Office Depot, Inc. -  Office Supplies -  Category Main Page 

(561) 438-4800

2200 Old Germantown Road

Delray Beach, Florida 33445
www.officedepot.com
 

Sales

$12.4 billion

Business Description 

Office Depot, Inc., together with our subsidiaries, (“Office Depot” or the “Company”), is a global supplier of office products and services. Founded in 1986 with the opening of our first retail store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we now sell to consumers and businesses of all sizes through our three business segments: North American Retail Division, Business Services Group, and International Division. These segments include multiple sales channels consisting of office supply stores, a contract sales force, Internet sites, and catalog and call centers, all supported by our network of crossdocks, warehouses and delivery operations.

North American Retail Division

We have concentrated on expanding our store base and increasing our sales in markets with high concentrations of small- and medium-sized businesses across the United States and in Canada. Our North American Retail Division sells a wide selection of merchandise, including brand name and private label office supplies, business machines and computers, computer software, office furniture and other business-related products and services through our chain of high-volume office supply stores. Most stores also contain a multipurpose copy and print center offering printing, reproduction, mailing, shipping, and other services.

Our retail stores are based on a model designed to achieve cost efficiency by minimizing rent and eliminating the need for a central warehouse. Each store displays most of its inventory on the sales floor using pallets, bins and steel shelving, permitting the bulk stacking of inventory and quick and efficient restocking. Shelving is positioned to form aisles large enough to accommodate customer traffic and merchandise movement. In recent years, we have further enhanced the shopping experience with the installation of new lighting, signage, and broadband Internet capabilities across our entire North American Retail chain. Additionally, through our business relationships with recognized carriers, such as United Parcel Services, we offer shipping services in many of our retail stores. This has enabled us to offer our customers a full selection of packaging and shipping supplies, as well as a complete portfolio of U.S. domestic and international shipping services at regular customer counter rates.

At the end of 2003, our North American Retail Division operated 900 office supply stores in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. The largest concentration of stores is in California, Texas and Florida, but we have broad representation across North America. As of December 27, 2003, the average size of our North American retail stores was approximately 26,000 square feet, although stores opened more recently are generally smaller than this average.

Business Services Group (“BSG”)

We have provided office supply products and services to businesses through our catalog and contract sales operations for almost ten years. In 1998, we expanded our catalog business through our merger with Viking Office Products (“Viking”), a company that sold from catalogs and used customer call centers in the United States and several European countries. Today, BSG sells branded and private label products and services by means of our dedicated sales force, through catalogs and call centers, and electronically through our Internet sites.

Our contract business employs a dedicated sales force that services the office supply needs of medium- and large-sized businesses. Depending on the size and type of customer, our sales force tailors its service offerings to optimally serve the customer’s needs at the lowest possible cost. Sales representatives increase contract revenues, we believe, by building relationships with customers and providing information, business tools and problem-solving services to them. In 1995 we introduced electronic ordering for our large business customers and have endeavored to convert our larger customers to this method of ordering.

Our commercial business is tailored to serve small- and medium-sized businesses. Customers of our commercial business order products using our Office Depot and Viking brand catalogs and via the Internet at our Office Depot public web site (www.officedepot.com) and Viking public web site (www.vikingop.com). We expanded our offerings when we acquired 4Sure.com in 2001, adding web sites (www.computers4sure.com and www.solutions4sure.com) aimed at more sophisticated technology purchasers. We have integrated 4Sure.com into other Office Depot offerings and have added a new web site (www.techdepot.com) for technology purchases. We believe our Internet business will provide significant future growth opportunities for our BSG segment and our business as a whole based on the growth rates we have experienced over the last three years.

BSG orders are filled through our Customer Service Centers (“CSCs”), which provide warehouse and delivery functions for our catalog, contract and Internet customers. Some CSCs also house sales offices, call centers and administrative offices. At the end of 2003, we operated 22 CSCs in the United States, consisting of 12 Office Depot facilities, two Viking facilities and eight combined facilities. During 2003, we closed two Viking facilities and consolidated their operations into existing Office Depot facilities. Over the past three years, we have implemented advanced technologies to assist with reordering, stocking, the pick-and-pack process, and delivery operations. As a result, warehouse costs have been declining in recent years. In 2004 we plan to implement additional strategies that we believe will make our warehouses even more efficient.

International Division

Our International Division sells office products and services in 21 countries outside the United States and Canada through retail stores (in France, Japan and Spain), direct mail catalogs, Internet sites, contract sales force, and through international licensing and joint venture agreements. The growth in our International Division in more recent years has come from startup operations, primarily in Europe, but also from the acquisition of Guilbert S.A. (“Guilbert”) in June 2003. The acquisition of Guilbert has doubled the size of our business in Europe and established Office Depot as the leading reseller of office products in many of the principal countries of Europe. At the beginning of 2003, we sold our operations in Australia to focus on locations where we could be a market leader.

Internationally, we have grown our retail business through the selective opening of company-owned retail stores and through joint venture and licensing agreements. In 2003, we expanded this business into Spain with the opening of six retail stores. At the end of 2003, our International Division served customers through 64 company-owned office supply retail stores, and participated in 135 more through licensing and joint venture agreements. In 2004, we plan to expand our International Division’s retail presence by opening 5 to 10 company-owned stores in existing retail markets.

The international catalog business was launched in 1990 under the Viking Direct® brand with the start-up of operations in the United Kingdom. With the expansion into three additional countries during 2002, we now have catalog offerings in 12 countries outside of North America.
 

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