Office Depot Store Closings and Layoffs 2008:
In December, 2008 Office Depot started the 2009 store closing list when it announced that it would be closing 112 of its stores, and six of its 33 distribution facilities. Its planned 2,200 layoffs put the company near the top of the 2009 retail layoffs list. Fourteen more stores will be closed later in 2009, and Office Depot will add just 20 stores to the new retail stores list in 2009. Office Depot plans to end 2009 with 1169 stores worldwide.
The location of the stores to be closed are:
45 - Central United States
40 - Northeast United States and Canada
19 - West United States
8 - South United States
Office Depot Trivia and History Milestones:
After the intital public offering of common stock was completed in 1988, the company instituted a stock option plan for its employees.
Office Depot first expanded internationally into Canada, when it acquired The Great Canadian Office Supplies Warehouse chain in 1992.
The company first expanded outside of North America in 1994 when it started operations in Israel and Colombia.
Staples attempted to acquire Office Depot in 1997, but the acquisition was blocked by the Federal Trade Commssion, due to anit-trust regulations.
In 2004 the company's Office Depot Advantage customer loyalty program was launched.
Office Depot NASCAR Racing Partnership, #14 Tony Stewart Sponsorship:
Office Depot first became the Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR in 2005, and has committed to continue in that partnership through 2012, at an estimated cost of nearly $20 million per year.
Carl Edwards and Roush Fenway were the first drivers sponsored by Office Depot, and took the checkered flag 14 times in the #99 Office Depot Ford from 2005-2008.
In 2009 Office Depot is sponsoring driver Tony Stewart, and is sharing sponsorship of that #14 Chevrolet with Old Spice.
Office Depot Founders:
The company was founded by Stephen Doughterty, Pat Sher, and Jack Kopkin in 1986. All three were involved with Home-owner's Warehouse, a home improvement company that Sher sold to Service Merchandise in 1983 for $13.6 million just three months after the first store was opened.
Sher passed away from leukemia, less than a year after the first Office Depot store opened.
Kaplan retired from Office Depot in 1990, and died at age 77 from complications of a stroke.
Green and Environmental Programs Initiated by Office Depot:
Office Depot first demonstrated environmental responsibility in 1990 when it first started selling recycled paper products. Other "green" initiatives have been instituted since then.
- Introduced its "Green Book" Catalog and its ink and toner recycling program in 2003
- Began a recycling program for electronics, cellphones, and rechargable batteries in 2004
- First powered 20 of its retail stores with renewable "Green Power" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Introduced "Office Depot Green," an environmentally friendly product line in 2008
- Opened its first green store in Austin, TX with LEED certification in 2008
Office Depot's Charitable and Community Involvement Projects:
Since 1993 Office Depot has been actively involved in charitable and community improvement projects.
1993 - Office Depot Foundation helped both employees and community members in hardship
1994 - Raised money for March of Dimes, the Leukemia Society, and Junior Achievement, totaling more than $1 million
2001 - Started participating in the Gifts In Kind donation program, and has donated tens of millions of dollars worth of office supplies to non-profit organizations since then
2001 - Began National Backpack program, and has donated 1.8 million backpacks filled with office supplies to school children since then
The Office Depot International Locations and Worldwide Affiliations:
Office Depot sells its products in 48 different countries in retail stores, catalogs, and e-commerce websites.
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- China
- Costa Rica
- Czech Republic
- El Salvador
- France
- Germany
- Guatamala
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Slovakia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
Multi-Channel Sales and Marketing for Office Depot:
Office Depot sells its products in retail stores, on its e-commerce websites, and with direction marketing catalogs. Additionally, they employ a contract sales force, and outbound telemarketers to work directly with medium and large businesses.Office Depot Corporate Office and North America Store Locations:
Office depot was first incorporated in 1986, and its first retail store location was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Corporate Address:
Office Depot Corporate Office
6600 North Military Trail
Boca Raton, FL 33496
Office Depot Vision and Values:
According to the company's website, Office Depot has very clearly defined the vision and values that guide the decisions and the actions of its employees.
A vision statement is crafted by a company to define what it considers to be its ultimate future.
Office Depot defines its vision as "Delivering Winning Solutions That Inspire Worklife." To further define that vision and provide more clarity to the leaders and employees who are responsible for making that vision a reality, Office Depot defines each of the words in its vision statement individually.
"Delivering - Our actions speak louder than words. We are accountable: doing what we say we're going to do - efficiently and on time.
Winning - We act with confidence. We're proud to win. We push ourselves to greater heights. And we don't settle for less than being the best.
Solutions - We listen to our customers and understand their needs. We offer products, services and innovative thinking that enable our customers to achieve success.
Inspire - Our inspiration is contagious and enables us to unleash creativity to help people achieve their goals. Our motivation and enthusiasm inspire others to succeed.
WorklifeTM - We combine our energy for work with our passion for life - creating a fuller, more enriched lifestyle. We share the desire to maximize human potential to achieve personal dreams."
