Mergers and acquisitions can be a powerful way to fast-track business growth, but they come with a unique set of challenges that are often underestimated.
In 2025, the M&A landscape has evolved. Today’s deals require more than a good financial match; they demand cultural compatibility, customer-centric thinking, and operational excellence. Businesses must be agile enough to integrate quickly, while still protecting what made both brands successful in the first place.
We know this firsthand at COS. Over the past five years, we’ve completed six acquisitions, with more than 20% of our growth during that time directly driven by these deals. Most recently, we welcomed two respected businesses into our national operations. More than just a growth strategy, these acquisitions were an opportunity to strengthen our customer offering, broaden our reach, and bring great people into the COS family.
COS is Australia’s largest family-owned and operated workplace supplies company. Founded in 1977 by our late father, Dominique Lyone, the business was built on a vision of service excellence and social responsibility. What began as a small operation has grown into a national business with over 600 staff and warehouses in every state and territory — and today, we’re proud to lead COS as second-generation Co-CEOs. Every day, our teams deliver thousands of products to workplaces, schools, and hospitals across Australia, helping to keep them safe, healthy, and productive.
Having navigated multiple acquisitions ourselves, we’ve seen what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to merging teams, systems, and cultures. Here are our top tips for mastering M&A in 2025 — and why getting it right matters more than ever.
Prioritise Cultural Compatibility
M&A success often hinges not on spreadsheets, but on people. A cultural misfit can slow down integration, erode morale, and compromise customer experience. That’s why understanding how the other business operates — their values, leadership style, and internal culture — is essential from the very start.
You can’t fake cultural alignment — if it’s not there, everything else becomes harder. We’ve always led with values, and that’s helped us attract the right businesses to join COS.
Communicate Early, Clearly and Often
People fear the unknown. For employees, customers, and suppliers, silence during an acquisition can create anxiety and uncertainty. Regular, transparent communication — before, during and after the transition is crucial to retaining trust and momentum.
At COS, we planned and delivered communication in waves: tailored updates for internal teams, proactive outreach to customers, and alignment meetings with suppliers and partners.
It’s easy to underestimate the emotional side of M&A. Change is hard, so we made sure our people felt informed, supported, and empowered at every step.
Retain the Best of Both Worlds
Acquisition doesn’t have to mean complete overhaul. In fact, the best integrations protect what’s working well in the acquired business — whether that’s experienced staff, great local service, or loyal customer relationships.
At COS, we focused on identifying what made each business valuable to its customers and looked for ways to embed that into our national offering. In some cases, these acquisitions have brought in entirely new capabilities — product ranges and services we hadn’t previously offered. Rather than folding them into our existing model, we’ve embraced their strengths to enhance what COS can deliver. It’s about adding to who we are, not replacing what we’ve built.
Put the Customer Experience First
From the outside, customers shouldn’t feel the friction of an M&A event. Their service should be uninterrupted, or better. That means prioritising operational continuity, product availability, and support accessibility throughout the integration process.
Of course, nothing is perfect, and in any transition some level of disruption is inevitable. The key is to move quickly, listen closely, and have the right people on the ground feeding you information. That allowed us to respond fast, make improvements where needed, and minimise the impact on our customers.
We put a huge focus on ensuring our new teams were trained, equipped, and confident before the first customer picked up the phone.
Invest in Integration, Not Just Acquisition
Acquiring the business is just step one, but the real challenge is in the delivery. Integration takes time, leadership, and proper resourcing. It requires a dedicated plan that spans everything from people and systems to processes and branding.
We invested heavily in change management, team training, and operational support. We also ensured leadership presence in each newly acquired business, reinforcing that they were now part of the COS family — not just in name, but in support and purpose.
Integration also meant listening to the concerns of our new team members and understanding what they needed to feel supported and successful. From welcome sessions to dedicated onboarding plans, we worked hard to ensure they felt like part of the COS family from day one.
Use M&A to Strengthen Your Value Proposition
Ultimately, any acquisition should make your business stronger, enabling you to better serve your customers, drive innovation, and unlock new capabilities. For COS, our recent acquisitions have not only allowed us to expand into new regions and strengthen our national reach but have also deepened our product range and sharpened our customer promise.
We believe that the true measure of a successful acquisition isn’t just about growth in numbers; it’s about ensuring that our people continue to feel proud to work here and that our customers remain at the heart of everything we do. This focus on values and customer care is what sets us apart and drives our long-term success.
For us, M&A isn’t just a growth strategy, it’s a leadership challenge. And in 2025, mastering that challenge means leading with values, prioritising people, and keeping the customer experience at the centre of every decision.
When done well, it’s transformational. Our recent acquisitions haven’t just expanded our footprint — they’ve brought in great people, fresh thinking, and new opportunities to deliver more for our customers.
At its best, M&A should leave your business stronger than it started — not just on paper, but in purpose, capability, and culture.
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