Pandemic tops the biggest stories of 2020
What a year that was for Australian office products industry.
It all started when supermarket shoppers started fighting over toilet paper – from then on we knew we were in the middle of a pandemic.
Office product dealers started buying up supplies of paper products, hand sanitisers and face masks as demand accelerated across the community and into workplaces.
Working-from-home (WFH) and social-distancing became standard practice.
Officeworks all but sold out of home office furniture and tech gear while businesses ramped up orders for PPE and jan/san products.
It’s not over yet but things are starting to normalise.
In the months since the coronavirus escaped from Wuhan, the pandemic has dominated headlines around the world and online in Office Products News.
However, while the pandemic has permeated the news pages, the biggest stories in 2020 revolved around people and companies.
According to Google analytics figures, among the most read stories on the Office Products News weekly newsletter and website were:
- Peter Kelly’s appointment as CEO of Winc Australia/New Zealand
- Gavin Ward’s resignation from Office Brands
- Warehouse Stationery’s Pejman Okhovat’s move to CEO of Big W.
- Nick Severino’s return to Winc/Staples after a stint at Blackwoods.
- Long-serving ACCO Brands exec Brian Brown’s exit and move to Neon Orient.
On the company side, stories that attracted above average page views included:
- Australian Paper’s name change to Opal
- New Zealand Office Supplies’ liquidation and subsequent sale to NXP
- Dynamic Supplies' expansion into the tech market
- Winc’s supply problems with Queensland schools
Other stories that grabbed readers’ attention included:
- Various dealers joining/leaving buying groups
- Dealers merging or selling out.
- Activities of the Australian Office Products Charitable Fund
- Announcements by Office Choice and Office Brands (featured on the respective dealer group landing pages on OPN).
Footnote: The Office Products News weekly newsletter has more than 2300 subscribers across all sections of the industry,
Date Published:
10 December 2020