OPI TALK

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Hear the latest news, interviews and analysis from the business supplies industry hosted by OPI, the leading media organisation for the international office products sector.

Episodes

Friday Nov 26, 2021

AF International’s green story

Friday Nov 26, 2021

Desktop and surfaces cleaning specialist AF International believes that its longstanding commitment to the environment is its ‘best-kept secret’.

In this episode of OPI Talk, Andy Braithwaite speaks to the manufacturer’s Paul Hardy to find out more. Paul also looks at some key trends in the cleaning market and the opportunities in the category for resellers.

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

Monday Nov 22, 2021

From the show floor at Industry Week (part 3)

Monday Nov 22, 2021

The third and final podcast from the recent Industry Week ’21 in Orlando focuses on two key figures from the event’s organiser, Independent Suppliers Group.

Chairman Jordan Kudler and CEO Mike Gentile give their reaction to the first-ever Industry Week and discuss some of the key issues in the independent dealer channel with OPI CEO Steve Hilleard.

Friday Nov 19, 2021

From the show floor at Industry Week (part 2)

Friday Nov 19, 2021

There were several awards presentations at Industry Week '21 in Orlando. In addition to the North American Office Products Awards (NAOPA), Independent Suppliers Group (ISG) recognised its top suppliers, while the Business Solutions Association (BSA) held its annual awards.

OPI CEO Steve Hilleard spoke to several of the awards winners: Christoph Skopek from COLOP, Yancey Jones Sr and Hunter Jordan, all of whom took home NAOPA trophies; Avery was named ISG Supplier of the Year; while S.P. Richards (SPR) CEO Mike Maggio was presented with the BSA Leadership Award.

They give their views on Industry Week and also some of the key issues in the independent dealer channel.

We also hear from SPR’s Nick Lomax on some of the latest trends and opportunities in the jan/san category.

Thursday Nov 18, 2021

From the show floor at Industry Week (part 1)

Thursday Nov 18, 2021

Welcome to the first of three episodes of OPI Talk featuring interviews conducted by OPI CEO Steve Hilleard at Industry Week ’21, powered by ISG.

Steve managed to get on the first flight from London to Orlando following the easing of travel restrictions into the US on 8 November, meaning he was able to attend this highly anticipated event.

During the vendor expo, he worked the show floor and recorded interviews with a wide range of attendees.

In this episode, you’ll hear from ECI’s Brian Bowerfind, Clem Restaino from Zebra Pen, Rosemary Czopek of California dealer Gorilla Stationers, industry veteran Paul Ventimiglia and the City of Hope’s Matt Dodd.

Steve asked them for their takeaways from Industry Week and then discussed a number of key topics, such as e-commerce, sustainability, attracting young talent and the City of Hope.

Monday Nov 15, 2021

Getting to know Sylvamo

Monday Nov 15, 2021

Effective 1 October 2021, the Printing Papers division of International Paper became a standalone publicly traded company called Sylvamo. With a manufacturing presence on three continents, Sylvamo’s annual sales are more than $3 billion.

OPI Talk spoke to Gerald Demets (Sales and Marketing Director) and Wim Dootselaere (Head of Marketing, Product Management and Development) from Sylvamo’s European operations. As well as introducing Sylvamo, they provided insight into some of the key trends and opportunities in the office paper market.

Friday Nov 05, 2021

OPI Talk’s 50th episode with Robert Baldrey

Friday Nov 05, 2021

Robert Baldrey featured in the pilot episode of OPI Talk that was recorded in July 2020. Now, 16 months later, he’s back for what is the 50^th episode having recently completed his stint at Office Depot Europe following the sale of its remaining assets to RAJA – a deal that officially closed on 1 November.

In this episode, Robert talks about the impact that Staples and Office Depot have had on the European business products channel, changes brought about by COVID, and the rise of Amazon. He also looks ahead to the OPI European Forum Online on 1-2 December, at which he will be moderating a panel on dealing with the current inflationary pressures.

Friday Oct 29, 2021

A look back at Neocon 2021

Friday Oct 29, 2021

Commercial furniture mega show NeoCon was back as a live event at Chicago’s theMART at the beginning of October.

One person who was there was George Ansier, Director of Sales for the US division of floor and desk protection specialist Floortex.

In this episode of OPI Talk, George discusses some of the key trends he spotted at this year’s NeoCon. He also gives his thoughts on the state of the US business supplies channel.

Friday Oct 22, 2021

Combating global counterfeiters with HP’s Glenn Jones

Friday Oct 22, 2021

Counterfeiting is big business and fake inkjet and toner cartridges – especially the latter – have long been lucrative products for criminals. At HP Inc, Glenn Jones heads the investigations team at the OEM’s Anti-counterfeit and Fraud (ACF) unit – which is responsible for millions of product seizures each year.

In this episode of OPI Talk, Jones explains the workings of the ACF programme, provides an update on the global counterfeiting issue and explains how HP is taking steps to make counterfeiters’ lives more difficult.

Friday Oct 15, 2021

Generation change at COS

Friday Oct 15, 2021

OPI Talk heads to Sydney, Australia, to speak with Amie and Belinda Lyone, the new co-CEOs of leading independent dealer COS.

Since 1 September 2021, Australia’s number one independent workplace supplies reseller COS has had a new CEO. Or more precisely, two.

On this date, Amie and Belinda Lyone officially took over from their father Dominique, who founded the company in 1976, following a well-planned succession process.

While Dominque – as Chairman – focuses on strategic acquisitions and mentoring – the Lyone sisters are now running COS’s daily operations, their experience and skillsets complementing each other nicely.

In this episode of OPI Talk, Amie and Belinda discuss the CEO handover, recent acquisitions, how they have evolved COS’s product mix in the past couple of years and what the hybrid workplace will mean for the company.

Friday Oct 08, 2021

30 years of change with Cezary Monko

Friday Oct 08, 2021

Cezary Monko, President of ACCO Brands EMEA, looks back at some of the key moments in his almost 30-year career and gives his take on the state of the industry today.

One of Cezary Monko’s first jobs was when he was hired as Sales Manager for Esselte’s fledgling Polish operations at the start of 1992.

Back then, he was pretty much a one-man band, criss-crossing the country in his car to grow the company’s customer network. Today, he is responsible for around 2,500 staff as President of ACCO Brands EMEA – which now includes Esselte following its acquisition in 2017.

In this episode of OPI Talk, Monko reflects on the key developments in the European business supplies channel over the years, including the arrival and departure of the US-owned big boxes, the rise of e-commerce and the recent impact of COVID.

You can read more about Monko’s views of the industry – past, present and future – in the bumper 30^th anniversary issue of OPI magazine, which can be viewed online here.

Before you listen to the podcast, are you sure you know how to pronounce Monko’s first name, Cezary? The correct pronunciation might surprise you!