Pulp Giant Paper Excellence’s Secretive Owner Could Face Parliamentary Summons

New Democratic Party Natural Resources Critic Charlie Angus served notice on May 30 that he will ask the Natural Resources committee to issue a summons to force Paper Excellence owner Jackson Wijaya to appear before the committee to answer questions about who owns the company and its complicated network of holding companies.

“What kind of message is he sending to Canadians if he’s at a headquarters in Shanghai or in Jakarta and he refuses to respond,” Angus said on his way out of the committee. “These are our forests, these are our workers, these are our communities. If this individual is in control of all of this, he should be able to come and give us pretty straightforward answers.”

Angus’s motion calls on Wijaya to testify before June 20. However, if the committee agrees to issue the summons, it can only be executed if Wijaya sets foot in Canada.

To read the full article, visit the CBC website. 

Officeworks Looking to Double B2B Business

OPI reports on the Q&A session with Officeworks’ Sarah Hunter at this week’s Wesfarmers strategy event

Officeworks managing director Sarah has revealed some interesting numbers from some of Officeworks’ business areas. For example, the reseller has been targeting the B2B channel for some time. This includes micro, small, medium and large businesses, as well as schools, early learning centres and government agencies. These customers now bring in $500 million in annual sales, and Hunter said the goal is to double that figure. 

Other takeaways from the briefing day included:

  • Officeworks has increased its share in the A4 copy paper segment from 20% to 28% over the past three years, going from the number three player in Australia to number one in the process. 
  • The art and crafts category now generates more than $70 million in annual sales and has tripled over the past four years. This has largely been due to making more products available in stores since COVID as part of a $20 million store ‘reflow’ project.
  • Gaming has been identified as a “significant growth opportunity”. Today, furniture and tech peripherals related to this category are a $200 million-a-year business.
  • Technology now represents more than half of Officeworks’ current addressable market which is estimated at $29 billion. 
  • Growing private label ranges has been a big priority. In the stationery, education and art categories, own brand represents more than 40% of sales, and is growing.

To read the full article, visit the Office Products News website. 

TD Synnex and Humanscale Expand Relationship

TD SYNNEX has announced an agreement with Humanscale, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance ergonomic workplace solutions. Through this agreement, partners in UK and Ireland can access Humanscale’s full range of sustainably produced furniture and accessories, including chairs, monitor arms, integrated docking stations, sit/stand solutions, lighting solutions, accessories and technology tools, all focused on enhancing the experience of remote and onsite workers.

To read the full announcement, visit the Market Screen website.