Felicity Francis
Hot topic: Spread your wings
To summarise, there are probably three main threats to a traditional office products reseller’s business: a declining need for traditional office products, evolving customer purchasing...
Amazon – the cleverest cat in the jungle?
Many phrases have been used to describe Amazon by members of the office products industry – some more colourful than others – but one word...
Editor’s comment
The subject we can’t dropWhen I was planning this issue’s content, my first thought was that we couldn’t cover Amazon again. But the reality...
Editor’s comment
Let’s get digitalAttending the OPI Global Forum in May (read a review here) made me realise more than ever what a difference the internet has...
Editor’s comment
The club we're happy to be in As I write this, I’m sitting in the International Lounge at Chicago O’Hare airport having re-landed after our...
Whose job is it anyway?
According to the head of a prominent UK reseller: "Dealer groups are an ugly wart on the side of wholesalers." This opinion certainly lies far...
Show review: Vision
In a period of economic uncertainty and extremely tight budgets, it's not easy to plan such a large-scale event as Vision, United Stationers' conference that's...
Return of the native: Onshoring
For the past two decades or so, China has become the go-to place for cheap labour and generally low-priced production. The country now accounts for...
Editor’s comment
Is it Groundhog Day? Â In February it's Groundhog Day in the US. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, according to folklore if...
EOPA Review: Laughter and celebration
For a number of reasons, the European Office Products Awards 2013 presentation dinner was even more light-hearted than ever. Firstly, the winners were all in the mood...
Editor’s comment
It really does seem like yesterday that I sat down to write my first Editor’s Comment for OPI, nervous to comment on an industry...
Editor’s comment
A tug of war  Resellers are being unfairly pulled in two directions. On one hand customers increasingly expect them to supply almost anything and...
Spicers targets end-users for data
Following the relaunch of its partner programme under the name 'Brilliant', UK and Ireland wholesaler Spicers has created a B2C transactional website. Called MemoEtc, its...
Editor’s comment
I recently read an article about how pubs (bars for those of you not in the UK) are increasingly being used as a second...
Editor’s comment
Not to brag or anything, but I've just returned from a holiday in Hong Kong and the Philippines – two amazing places. I was...
Big interview: Bandar Al Musallam
While operating in a number of regions that have seen peaks and troughs in the last decade, both politically and economically, Hoshan Pan Gulf (HPG)...
Editor’s Comment
Thank you to everyone who participated in our reader survey last month. We had a great response and you have given us some excellent...
Show review: Corwell
Wholesaler Corwell held its eighth annual expo in its home city of Budapest in May. Most of the 1,200 visitors – a higher number than...
Show review: ABC
Change is here, and more change is coming, was the overall message from SP Richards (SPR) during its annual Advantage Business Conference (ABC). It was...
Show review: NAOPA
Best Product – Core Office ProductsVictor Technology: All-In-One Monitor RiserThis product marries the features of a traditional product with the requirements of a modern...
