Staples Inc.
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| Staples, Inc. | |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: SPLS) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Framingham, Massachusetts |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Office Stores |
| Revenue |  16.0 billion USD |
- "STAPLES" redirects here. For other uses, see Staples.
Staples, Inc. NASDAQ: SPLS is the world's largest office supply retail store chain, with over 1,700 stores worldwide, including stores in the United States, Belgium, Canada (as Staples Business Depot or Bureau en Gros in Quebec), China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands (as Office Depot), Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The company's first store was opened in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1986. The company is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It also does business via the Internet, through its website.
The L in the logo is a stylized staple.
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[edit] History
The idea for Staples was spawned in 1985, while founder Tom Stemberg was working on a proposal for a different business. He needed a ribbon for his printer, but was unable to obtain one because his local dealer was closed for the Independence Day holiday. A frustration with the reliance on small stores for critical supplies combined with Stemberg's background in the grocery business led to a vision for an office supply superstore.[1] The first store was opened in Brighton, MA in 1986. The 500th store was opened in Vero Beach, Florida in 1996.
[edit] Office Depot Merger
On September 4, 1996, Staples and Office Depot announced plans to merge. The Federal Trade Commission decided that the superpower would unfairly increase office supply prices despite competition from the third-in-line OfficeMax, which did not have stores in many of the local markets that the merger would affect.[2].
[edit] Other Events and Milestones
- 1991 - Staples enters Canada by purchasing a stake in Business Depot.
- 1994 - Staples completes acquisition of business depot.
- 1997 - Staples sponsors a sports stadium in Los Angeles
- 1998 - Staples Acquires Chicago, IL based Quill Corporation.
- 1999 - Staples opens its 1000th store in Duluth, GA.
[edit] Staples Advertising
Throughout most of the company's history, Staples employed, in its American commercials and advertising promotions, the slogan "Yeah, we've got that.", signifying their wide selection of products. This slogan was retired in 2003, to be replaced with "That was easy." Expanding on that theme, 2005 ads featured a large red push button marked "easy". In the UK, Staples used to use the slogan "You want it. We've got it", however they have now changed it to "That was Easy".
Following a successful television campaign featuring the 'Easy Button', it was turned into a real product. One Million dollars a year from the sales of the buttons is donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs in the USA, and the Special Olympics for easy buttons sold in Canada. When pressed, the device plays the company slogan, "That Was Easy". These easy buttons were shipped to stores in the US and Canada starting in the fall of 2005.
The Staples Snowbot was an advertising character that appeared in the United States, in television and print advertising during the 2000 and 2001 Christmas seasons.
The Snowbot was a robot shaped like a snowman who refuses to let go of the inkjet printer he has fallen in love with. After the printer is wrestled from his grasp, the robot utters a monotone "Weeping. Weeping." He is consoled by a Staples employee who offers him a surge protector or a computer mouse (depending on the ad) instead.
The robot's "Weeping. Weeping." catchphrase briefly became a popular meme on the internet, and the ad itself was parodied in an American 2002 Christmas ad for Dell Computers, in which a robot hassles a shopper (including striking him with a candy cane) when he attempts to purchase a PC at an unnamed office supplies retailer.
Staples' goal is to open at least 100 new stores in the United States yearly, putting Staples in areas of the country that are currently dominated by competition.
Another well known ad style is for their back-to-school sales which has the Christmas song, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" where the parents joyously shop for school supplies for their children .
[edit] Business Ventures
In March 2005, Staples, Inc. and Ahold announced a joint collaboration in which all Stop & Shop Supermarkets and Giant Food stores throughout the Northeast will have a Staples branded store-within-store section that will sell traditional school and home office products in addition to copy and photo paper, ink cartridges, and technology products. The Staples store-within-store section was set to debut in July 2005.[3] In August 2006, Ahold announced the addition of the Staples section to all Tops Friendly Markets locations as well. [4]
In 2004 Staples purchased British rival Office World from the Globus group. Rebranding of these stores to the Staples brand took place in 2005. This lead to Staples branching out into a new country - Scotland. Its first store was in Finnieston, Glasgow in April 2005
[edit] Copy & Print Center
Besides office supplies and business machines, Staples also offers a Copy and Print Center for faxing, custom business cards, custom stamps and engraved products as well as photocopying services and a UPS shipping center in the US stores, as well as FedEx, DHL in the United Kingdom stores & Purolator in the Canadian stores, which is open during store hours. Recently, Staples has spent over $92 million in upgrades on all Staples Copy & Print Centers on contracts with Danka office imaging and Xerox. The copy center is often referred to as a "store inside a store".
[edit] Staples EasyTech
Select stores also feature Staples EasyTech, an in-store and on-site solution for PC repair, PC upgrades, home and office networking setup, and PC tutorials.
Starting in November 2005, Staples began a test called "Heavy Up" primarily using stores in New York state to experiment with the expansion of the offerings by the Staples Tech Center. A subsequent test known as "Double Up" was planned for an unspecified test market and was scheduled to begin the first half of 2006. The tests are being run to promote competition with Best Buy's Geek Squad and Circuit City's Firedog.
Beginning in early 2006, Staples also launched the "Easy Resident Tech" program, installing 1 to 2 resident computer repair technicians to do in-store repair during normal business hours. On-site work is still available through the Easy Mobile Tech program.
Beginning January 30th, 2007, Staples launched Staples EasyTech. The launch of this sub-brand coincided with Microsoft's launch of Windows Vista and Office 2007. The launch rebranded the "Easy Mobile Tech" name with plans to install an 11' x 17' kiosk in every store. The kiosk may vary from store to store depending on its size and volume. Within the kiosk, Easy Resident Techs will be able to perform repair jobs as well as sell products from within the kiosk. These technicians will wear gray "Easy Tech" polo shirts to set them apart from regular Staples associates.
Staples has become well known for poorly trained EasyTech employees and their almost bait-and-switch style of offering very cheap Tune-up services. The Tune-Up serviceis offered at a permanent discount price and used to bring in customers who are then hit with ever growing fees for additional services that the technician "finds" need to be done on the computer. Easy Tech employees are rarely hired for their specific computer skills but instead are generally hourly store employees chosen to do the work and given little training and poor direction from Staples corporate.
[edit] Community
In 2002, the company started the Staples Foundation for Learning, which supports youth groups and education. It also is a partner of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
In August 2005, Staples introduced the "Easy Button", a popular novelty item for offices which is advertised as a fun way of relieving stress. The first USD$1 million of profits each year from the Easy Button are donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. It is currently for sale for USD$4.99 in all US and Canadian stores (where profits go to Special Olympics in Canada) and on the company's website. Staples has reportedly sold more than $7.5 million worth of Easy Buttons.[5]
[edit] References
- Dalkir, S. and F. Warren-Boulton. 2003. “Market Definition and the Price Effects of Mergers: Staples-Office Depot (1997),” in The Antitrust Revolution: Economics, Competition and Policy. (John E. Kwoka and Lawrence J. White, eds.) Oxford University Press, 4th edition
- ^ Supplies and Demand. Bulletin Online. Harvard Business School (1996-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ FTC WILL SEEK TO BLOCK STAPLES/OFFICE DEPOT MERGER. Federal Trade Commission (1997-03-10). Retrieved on 2007-01-10. A U.S. Court agreed. (Dalkir and Warren-Boulton, 2003.)}}
- ^ Stop & Shop/Giant Launch Staples Branded School and Home Office Supplies Sections. Ahold. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Tops Markets partners with Staples® to make one-stop shopping easy. Ahold. Retrieved on 2006-10-03.
- ^ Gogoi, Pallavi (2006-12-07). Staples Makes Selling Look Easy. Business Week. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
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