NOPA applauds action taken by Florida Attorney General

The National Office Products Alliance (NOPA) the trade Association for independent office products dealers and their trading partners applauded the recent action taken by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum to address allegations that Office Depot overcharged governmental agencies for office supplies in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act.

McCollum’s office reported on June 4 that it had negotiated a settlement requiring Office Depot to pay approximately $4.5 million in refunds to eligible Florida customers, including local government agencies and non-profit organizations. The company also agreed to reimburse the Attorney General’s Office for its investigative and other costs associated with ongoing enforcement actions, and to comply with the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. … Continue Reading

Volcanic Ash Downs Sales At WH Smith, New Chairman Appointed

WH Smith remained upbeat today on the outlook for its year end profit despite a hit to third-quarter sales at its airport business from travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. The retailer of newspapers, books and stationery, said its financial position was in line with market expectations and its balance sheet strong. “The economic environment remains uncertain and whilst we continue to be cautious about consumer spending, we remain confident in the outcome for the full year,” it said.

WH Smith said that like-for-like sales in both its high street and travel retail division fell 4% in the 14 weeks to 5 June as it continued to rebalance the mix of the business away from lower margin CD and DVDs and on to books, stationery and confectionery markets – a move which is impacting sales. However, it noted the travel division decline was 2% excluding the impact of disruption caused by ash spewing from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. “Whilst airport passenger numbers have, as expected, remained soft, we continue to outperform,” said the group. … Continue Reading

Spicers announce new recruits

Spicers has announced new appointments to the European purchasing team.
Rob Abrahams will join Spicers as European purchasing director with responsibility for the European purchasing team and all European suppliers, replacing Stewart Barton-Taylor following his departure earlier in the year. Abrahams was previously purchasing director for Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies and most recently Bunzl Catering. He has also chaired the Bunzl UK Purchasing Team and is currently a member of the Bunzl Global Purchasing Executive. He will join the team by 1 October. In the meantime, Scott Walker will continue to head up the European purchasing team. … Continue Reading