Episodes
Friday Aug 27, 2021
Back-to-school 2021 – how’s it shaping up?
Friday Aug 27, 2021
Friday Aug 27, 2021
With 2020’s important back-to-school (BTS) season hit by COVID restrictions and school closures, there are hopes that 2021 will see something of a return to normal. Whether that will now be the case – as the Delta variant spreads in the US – remains to be seen.
Yet, as NPD analyst Leen Nsouli explains in this episode of OPI Talk, the numbers up until the middle of August have been encouraging. She provides details on some of the key category trends, talks about retail versus online and looks at some of the factors that are impacting BTS spending this year.
Episode produced by Andy Braithwaite
Music by:
Extreme Energy by MusicToday80: https://soundcloud.com/musictoday80/r...
Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Messe Frankfurt gearing up for in-person trade shows
Friday Aug 20, 2021
Friday Aug 20, 2021
With Paperworld set to return as a physical event in January 2022, OPI catches up with Messe Frankfurt’s Julia Uherek.
You don’t need us to tell you that the business products events calendar has been turned on its head by COVID.
One company that has been in the firing line is Messe Frankfurt, organiser of the Paperworld brand of shows around the world. However, after months of Zoom and Teams calls and online events, we are slowly starting to see a return to in-person conferences and shows.
Our guest on this episode of OPI Talk is Julia Uherek, recently appointed as Vice President of Consumer Goods Fairs at Messe Frankfurt. She talks about how Messe Frankfurt has been coping with the impact of the pandemic, some of its digital initiatives and what we can look forward to at the next Paperworld show in Frankfurt at the end of January 2022.
Episode produced by Andy Braithwaite
Music by:
Extreme Energy by MusicToday80: https://soundcloud.com/musictoday80/r...
Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg
Friday Aug 13, 2021
S.P. Richards – 12 months on (part 2)
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Friday Aug 13, 2021
Tune in to this episode of OPI Talk to hear the second part of our interview with Yancey Jones and Mike Maggio of US wholesaler S.P. Richards (SPR).
Following on from the previous episode, Yancey and Mike talk about how SPR responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are encouraging more diversity at the company. They also give their thoughts on what a merger of the Office Depot and Staples retail networks in the US might mean for the company.
Episode produced by Andy Braithwaite
Music by:
Extreme Energy by MusicToday80: https://soundcloud.com/musictoday80/r...
Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg
Friday Aug 06, 2021
S.P. Richards – 12 months on (part 1)
Friday Aug 06, 2021
Friday Aug 06, 2021
OPI Talk catches up with S.P. Richards’ Mike Maggio and Yancey Jones just over a year after they led the takeover of the US wholesaler.
The first episode of this two-part podcast looks at the progress made on implementing their vision for SPR, the efforts made in moving from a catalogue-based wholesaler to a market-driven distributor and the recent brand refresh.
Look out for part 2 next week.
Episode produced by Andy Braithwaite
Music by:
Extreme Energy by MusicToday80: https://soundcloud.com/musictoday80/r...
Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music provided by Free Vibes: https://goo.gl/NkGhTg