CEO of Spicers' UK has been appointed, Vale is free to focus on the bigger picture and is currently heading a "turnaround programme" and the results are expected to show on the balance sheet in 2008.

As president of Staples European Retail business, Theo van Brandenburg is responsible for leading the growth of the division while also acting as managing director of Staples' Office Centre Netherlands. He joined Staples in 1999 when the company acquired OCN from Metro/Makro and has since led Staples' growth in the Netherlands. Previously, he co-founded Office Centre cash and carry, which Staples now operates.

After nearly a year in the post, Peter Ventress has overseen a significant development at Europe's largest contract stationer. The acquisition of Andvord Tybring-Gjedde (ATG) in September gave Buhrmann an important strategic foothold in the Scandinavian markets of Norway and Sweden. The takeover, described by one analyst as "transformational", solidified CE's position as Europe's number one and will help to offset the continental differences which see the region's sales traditionally fall short of the company's North American cousin.

OTTO Office stands out from the crowd for its consistent and clinical execution of its business model over the last few years. It is an established reseller making a difference in its markets while performing consistently, with these credentials helping it to win this year's Reseller of the Year title at this year's European Office Products Awards. OTTO offers discounted office products and has the largest office products mail-order business in the world with 90 outlets across 23 countries. The company is an SME specialist and has achieved its success through its price policy and fast delivery service.

Gruppo Buffetti was acquired by Rinaldo Ocleppo last year, but continues to trade under the Buffetti brand. Since the acquisition, the company's current strategy has been to focus on the franchising network and the Buffetti brand by increasing the number of product categories with its private label products. Ocleppo is now president of the firm, while Francesco Villa and Ermanno Paini serve as vice general managers.

CEO Heinz Waser is credited with leading the firm to its current position as a Swiss OP force to contend with. The retailer and contract stationer has made inroads into its native market through its retail outlets and mail order service. The firm's online store, Waser Easy, is regarded to be its greatest asset. The company exercises global reach through its exclusive delivery agreement with Corporate Express.

Phillipe Weber has been with Lyreco since 1999. He served as group marketing director from the end 1999 until early 2003. Since 2003 he has served as managing director for the French contract business.

Ben Wensing, president of European dealer group Quantore, and non-executive vice chairman of BPGI, remains a hugely influential figure in the global independent dealer community. After steering euro buro through its merger with BPGI in 2004, Wensing celebrated BPGI's tenth anniversary last year and is able to proudly look back at the successful pan-European consortium he helped to create.

OyezStraker has grown to become the UK's largest independent contract stationer, with a turnover of £160 million ($311.6 million). The company claims to be the OP industry's leading service provider, offering a comprehensive range of products. The company has also developed a range of environmentally-sound products. Its copier papers have been accredited with "Gold Standard" environment certification, containing 75 percent fibre from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The largest wholesaler and distributor in Hungary, CORWELL saw its turnover grow 31 percent in 2006, up 31 percent compared to the previous year. About half of this growth was achieved on the local market and half came from exports, which was a new activity for the firm starting in 2006. Last year saw the implementation of new services for dealers including the first CORWELL EXPO, where manufacturers including 3M, Acco, Epson, Fellowes and dealers met and discussed products and the response of the market.

The company also established CORWELL Slovensko in Slovakia, due to start operations in Q2 2007, offering the same OP wholesale activity as the firm's established operation in Hungary.

Staples Future Office is Staples' first Indian joint venture with Kishore Biyani's Pantaloon Retail and its new office products business unit, Future Office. The agreement establishes a platform for Staples to enter the $10 billion office products market in India and allows Pantaloon to benefit from the leverage of the industry expertise and sourcing network of the world's largest office products company.

The new venture, which recently acquired B2B online office products company Officedge, will serve businesses of all sizes through delivery as well as cash-and-carry locations, offering a wide range of office products from core office supplies to printers to computers.

Still going strong, Kenny Chang's big box Chinese retail experiment operates one superstore and two smaller outlets. Founded in 2000, the firm commonly known as O'Mart has expanded into the contract and mail order channels and currently offers roughly 9,000 SKUs including 200 products under its private label brand.

With a network of 50,000 retailers stocking its writing instruments, Camelin has a long-established position in the Indian market. With manufacturing facilities in Tarapur, Taloja, Jammu and Vasai, the firm's 3,000 workers make up a global presence and the company is a regular visitor to Paperworld.

Chairman and managing director Dilip Dandekar last year oversaw the decision to split the company's underperforming chemical company into a separate entity, now called Camelin Fine Chemicals.

Akiro Ito took over as president of the Japanese stationery giant Ito-Ya last January. The company, whose history spans a century, has expanded its manufacturing operations to include writing instruments and presentation materials. Ito-Ya operates three subdidiaries in the US, Canada and Germany. The Ito-Ya ethos is to offer a blend of power channel prices while providing dealer-style levels of service. Bridging the gap between old and new is enormously important in the Japanese OP industry and to address this Ito-Ya's 'wa' range takes traditional ideas and puts them into contemporary design and colour schemes, from handmade papers and envelopes to writing instruments such as fountain pens.

Now a fully-fledged member of the Staples family, the entrepreneurial Jeff Jin has the backing of the big boys. Staples first partnered up with Jin's internet and catalogue business, OA365.com, in 2004.

The race to gain market share in China is now top priority for the retail giants and Staples CEO Ron Sargent has thrown his corporate muscle behind Liu and his Shanghai-based firm. Leading the world's largest stationery retailer in the world's fastest-growing and largest domestic market makes Jin an important industry figure indeed.

Anders Kristiansen is the managing director of Lyreco Asia Pacific with responsibility for the operations of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand and Australia. He has been with Lyreco since 2000, where he originally served as managing director of European subsidiaries. He has been working on the company's Asian subsidiaries since February 2003.

Office Depot's first step into China was borne from the acquisition of AsiaEC, China's first B2B eCommerce service provider. AsiaEC provided online and offline operating resources, including OP, from its HQ in Beijing. With offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the firm employs 500 workers that support its contract sales, direct mail, and internet businesses. It was an intelligent and shrewd marriage by Depot, which aims to rival Staples entry to the Chinese market by acquiring an established homegrown vendor in the country.

PT Gading Murni is one of the oldest and biggest stationery and OP retailers in Indonesia. It was founded in 1948 by Soen Kie Soei and Sandhi Soenardi. Located in Surabaya, it initially traded as Leeven. Today, PT Gading Murni has become a strong brand name in the region. The current director, Aruwan Soenardi, continues to build on the founders' legacy by securing international brands, including TRODAT, who appointed PT Gading Murni as its sole distributor for the region.

Joe Barberis has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations of Coles Myer's Officeworks. He plays a key role in developing and implementing corporate strategy in a consistent and timely manner. As the senior leader within the organisation, he works closely with his team to mentor, develop and guide team members in pursuit of the Officeworks strategy. The company says that it has identified new opportunities to expand its 100-strong store network and plans to open more stores in the coming years by adding both standard and smaller store formats. The company also runs BusinessDirect service, Australia's largest direct supplier of office solutions.

For Corporate Express (CE) Australia, 2006 was a year of change. The company's most significant event was Project OneSource, a programme designed to maximise internal efficiency. During the year, the Australian subsidiary further expanded into the SME customer segments. Two important new lines of business were added - educational products and safety supplies. The company also completed five acquisitions with combined annual sales of AUD$60 million ($47.16 million).

The independent dealer group, with 170 members across Australia, announced the appointment of Brian Johnston in November 2006. Johnston replaced interim manager Ian Bowden who stepped in after long-standing CEO Graham Harman left. The group continues its alliance with New Zealand's Office Products Depot (OPD) and is busy continuing the export of its own brand products, with 50 outlets in South Africa now stocking Office National SKUs.

OfficeMax is one of Australia's largest and fastest growing service providers of office solutions, stationery, furniture, technology and education supplies. Its corporate vision is to be the best office solutions provider for commercial, education and government customers. The division has a service promise to provide state-of-the-art distribution centres and to stock over 12,000 products throughout its national warehouse network.

John Farrell, a Waltons veteran of over 30 years, is one of the most recognisable figures in the South African OP industry. He became managing director of the firm in 1998 and has played a major part in its success. Today, Waltons is South Africa's largest stationery and office equipment company. Waltons joined the Bidvest conglomerate in 1996, which recorded revenue of $11 billion last year. In 2006 the company also announced a strategic partnership with Lyreco.

Allan Thompson has been with Kolok since 1988, and has served as managing director since 1995. In 1996, the company was acquired by the Bidvest group, which ranks among South Africa's top five companies. Now a wholly-owned subsidiary, Kolok deals mainly in computer consumables, printer and data media supplies. With a full delivery service, Kolok has distribution centres in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Namibia. Thompson aims to open a further three branches in South Africa.