Many office products vendors serving the UK market are caught between a rock and a hard place nowadays. Demand for their traditional offering is in decline while the OP channels that they have historically relied upon to get these products to market are under ever-increasing pressure.
Those manufacturers that attempt to diversify into adjacent areas often experience a reluctance from the more traditional channels to accommodate their new ranges, especially if they are positioned in non-conventional categories.
Many vendors are now actively looking for ‘new’ channels to market all their ranges. To support these initiatives, OPI and MWA have jointly carried out a research study to identify and profile these channels and evaluate the extent to which they are being used or considered.
The outcome of this research is Where To Now?, a ‘new channels’ prospect guide that aims to inspire vendors to target those channels that are most aligned with their current and future business strategies.
Distribution options
Based on online interviews with European vendors serving the UK market, supplemented by in-depth phone conversations and desk research, Where To Now? seeks to:
- Identify the channels used by the sample of UK vendors in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
- Report the share of their sales derived from each channel in those years.
- Highlight the trends in channel shifts between 2018-19 and 2019-20.
- Report vendors’ current perceptions of the traditional OP channels.
What this guide also does and where it adds particular value is profile each of the new channels being used. These profiles include general perceptions, but also identify and specifically focus on approximately 30 key players that are being considered by the participating vendors.
With the turbulence being inflicted on the UK OP market by the COVID-19 crisis, there has never been a greater need for vendors to consider all of the distribution options now available to them. To be published in October 2020, Where To Now? will be an essential guide that helps them assess and review the opportunities and align them with their own business strategies.
Where To Now? is available for £950 if ordered before 31 August 2020 and for £1,200 thereafter. To order your copy, please visit www.opi.net/wheretonow
