Office Depot

Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) is a supplier of office products and services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, mailing and shipping. An S&P 500 company, Office Depot generates revenues of over US $14 billion annually and has 42,000 employees worldwide. It is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

History

Office Depot was founded by three partners: Stephen Dougherty, Pat Sher, and Jack Kopkin in 1986.They envisioned a warehouse-style store for office products where customers could purchase items in bulk for discounted prices. This concept lead to starting Office Depot, and the company opened its first store in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida in 1986.The company saw steady growth throughout the years, and opened the 1000th Office Depot North American retail store in Countryside, IL in 2005.

Other events and milestones

1988 – Initial public offering of stock.

1991 – Expands to the West Coast of the United States by merging with Office Club.

1992 - Increases operations in North America by acquiring The Great Canadian Office Supplies Warehouse Chain.

1993 - Enters contract stationer business by acquiring Wilson Stationery & Printing Company and Eastman Office Products Corporation.

1994 – Begins international expansion by signing joint venture agreement with Grupo Gigante in Mexico and licensing agreements with Israel, Colombia and Poland.

1995 – Opens 500th store in North America as well as stores in Mexico and Poland; signs joint venture agreement to open stores in France and licensing agreement to open store in Thailand; establishes Business Services Division (now Business Solutions Division).

1996 – Launches B-to-B e-commerce Web site.

1997 – Furthers international footprint by venturing into Hungary; operates 45 locations outside the United States.

1998 – Launches www.officedepot.com; merges with Viking Office Products, the leading direct marketer of office products in Europe and Australia.

1999 – Launches first international Office Depot Web site, www.viking-direct.co.uk; listed on Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

2000 - Enters European contract stationer market with launch of the European Business Services Division.

2001 – Acquires 4sure.com.

2002 - Begins Viking Direct catalog/direct mail operations in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal; expands into Central America with new retail stores in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica through a joint licensing agreement.

2003 – Doubles European business with acquisition of Guilbert, S.A.; becomes the first office supply superstore to offer fully-functional and comprehensive Spanish website.

2004 - Introduces “Green Book” catalog of environmentally-preferable products, as well as the first free, nationwide in-store electronics recycling program and free, in-store cell phone and rechargeable battery recycling program in all stores in the U.S. and Canada.

2005 – Names Steve Odland Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; relaunches “Taking Care of Business” tagline.

2006 - Celebrates its 20th anniversary; acquires Best Office Co., Ltd., Allied Office Products, Papirius s.r.o., and AsiaEc.

2007 – Joins US Green Building Council; opens first store in Puerto Rico and new Global Sourcing Office in Shenzhen, China.

2008 – Introduces “Office Depot Green” product line; unveils first "Green" store in Austin, TX and received LEED Gold Certification from USGBC; announces alliance with Netbizz Office Supplies in Singapore, AGE in Sweden, and bigboXX.com in Hong Kong.

2009 – Signs franchise agreement with M.H. Alshaya Co.; opens first store in Kuwait.

Online

The domain officedepot.com attracted at least 37 million visitors annually according to a 2008 Compete.com survey.

Store Layout

Beginning in 2004, then CEO Bruce Nelson introduced its new retail format dubbed M2. Some of the aspects include:

Products are grouped in highly visible, strategically located "pods"

Core supplies are housed in the outer perimeter of the store

Low sightlines throughout the store designed for optimal visibility

Clear signage that allows for easy purchase

Furniture and technology at the center of the store

Design, Print & Ship services in every store

Private label brands

In addition to selling many name brands, Office Depot sells products under several store brands, including:

Ativa

Ativa Mobil-IT

Ativa iSeries

Café Delray

Foray

i.e.

Office Depot

Office Depot Green

RealSpace

RealSpace Pro

TUG

Customer Incentive Programs

Office Depot Worklife Rewards

On June 1, 2006, Office Depot launched the Worklife Rewards program, which combined several benefits of the former “Advantage Reward” and Star Teacher programs. The Worklife Rewards program issues members a return of 10% on all ink, toner, paper and Copy & Print services, and 1% of all other qualifying purchases (excluding laptops, desktops, monitors, and TVs). Other customer benefits include:

No limit to the amount of rewards members can earn. Rewards are paid in the form of an Office Depot Reward Card when you earn a minimum of $10.

Reward balances that carry over to the next quarter. If Worklife Rewards members do not earn the required $10 in rewards during a calendar quarter, reward balances will carry over quarter to quarter during the calendar year.

Online account management.

Savings on travel, retail and service purchases through the “My Worklife Partners” program at [www.myworkliferewards.com].

Exclusive coupons as well as in-store savings on select items.

Star Teacher Program

The Star Teacher Program is specifically for educators and school administrators, and incorporates the benefits of the Office Depot Worklife Rewards Program. In addition to Worklife Rewards benefits, the Star Teacher program also carries a 15% discount on copy center purchases. Office Depot holds many events for teachers at its stores, including bi-annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts that offer free breakfast, giveaways and discounts for teachers.

5% Back To Schools Program

The 5% Back To Schools Program contributes a portion of a purchase to a local school as a store credit that the school may use to purchase Office Depot merchandise. Schools must register with the program to receive the store credit. Purchases of basic school supplies qualify for the program, some exclusions apply.

Ink and Toner Recycling

Office Depot’s Ink and Toner Recycling program encourages customers to recycle their used ink cartridges. Members of the Office Depot Worklife Rewards or Star Teacher programs can bring in empty cartridges for recycling to an Office Depot store. Customers receive $3 back in rewards (paid in the form of an Office Depot Reward card) for each cartridge recycled, up to 20 a month.

Environmental Programs

Office Depot has structured its environmental strategy around three concepts: Buying Green, Being Green and Selling Green. Initiatives supporting this strategy include:

Green

By investing more than $20 million in energy efficiency initiatives in 2005, Office Depot reduced its electricity and absolute carbon-dioxide emissions from North American facilities by over 10% in 2006.

In 2004, Office Depot Office Depot cut all global contracts with Asia Pulp & Paper because of APP’s forestry practices.

Being Green

In 2008, Office Depot created a dedicated brand of green office products: Office Depot Green™[16], and built the world’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified retail store prototype in Austin, TX. The store obtained LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

Also in 2008, Office Depot won the BSI British Standards award for Innovation. These awards are open to any UK organization certified to ISO 14001, which is the world’s only international environmental management system standard.

In Europe, Office Depot’s UK Headquarters is a green building, having achieved a BREEAM “Very Good” Rating.

Selling Green

Office Depot offers more than 6,500 products with environmental attributes and certifications.

Office Depot offers numerous green solutions for its customers, including The Green Book™, Greener Office website, Ink and Toner Cartridge Recycling Program and a Tech Recycling Service.

Sponsorships

In 2005, Office Depot became the “Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR.,” a title the company continues to hold. Also in 2005, Office Depot signed on as the primary sponsor of the #99 Office Depot Ford, owned by Roush Fenway Racing and driven by Carl Edwards.

In 2008, Office Depot announced that it would become co-primary sponsor for Tony Stewart and the No. 14 Chevrolet at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.

Activities per country

Stores owned by and operated under the Office Depot name 

United States

Israel

Canada

France

Japan

Hungary

Puerto Rico

Sweden

South Korea

Stores operating with the Office Depot name under joint venture / license agreements 

Mexico (with Soriana's joint venture)

Costa Rica

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Panama

Thailand 

Colombia