Long time coming....Management has gotta go.
See the relative lack of performance LAWS has had against its competitors like Grainger, Fastenal, etc. They have run pretty much flat for the past 2 years (in the face of a hard recession), while Lawson has tanked more than 65%.
They shed a lot of bad agents, cut their expenses by laying off hundreds from their welding and chemical biz, got rid of some bad products, closed facilities, etc. This is cutting...not that hard to do. Where is the growth? Where is the turnaround? While Neri is a lot smarter and harder working than the do-nothing/know-nothing Washlow, he is an accountant - not a visionary CEO. The office supply sales guy was running away from a bad gig over a year ago, they have dead weight in a lot of departments (marketing, IT, etc)and there is no sign of clear change to take this company into the 21st century. Let's hope the Board realizes that things need to change - or you might as well start selling.