DM or should I say DM & SCRN biggest competitor is LifeLabs.
LifeLabs is huge across Canada with 5700 employees but their biggest footprint to my knowledge is focused in Ontario and BC
Now here's the rub and to me explains the stiff competition and advantage LifeLabs has had up to now, and I'll lay out why I think that could be coming to a end.
You see LifeLabs is owned by OMERS.
If you're not familiar who they are, it's the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System.
https://www.omers.com/about-omers Imagine how much political power & sway winning contracts that type of organization be able to wield with sitting governments both provincially & federally.
Personally I think it stinks of Pay to Play but I digress.
Imagine the bad optics when OMERS being comprised of mostly unionized workers pensions, and LifeLabs being mostly organized union workers themselves, announcing strike action. Duh!!
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/financialpost.com/globe-newswire/bc-lifelabs-employees-represented-by-bcgeu-taking-strike-action/wcm/90f158cb-d5d8-47f2-b3cd-a6b44f5d6da0/amp/ And this has being mounting since the Pandemic hit and won't be easily settled and could spread country wide.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6218296 Imagine the nightmare logjam this could create right at the worse time possible.
HolyMoly!!
And if it does get settled quickly it will certainly mean more pay and benefits to LifeLabs employees thereby creating greater opportunity for more nimble non-union Covid-diagnostic & testing companies like SCRN & DM to create even greater competition...See where I'm going:-))
Not sure if DM & SCRN already have enough on their plate or even want to try and stake more market share or even have the ability to scale to this degree, but this definetely should be viewed as one heck of a opportunity.
At least in B.C. where I am for right now at least.
(This could help DM & SCRN land more deals with school boards perhaps)
No matter, competitively speaking, I see DM in the drivers seat here,
which should mean they will continue to deliver greater and greater deal flow for the foreseeable future or as long as this Pandemic goes on.