The office supplies market is changing – and Nemo Office Club’s Tim Beaumont is embracing this – but he still appreciates the traditional quality of local trading
Tim Beaumont, chief executive of Nemo Office Group, has a problem with the office supplies sector. Well, more accurately, he has a problem with the term – he feels it increasingly doesn’t represent what dealers sell.
Especially since the pandemic, many dealers have looked to expand their product offering and moved into sectors they would never have looked at pre-2020 – from PPE to tools – which are becoming increasingly distant from their traditional core markets. “We are called the ‘office supplies industry’ but we need to come up with a new name because we no longer just supply offices, we sell to warehouses, doctors, dentists and many others,” he says. “It has to change as it is too restricting and limiting a description of what we do as an industry.” His suggestion is ‘business consumables’ – which is certainly more encompassing. Whether it catches on remains to be seen, but it is something Tim is planning to push this year.
As an example of how the sector is looking towards different markets, Tim points to how Nemo Office Club has recently secured a contract to supply electrical charging points for offices and home workers. “We also have contracts in place for white goods – we can supply anything with a plug,” he says. “We are also doing tools, as well, looking towards the maintenance of offices and workspaces.
“We are moving further away from office supplies and stationery. The wholesalers are looking at it too – their product range must be broader and provide products that consumers really want. We are looking at a whole load of products – nothing is off the table. Electric chargers, white good and tools – who would have thought we’d be selling this stuff five years ago? We are moving into new areas where the opportunities are, and selling to different organisations such as doctors and dentists.”
Keep it local
The drive to provide more products to different types of businesses also fits in with Nemo Office Club’s ‘Keep it Local’ campaign, which was launched in June 2020. “The government made a statement that they wanted £1 in every £3 to be spent locally,” says Tim. “We picked up on that and challenged them a few times on it, but there didn’t seem to be any action in that direction,” explains Tim. “So, we started a campaign about it.”
Tim says that letters were written to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, but they didn’t receive a response. Undeterred, he took some advice on how to influence government and was told to do it at local MP level. “Now, on our website, anyone in our industry can find out who their local MP is, download a template letter and write to them and ask them what they are doing to ensure £1 in every £3 is spent locally.”
This has been successful, and the campaign has steadily gained momentum over the past 18 months. Tim adds that the website has a wealth of information for businesses, including a marketing pack containing posters, stickers, packaging tape, template letters to send to businesses and networking groups, sales brochures, social media videos and postcards.
“The most proactive dealers have gone to their local networking groups and said, ‘I’ll trade with you if you trade with me’ and we have had some great stories of wins – one dealer got all the business from a chain of estate agents!”
The campaign has also had buy-in from other businesses outside the sector, Tim says, which shows its appeal. He has plans to grow it further in 2022, with a ‘Keep It Local’ week from 9-15 May already planned, including various activities to support it and make it a success.
Future
The ‘Keep it Local’ week taps into Tim’s cautious optimism for 2022. While he believes revenues for the sector will increase – barring another period of lockdown – it will still be tough for some, and he envisages that some businesses will be acquired or will close. “I hope things will recover as more people go back to the office in the first and second quarters,” he says. “There are problems with inflation, supply chains and price increases – which will continue – but it’s the same for everyone, so the consumer will end up paying the price.
“I think that, over the next year, 5-10% of dealers will come out of the industry either through acquisition or giving up; there will be a similar sized pie, but fewer players, which will present opportunities for some dealers.”
With testing times ahead Tim, understandably, believes that more independent dealers should consider coming under the umbrella of a dealer group. “Now, more than ever, independents should consider joining groups – not just ours – because it is not so much about buying power now but the huge amount of support. There is networking and marketing support, as well as resources for on and offline things a business might want to do – such as social media – but don’t have the time or in-house resources do to themselves.
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