Office Choice will ramp up its member recruitment program over the next 12 months to counter the "first signs of rationalisation" that has resulted in a small reduction in location numbers for the group.
Newly-appointed CEO Brad O'Brien told Stationery News that expanding the membership base was one of the "key challenges" for the group, which was committed to a new five-year strategic plan.
While the overall membership numbers for the group are steady, the impact of rationalisation has resulted in a small reduction in location numbers as dealers purchase each other to build larger and more profitable businesses.
At the same time, there has been a small number of closures, largely due to the competitive nature of the market.
In his final general manager's report, Max Ritchie, who resigned from the position last month after 14 years with the group, said strategic alliances with GNS and the Leading Edge computer group would strengthen the group's position – firstly as a cross-recruiting opportunity and secondly as a logistics partner.
"These are important as we look outside the normal sphere of influence to seek new opportunities to strengthen our position into the future," he said. "We cannot hold on to traditional paradigms and hope to succeed; change and risks are inevitable if the group wants to grow,"
The Office Choice group currently comprises 89 Office Choice members, 29 Office Connexions members and 35 associate members.
In his first report as Office Choice chairman, Ian Jones said the group had "scrutinised" its packages to ensure that they reflected the current environment.
The new packages will be implemented on 1 January, 2013.
Office Choice reported a slight increase in revenue to $10.9 million in the 2011/12 financial year but the financials showed a loss due to the fact that $500,000 was distributed to the membership as a special rebate.
At last week's Office Choice annual general meeting in Cairns, Australian Forms managing director John Donaghy was elected a director, replacing David Graham of Far North Office Choice, who has stepped down after four years as a director.
