DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2005--
Nationwide Celebration Includes Community, Customer and Employee
Events Highlighted by Ribbon-Cutting in Countryside, IL with In-Kind
Donations of $125,000
Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office
products and services, is celebrating the opening of its 1,000th North
American store with a series of promotional events and philanthropic
activities.
These initiatives, part of a week-long commemoration, are designed
to benefit the Company's key stakeholders, including the communities
(in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Canada) in which Office
Depot conducts business; the customers (from small office/home office
users to Fortune 500 accounts) whose loyalty has helped Office Depot
grow into a $14B enterprise in just 18 years; and the employees
(47,000 worldwide) who are Taking Care of Business on a daily basis.
The celebration will be highlighted by a ribbon cutting on
Thursday, June 2 at 2:00 pm at the new Office Depot store located at
1 Countryside Plaza in Countryside, IL. This opening marks the
Company's 45th store in Illinois.
"Our North American stores are the most visible part of our
company and are at the heart of our operations in both the U.S. and
Canada," noted Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. "So I
am pleased to have the opportunity to share this milestone with those
who have made it possible.
"We are excited by the opening of our 1,000th store as it
signifies the growth and value of our company," Odland continued, in
noting that Office Depot's North American Retail Division generated
sales of almost $6B in 2004 -- accounting for 44% of total Company
revenue.
"Continuing to grow our retail operations remains one of our
highest priorities," Odland said. "Looking ahead, we plan to continue
to refine our innovative M2 store format and to update our assortment
of products and services, while enhancing our legendary customer care
to support them. These efforts will not only differentiate Office
Depot from the competition, but will help the Company's core business
customers become even more successful."
Additionally, Odland noted that the Company will work towards
improving store productivity as it continues to expand its retail
presence throughout North America by opening approximately 100 new
stores in both 2005 and 2006. All new stores will feature Office
Depot's M2 retail format, which represents the Company's latest
thinking in sales and merchandising.
Community Celebrations
According to Rick Lepley, Office Depot's Executive Vice President
of North American Retail, the Company's ribbon cutting in Countryside
will feature a number of special events, including remarks from state
and local government officials and presentations by representatives of
non-profit organizations.
As part of the ceremony, Office Depot will award:
-- A $125,000 check to Feed the Children, representing the 65
pallets of school supplies distributed to Title 1 schools in
the Greater Chicago area. (Superintendents and children will
attend the event.)
-- In-kind donations of $1,000 each to the Helping Hand
Rehabilitation Center; America's Second Harvest/Chicago Food
Depository; Chicago Youth Programs; and the National Arbor Day
Foundation.
Office Depot and representatives from First Lady Patti
Blagojevich's office will give 1,000 backpacks containing basic school
supplies to Youth Outreach Services and Hispanocare, Inc., two
Chicago-area children's non-profit organizations.
Additionally, the Company will:
-- Plant a number of trees as well as 1,000 seedlings -- donated
by the National Arbor Day Foundation -- in the Chicago and
Countryside areas.
-- Host a Food Drive -- at Office Depot's more than 40 Chicago
area stores in conjunction with America's Second Harvest, the
Chicago Food Depository and the Northern Illinois Food Bank --
in support of Hunger Awareness Day (June 7).
-- Assist in serving 1000 hot lunches (as well as backpacks with
school supplies) to children at Beatrice Caffrey Youth
Services in Hyde Park.
"As First Lady of Illinois, as well as a mother of two, I am well
aware of the vital role education plays in a child's development,"
said First Lady Patti Blagojevich. "I applaud the commitment Office
Depot has shown by providing children with the materials they need to
succeed in school through their National Backpack Program and the
donation of backpacks at their special event."
"Office Depot's charitable mission is to enhance the quality of
life in the communities in which we live and work," Lepley said.
"Therefore, it gives us a great sense of pride to be able to leverage
our 1,000th store as another opportunity to support organizations that
make such a meaningful difference in the lives of children."
Customer Celebrations
According to Chuck Rubin, Office Depot's Executive Vice President
and Chief Merchandising/Marketing Officer, the Company has put
together a diverse collection of promotional vehicles to share the
1,000th store celebration with its multi-channel shoppers.
For example, at the Countryside store, Office Depot will host a
VIP Day on June 2 and a Grand Opening Sales Event on June 5.
Promotions include in-store specials, giveaways, and both coupon and
product offers.
Several Chicago-area stores will also host special appearances by
the No. 99 Office Depot Ford "show car," highlighting the Company's
sponsorships of NASCAR and NEXTEL Cup Series driver Carl Edwards.
Additionally, Rubin noted that retail customers will have the
opportunity to participate in a wide-array of vendor demonstrations
(as well as product sampling and raffles) by Office Depot partners,
including Acco, Belkin, Bunzl, Esselte, HP, Logitech, Maxell, Mead
Westvaco, Nextel, Nikon, Nukote, Palm One, Quality Park, Sanford,
Smead, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Weyerhaeuser.
To support all of these activities, Office Depot devised an
integrated media strategy featuring a specially designed national
insert, a versioned insert with creative wrap for the Chicago market,
outdoor banners and pennants, direct mail, flyers, public relations
and radio remotes.
Employee Celebrations
According to Frank Scruggs, Office Depot's Executive Vice
President of Human Resources, the Company also is taking the 1,000th
store celebration directly to its employees.
Activities include:
-- An enhanced Intranet site featuring historical content, a
trivia game and a message board to comment on the milestone.
-- Streaming videos offering a historical retrospective of the
Company's growth, a recap of the in-store and on-campus
events, and congratulatory sound bites from executives,
celebrities, governmental officials and business partners.
-- Raffles for $1,000 money cards.
-- Celebratory balloons and posters.
-- A "History of Retail" showcase in Company headquarters,
featuring memorabilia, old store uniforms, collateral
materials and other cultural artifacts.
About Office Depot's Store in Countryside
The new Countryside store features Office Depot's industry-leading
M2 retail format. M2 offers customers the most enjoyable shopping
experience in the industry - in a format that is intuitive, logical
and designed specifically for the way people make purchase decisions.
Products are grouped in highly visible, strategically located
"pods," with core supplies at the outer perimeter of the store --
signed for optimal visibility and easy purchase -- and furniture and
technology at the center -- to better support consultative sales. For
more information, visit http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/m2.
The Countryside store is managed by Ross Anderson and employs
approximately 25 full- and part-time personnel. It houses about 8,000
technology, furniture and supply products as well as copy, print and
ship services in 23,000 square feet of selling space.
Store operating hours are: Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 9:00
p.m.; Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m.
About Office Depot
With annual sales approaching $14 billion, Office Depot provides
more office products and services to more customers in more countries
than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in
Delray Beach, Florida, Office Depot conducts business in 23 countries
and employs 47,000 people worldwide. The Company operates under the
Office Depot(R), Viking Office Products(R), Viking Direct(R),
Guilbert(R), and Tech Depot(R) brand names.
Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel - from
retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. With
$3.1 billion in online sales in FY'04, the Company is the world's
number three Internet retailer. As of March 26, 2005, Office Depot had
995 retail stores in North America in addition to a national
business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers
and more than 60 local sales offices. Internationally, the Company
conducts wholly-owned operations in 14 countries through 77 retail
stores and 26 distribution centers, and operates 153 retail stores
under joint venture and license arrangements in another seven
countries.
The company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.
Additional press information can be found at:
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.
CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach
Brian Levine, 561-438-2895
blevine@officedepot.com
SOURCE: Office Depot
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