“It’s not ‘business as usual’: there’s a new ‘normal’ out there”
So said the CEO of a major US dealer group when interviewed by MWA in early 2014.
As the year concludes there is no doubt that the office products (OP) industry continues to evolve fundamentally and substantially:
- An economic recovery is now under way in many countries. Is this being reflected in terms of overall demand for OP?
- There continues to be evidence that many traditional OP items are now in structural decline, while demand for new products – such as FM supplies – is increasing. In which products should manufacturers and distributors invest, and which should be reviewed?
- Profound changes are occurring in the structure of supply: e-commerce is now firmly established as the dominant OP ordering method in many countries, and Amazon is now a very significant supply channel. The traditional OP wholesalers, OP dealers and dealer groups are continually being challenged. What channels have won and lost in 2014 and which will benefit most in 2015?
- There has been significant merger and acquisition activity in 2014: what have been the results of this and who or what will be next?
In such turbulent times, senior industry executives need a reliable yardstick against which to assess their own perceptions and strategies. Martin Wilde Associates (MWA) – specialist researchers to the global OP market – and OPI, the global business products media organisation, are pleased to announce the launch of the second edition of their annual research study, “The State Of The OP Industry 2014-15”, which aims to be a ‘must have’ authoritative sourcebook for the office supplies industry, which:
- Investigates the OP markets in the US, Canada, Benelux, France, Germany, UK and Australia in detail.
- Is based on insights and data collected from in-depth and online interviews with about 65 senior OP industry executives in the US (15 interviews), Canada (5), Benelux (10), France (10), Germany (10), UK (10) and Australia (5).
- Collates and reports the 2014 financial performance of the key 15 OP resellers in the US and Europe.
- Includes analysis and commentary from Martin Wilde, who has unrivalled experience of researching the global OP market, supplemented by further data and analysis from OPI, the leading global business products media firm.
The data collected from these senior OP industry executives will aim to answer the following questions for each country market:
- What was the value of the OP market in 2014?
- What happened to sales volumes, margins and profits in 2014?
- How will sales volumes, margins and profits change in 2015?
- What will be the value of the OP market in 2015?
- Which product categories are growing or declining?
- Which product categories will win or lose in 2015?
- Which distribution channels won or lost in 2014?
- What are the prospects for key channels in 2015?
- What were the defining industry events in 2014?
- What are expectations for the OP industry 2015?
Research for the study will commence in January 2015, with the report being published in April 2015.
This authoritative industry-wide report is available for only US$800 (£500) if ordered before 31st January 2015, and for US$1,200 (£750) thereafter.
To download a copy of the brochure, please click on the link below
To order your copy, please click here
