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Here's the highlights (and low lights) of corporate activity in the UK office supplies and office stationery business over the last 19 years:
|
Year
|
Events
|
|
1991
|
First Issue of Office Products International Magazine
|
|
1992
|
Viking Stationery enters France
Staples launches in Germany
|
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1993
|
Staples opens first UK store
Office Depot enters contract stationery Business
|
|
1994
|
Mark Baccash Launches Office 1 franchise operation
UK Office Products Dealer Group “Superstat” launched
|
|
1995
|
CE buys Australia’s number one dealer
Office Products International hosts first conference in Palm Springs
|
|
1996
|
Office Depot’s merger with Staples is aborted
Guilbert acquires W H Smith’s BSD
|
|
1997
|
Newall buys Rubbermaid
Dave Guernsey Creates BPGI
|
|
1998
|
USOP restructures
Staples buys Quill
Depot buys Viking
UK Office Products Dealer Group Superstat creates new “OfficeBiz” division
|
|
1999
|
Buhrmann buys CE
Office products wholesaler John Heath sold to Kingfield
Opi.net launched
|
|
2000
|
Bruce Nelson takes over as Office Depot chief replacing Dave Fuente
|
|
2001
|
USOP files for chapter 11
Lyreco opens in Japan
UK Office products wholesaler Spicers buys Plein Ciel
|
|
2002
|
Wall Marts office products sales reach $4.7 billion
Ampad files for Chapter 11
|
|
2003
|
Boise buys OfficeMax
Office Depot acquires Guilbert
Daisytek files for Chapter 11
|
|
2004
|
Bruce Nelson leaves Office Depot
Staples buys Hartford Office Supply and enters China
|
|
2005
|
Lyreco swoops for Ahrend
Staples buys Prime
Office Depot drops Viking in the USA
|
|
2006
|
Office Depot buys Allied Office Products
Burhmann enters Scandinavia through ATG
|
|
2007
|
Office Products wholesaler Kingfield Heath completes deal with ISA
Officeworks join Wesfarmers
UK Office Products dealer Group “Superstat” launches new division “Praxis” for office product delaers aligned to the stationery wholesaler VOW
|
|
2008
|
Staples buys CE
|
|
2009
|
UK office products wholesaler Vasanta is rescued from the verge of collapse
Superstat launches theSupermarketonline.com programme – a suite of ten niche office products ecommerce websites in the UK
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|
2010
|
Eric Bigeard announces his departure from Lyreco
Sam Duncan plans to retire from Office Max
TheOfficeSuppliesSupermarket.com starts trading and quickly processes 1,000 office products order
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