Navigating the Future of B2B Office Supplies in Italy: a Conversation with Adriano Alessio of Gruppo In Ufficio

We had the unique opportunity to sit down with Adriano Alessio, CEO of Gruppo Inufficio, to discuss the company’s current position, exciting new categories and the challenges they face in the Italian office supplies market. Here are the highlights from our conversation.

Q: Alessio, Can you give us an overview of where Gruppo In Ufficio stands right now?

Adriano Alessio: “Gruppo In Ufficio is a consortium of 21 dealers that cover about 80-85% of Italy’s territory. We mainly focus on the B2B market. Our end-user sales are about 154 million euros, making us a top-ranked dealer group in Italy.

We are looking forward to attending the Big Buyer Fair in Bologna this November, where we can meet suppliers and others in relevant sectors to share our enthusiasm for the industry.

It might be useful to note that we also come off our 30th year in business, which we celebrated earlier this year with a suppliers convention. I particularly enjoyed those hallway conversations with members sharing their ideas and insights.”

Q: Can you share any changes in how you communicate with your members?

Adriano Alessio: “Our focus has always been on supporting our associates, providing them with access to the best products and prices. This year we are doubling down on supporting their digital growth journey by evolving our unified IT system. Through this all data can flow. This system is shared across the membership and this year we are developing it further with more integration with our suppliers.

We believe that strong collaboration with our network of 120 affiliated suppliers is crucial for facilitating the digital transformation of our members.”

Q: What are some of the emerging areas that Gruppo In Ufficio is focusing on?

Adriano Alessio: “We are diversifying our product range to include new markets like furniture, PPE & clothing, accessories, cleaning & janitorial products and packaging products.  Our members want to be able to support companies in more of their office needs.

In the furniture market, ergonomic work environments are a growing trend, furniture that allows a better office experience through thoughtful design, or for example standing up desks like the one I am using today(!) make it a worthwhile market to pursue.

To support this increase in product ranges we are in discussions and on track to increase our preferred suppliers from 120 to 150 by the end of 2023.

In addition to the office furniture market we are expanding our focus on to further areas:

The office rental market, for everything a new office needs both furniture and equipment. This enables the plug-n’play scalable business.

And our private label In Linea, which now has 450 sku’s, well priced product lines, and is becoming a firm favourite amongst our members.”

Q: Are your members finding that there is a “new generation” of buyers?

Adriano Alessio: “We’re focusing on digital marketing and exploring shared solutions to cater to a market that is increasingly youthful and tech-savvy. For instance, 73% of Millennials are involved in the B2B purchasing process. We offer training support through webinars, seminars, and social events to help our members understand market trends and adopt the right strategies.”

Q: How is the company performing in terms of sales?

Adriano Alessio: “As of the end of August, our membership sales were up by 3%, and we expect to close the year close to a 5% increase. We’re also refreshing our four catalogues, which will be available online and in print by the end of January and April, respectively.”

~

Our Thanks to Adriano Alessio of Gruppo In Ufficio. GUI will be at the Big Buyer Fair in Bologna this November 8-10th, 2023.

You can visit their website: https://inufficio.com/