2021: Throughout the pandemic, Nemo & Office Club have maintained a positive and proactive stance in supporting dealers and delivering initiatives. This has resulted in a 12% growth in membership, with combined end-user sales of around £500 million ($689 million).

Nemo acquired Office Club in 2019 and Managing Director Tim Beaumont says that although nobody could have foreseen the pandemic, the circumstances allowed the two groups to integrate their resources much quicker and more effectively than initially thought achievable.

“That sense of survival and a desire to support members in any way possible brought everyone closer together, streamlined some of our processes and delivered a wide range of new suppliers in additional categories and exciting marketing programmes.”

In the past 12-18 months, the dealer group has launched a very successful Keep It Local campaign that is generating leads, winning business and grabbing high profile attention. “We also partnered with a globally renowned advertising agency, tmwi, to create a national business supplies website, Office Circle, with local deliveries from members. The SEO, data profiling and digital marketing is unlike anything previously seen in our industry and is used to generate hot leads which dealers can then follow up to convert an order into a regular customer,” comments Beaumont.

He adds: “The focus for 2021 has been on making sure members survive these difficult times, but always with one eye on the future, and ensuring dealers have all the tools and product sources they need to thrive in the current working environment. I am confident we have achieved that. January 2022 will see our first joint conference; it will be a huge event and one that I believe will kickstart a prosperous 2022.”

2019: Despite the tough current economic climate, UK dealer group Nemo has performed well to date. In July, it closed the acquisition of Office Club, a fellow member of purchasing organisation BPGI. With combined end-user sales of around £500 million ($650 million) and the addition of 175 Office Club dealers, Nemo now has a total membership of 320.

Managing Director Tim Beaumont says that while the two brands will be run separately for the foreseeable future, the two groups are in the process of integrating their IT and telecoms systems and taking best practices, vendor relationships, service contracts and the benefits of increased wholesale and direct spend to all members. The collaboration will also see the first joint annual conference in June 2020 for the new entity.

“Our focus in 2019 has been the acquisition of Office Club, the launch of a plethora of new managed services, and a bespoke marketing programme. We are convinced that our cooperative model, dual wholesaler strategy and continued member involvement will allow us to further develop our offering for independent dealers in the UK,” says Beaumont.

2018: The pace of change continues in 2018 for progressive dealer group Nemo, headed by Managing Director Tim Beaumont.

It was just over seven years ago, Beaumont brought his wealth of commercial experience and business leadership skills to Nemo to help it buck the trend in a faltering industry, and the results speak for themselves.

Membership growth continues with a net gain of 9%, bringing the number up to 140. This includes the addition of 11 new independent dealers through an agreement with Scotland-based buying cooperative The Unibuy Group.

The dealer group has also seen a strong performance from many of its direct and in-direct vendor partners, many new to the group enabling members to push into new markets.

In the past few years, Nemo has significantly expanded its services and marketing offering and focused its training programme on business owners and sales management.

Beaumont says the group’s cooperative model, dual wholesaler strategy, and member involvement continues to be its key to success.

2017: As change continues at pace with an unrelenting need for diversification, NEMO’s emphasis has been to drive change through refocusing its marketing programmes and adding a number of online heads to help deliver a breadth of services.

Membership for the UK-based dealer group continues to grow albeit at a reduced rate following massive growth in 2015 and 2016. It now stands at 128. In the past 12 months, NEMO has experienced strong expansion with many of its leading vendors, including some exceptional performances.

According to Managing Director Tim Beaumont, the cooperative model continues to be the heart of its success. Focus for the remainder of 2017 and into 2018 is the same – drive change, deliver diversification, training and put in place more service-based offerings that help members to capture more from existing customers and target new business with focused tools.

2016: UK dealer group Nemo has been celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and its 2016 conference was tailored around celebrating this achievement. It was an opportunity to take stock of the factors that have contributed to its longevity such as the cooperative model, a ‘putting the dealer first’ philosophy, a supportive network and community spirit.

These are all USPs that Managing Director Tim Beaumont has been using to drive further membership growth. The number of members grew by 32% in 2015 and now stands at over 120 members after another successful recruitment drive in 2016.

Dealers have also been attracted by Nemo’s services, including its Honeycomb suite of marketing products. Beaumont says that the HummingBird social media management tool has been particularly popular with members.

NEW ENTRY 2015: Despite a challenging marketplace and significant industry reshaping, UK dealer group NEMO continues to grow and thrive.

After a strong 2014 that saw membership increase by 72%, Managing Director Tim Beaumont says 2015 also started well.

The year so far has seen the group introduce new business services, new contracts in vertical markets, as well as launch a social media management service, along with direct mail and traditional lead generation tools.

NEMO was also recognised by its members earlier this year after it was awarded Dealer Group of the Year at the European Office Products Awards (EOPA).

According to Beaumont, the group’s focus going forward is to continue to drive its members to reinvent themselves and to make the leap from traditional office product dealers to complete workplace solution providers.

NEMO is also embracing the technology and facilities marketplaces, as well as further developing the education sector.

Tim Beaumont

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