Janitorial and breakroom sales for master distributor United Stationers rose 2.6 percent to nearly $333 million in the second quarter, representing 26 percent of total sales, according to Senior Vice President and CFO Fareed A. Khan. Breakroom items posted a double-digit increase, Khan said at the company’s quarterly conference call.
United Stationers’ resellers, especially those in office products, view the breakroom category as an important growth opportunity, Khan says. “We've been seeing pretty strong growth rates as they diversify their offering. Because they're already calling on these businesses, they already have many of the relationships, and it's a natural to add on janitorial products.” Distributors already providing janitorial products have begun to recognize snacks, beverages and similar categories as incremental growth opportunities, he says.
The breakroom category is characterized by small order sizes, a need for rapid fulfillment and complex SKUs, Khan says. “So we feel we've got a very good business model to be able to expand that category and be relevant in it.” To take advantage of reseller growth in breakroom supplies, CEO Paul Cody Phipps says United Stationers is expanding its product assortment and investing in new talent and services to support the category.
Phipps says the company is in the very early stages of the opportunity. Despite the flat demand expected in the janitorial and breakroom market, Khan says he expects United Stationers to outperform the market as a result of its growth initiatives.