About Us
BOSS is the authoritative body for the UK office products industry. We are a non-profit making organisation and do not pursue any economic or political objectives of our own, concentrating our efforts on playing a strategic role in the support, promotion and protection of the office products industry.
Who we represent
BOSS represents all businesses along the distribution chain in the office products industry, covering stationery, office machines and supplies, office furniture, office systems and related product areas. We have a wide breadth of membership from the smallest retailer to the largest manufacturer, and therefore represent a very large part of the industry turnover.
History
Price Cutting
BOSS has a long history, stretching back over 100 years to 1905, where salaries for the stationer were so poor due to price cutting that the Stationers Proprietary Articles Trade Association (SPATA) was formed. Its prime objective was to fight price cutting and establish a stable, orderly market.
SPATA published a list of approved products and prices, and if these were cut or sold to known price cutters, they were put on a stop list and supplies were cut off. This Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) seems unthinkable in today's price-slashing climate, but it had full legal backing until the 1960s.
Name Change
Despite ongoing financial pressures, SPATA changed its name in 1912 to the Stationers' Association, to reflect its success in protecting selling prices and to cover the varied role it now played. It soon added 'of Great Britain and Ireland' to include the widening geographical spread of its membership.
In the 1920s, the Stationers Association widened the services offered to members, introducing an Information Bureau, an Employment Bureau, a Free Legal Service and the Education Service. The Stationers' Association Benevolent Fund was established in 1925 to help needy colleagues, past and present.
Re-structuring
The Stationers Association got much of its income from an annual exhibition following WW2, but the 1992 recession and other unfortunate circumstances caused heavy financial losses. This led to a structural overhaul, where staff numbers were halved and the Manufacturers, Wholesaler and Retailer / Dealer Management Boards were set up.
The Federation later re-established itself as a Limited company, which meant that any costs from potential legal action against the Federation were no longer the responsibility of members or staff to pay.
Relocation
For many years BOSS was synonymous with its central London office at 6 Wimpole Street, followed by a short stint in Slough and later High Wycombe. In July 2007, the Federation signed an association management contract with the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), and shortly after it relocated back to London. BOSS has been located at the St Bride Foundation on Fleet Street since January 2017.
Developments
In BOSS' recent history, a significant development has been the increasing emphasis on industry standards, such as Packs & Pers and the Industry Standard Product Classification. In fact, the Federation has been so successful with several standards that many within the industry do not know business operations without it.
The Future
Over 100 years ago, SPATA was formed with a clearly defined objective of protecting and policing price cutting. Those particular worries are long gone but today, BOSS continues to represent all businesses along the distribution chain in the office products industry.
By 'connecting members to create our industry's bright future', BOSS is still pursuing the original SPATA mission - to bring commercial advantage to all its members.
Roll Of Honour
The following have served as Chairman of our Trade Association for more than 100 years, from the original formation of SPATA to today's British Office Supplies & Services Federation Limited.
1905-1906 George Fraenkel
1906-1907 George Kentish
1907-1908 Duncan Cameron
1908-1909 Sidney J Sandle
1909-1910 Duncan Cameron
1910-1911 Wallis Manford
1911-1912 H A Mead
1912-1913 J A Robinson
1913-1919 Percy Barringer
1919-1920 T W Thornton
1920-1921 Clifton Tollit
1921-1922 Frank P Dorizzi
1922-1923 Alex Finburgh
1923-1924 G Delgado
1924-1925 Charles Porter
1925-1926 Leonard Lydall
1926-1927 Alfred D Gascoigne
1927-1928 J Adams Keene
1928-1929 G Stewart Vivian
1929-1930 Walter Shaw
1930-1931 S H Smyth
1931-1932 E G Pullinger, JP
1932-1933 C H Shelton Cox
1933-1934 Lancelot D Spicer, DSO MC
1934-1935 F C Guildford
1935-1936 H Limbrey
1936-1937 W H Barrell, OBE JP
1937-1938 S E Sandle MC
1938-1939 Clifford B Dennis
1939-1940 A D Simmons
1940-1944 J W Hamilton-Jones
1944-1945 W A G Morgan
1945-1946 R L Lydall
1946-1947 E W Dancaster
1947-1948 H W Dewick
1948-1949 A D Simmons
1949-1950 J Ogilvie Lennox, JP
1950-1951 Norman Jones
1951-1952 Mancell Gutteridge
1952-1953 John Drew, JP
1953-1954 T E Franklin
1954-1955 H H Brookes
1955-1956 A Berner
1956-1957 H F Guildford
1957-1958 K G Collins
1958-1959 P J Pullinger
1959-1960 M M Thacker
1960-1961 R Thacker
1961-1962 F G Holliday
1963-1964 E Waterston, CA
1964-1965 Albert C Peters
1965-1967 W J Smith
1967-1969 J C Packford
1969-1970 P Warrand
1970-1972 F H Magson
1972-1973 G R Keay
1973-1974 J T Caddick
1974-1975 G H Weinberger
1975-1976 M F Tollit
1976-1978 C T Neate
1978-1981 L W Bayer, MBE
1981-1984 J E Parbury
1984-1986 G Demetriou
1986-1988 J S T Greenwood
1988-1990 A Jenkinson
1990-1992 T H Millar, MBE
1992-1994 N Tomkins
1994-1996 W R (Bill) Armstrong
1996-1998 S G Bellingham
1998-2000 Hugh Sear
2000-2004 Ron E Wotherspoon
2004-2006 Rick Needle
2006-2008 Duncan Savage
2008-2010 Alan Barclay
2010-2012 Philip Beer
2012-2014 Alan Ball
2014-2016 Sean Starkey
2016-2019 Geoffrey Betts
2019 - Simon Drakeford
