Combined industry trade show held over to 2025
Organisers to consult with key partners and suppliers.
Organisers of the combined industry trade show known as OPIx have announced plans to stage the next event in the first half of 2025.
Dealer groups Office Choice and Office Brands and GNS Wholesale joined forces last year to stage the first combined office products expo in many years with expectations that the event would be held in the second half of this year.
Office Products News has picked up reports that the decision to hold over - or cancel - the expo this year was influenced by one or more major suppliers, who had not fully committed to the proposed 2024 event.
In maintaining their support of a combined expo, the dealer groups and GNS are understood to be forming an advisory group, involving some key ‘partners’ and suppliers.
The dates for the 2025 expo have yet to be announced.
PHOTO: The heads of OPIx organisers, from left, Paul Yardley (GNS Wholesale), Brad O’Brien (Office Choice) and Adam Joy (Office Brands).
Below is the statement to suppliers from Office Choice, Office Brands and GNS Wholesale
Dear Valued Supplier,
We are excited to write to you today in behalf of Office Brands and Office Choice, Australia’s leading
independent dealer groups and GNS Wholesale, Australia’s national distributor of office and business
supplies.
Thank you again for your valued support and attendance at the successful OPIX23 event held
in Melbourne in September 2023. Following on from the event, we’re excited to update our partner
community with an update on our joint plans.
Our businesses are committed to championing a unified industry event that gathers the entire
independent office supplies channel, celebrating our collective successes, showcasing the outstanding
work of our members and customers, facilitating engagement with our preferred partners, and
fostering industry unity.
This collaborative approach creates opportunities, efficiencies, and productivity gains for us all.
Despite delivery challenges at OPIX23, especially regarding the trade show, majority of partner
feedback—both anecdotal and from our post-event survey—has supported the event's future
continuation.
Notably, suggestions for enhancing the trade show experience have been acknowledged
and will be incorporated into our next event. We are fully aligned with our partners in our
commitment to ensuring that OPIX remains a well-attended, productive, successful, and high-return
on-investment industry gathering.
In the spirit of collaboration and to optimise the experience for the next OPIX event, we have decided
to form an OPIX advisory committee, to which we will invite a small number of key partners to
contribute. The views and input of that committee will be used to refine and improve the event for all
attendees to better align objectives with outcomes and deliver an exceptional event overall.
Recognising that the consultative process will involve enhancements to the event which will need time
to plan and deliver successfully, we have agreed to stage the next OPIX in the first half of calendar
2025, rather than the second half of 2024. We will endeavour to provide a ‘save the date’ as soon as
possible, to allow everyone to plan their calendar.
Thank you as always for your ongoing support of our combined industry event and our respective
businesses.
Kind regards,
Adam Joy
CEO, Office Brands
Brad O’Brien
CEO, Office Choice
Paul Yardley
CEO, GNS Wholesale
Date Published:
5 March 2024