Complete Office Supplies (COS) turns up the office supplies market heat and acquires Lyreco Australia
- Written by Jacob Webb
Australian office supplies company Complete Office Supplies (COS) has purchased the Australian division of Lyreco, a leader in business-to-business office products solutions operating across Europe & Asia, concreting COS as a lead contender in the office supplies market.
The purchase comes after significant changes in the Australian office products market with the two largest foreign owned competitors Winc & Office Max merging in 2018 and preparing to dominate the market.
As a privately-owned Australian business, COS is now the second largest B2B office supplier in Australia, competing against Winc owned by US-based private equity investment firm Platinum Equity.
Founder and CEO of COS, Dominique Lyone says; “We are a proud Australian family owned business, which I established 40 years ago selling typewriter ribbon and carbon paper in Western Sydney. Acquiring Lyreco will help continue our growth and success and give Australian business a strong alternative to buy from an Australian owned company.”
COS has an estimated annual revenue of $145M, and Lyreco’s annual revenue is $70M, making this acquisition a game changer in the office supplies market and securing COS as one of the key figures.
“COS is Australia’s largest and fastest growing privately owned office products supplier. We pride ourselves on the innovative ways we compete in the market, and the ways we service and provide a superior experience for our customers.” said Mr Lyone.
Lyreco will retain COS as a valued trusted partner to service its International customers in Australia.
“Sharing values with a family mindset and combining Lyreco Australia and COS expertise, I am convinced COS will be a powerful player on the Australian market place and a strong valuable partner for Lyreco's international customers", said Hervé Milcent, CEO of Lyreco.
Lyreco established a presence in Australia in 2004 when it acquired the operations of the office products supplier, National 1. Today Lyreco Australia employs approximately 245 people across Australia, selling similar range of products to COS. With a larger range in products, COS will offer the existing Lyreco customers some new choices to their existing needs.
COS was attracted to Lyreco Australia because of its impressive operations and the value it could add to the business.
‘I’ve been impressed by its operations and ability to grow and compete in the market will help the COS brand to expand into the market exponentially,” said Mr Lyone.
The full integration of Lyreco into COS will take around four months to complete.
“For Lyreco customers and staff, for now it is business as usual. A detailed integration plan will be put into place making sure it is a smooth transition of customers.”
“Blending COS and Lyreco business and teams, will deliver synergies that will ensure we are a mighty and respected competitor in our space. Customers in Australia will be delighted that COS is a clear locally owned and operated alternative, with significant buying clout to deliver competitive prices, values added services that equal global standards,” concludes Mr Lyone.
About COS
COS is Australia’s largest privately owned office products supplier, servicing over 5,000 business customers across Australia and offering thousands of products used in today’s modern workplace including technology, kitchen and cleaning, furniture, print and promotional items, and office supplies. COS supports organisations of all sizes by making the selection and delivery of office supplies easy, streamlined and cost effective, allowing organisations to remain focused on business critical activities. www.cos.net.au
About Lyreco
Lyreco is a privately-owned provider of workplace supplies solutions to the business community and a leader in business-to-business office products solutions. With 9,000 employees, including a sales force of over 4,000 people, its core expertise is in the focus on customer service and distribution excellence.
As well as being market leader in Europe, Lyreco is also present in Asia operating in 25 countries. The group generated sales of 2.1 billion in 2017.
Including partners, it covers 41 countries over 3 continents.
For more information, please visit www.lyreco.com
