View printer-friendly version

<< Back

Office Depot Enhances Support for Students, Teachers and Schools This Back-to-School Shopping Season

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2005--Office Depot (NYSE:ODP): -- Initiatives Include: 5% Back to Schools, Star Teacher, and Charitable National Backpack Programs; Television and Radio Advertising; NASCAR Limited Edition No. 99 Car Offer; Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts; Teacher Trees Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, is helping students and teachers get in gear for the new school year. Not only does Office Depot help parents find all the right school supplies to prepare their children for class, but through the 5% Back to Schools Program, the Company gives schools the chance to receive credits for free supplies. According to the National Education Association, teachers spend more than $400 of their own money each year on supplies for their classrooms. Office Depot's industry-leading 5% Back to Schools Program offsets these costs by turning customers' school supply purchases into credits that benefit the local school of their choice, while the Company's Star Teacher Program offers teachers instant discounts on their purchases throughout the year. Since 1999, the Company has donated millions of dollars in merchandise credits to more than 36,000 schools across the U.S. and Canada(1) through the year-long 5% Back to Schools Program. "At Office Depot, we're committed to taking care of our core business customers - and their children," said Chuck Rubin, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer for Office Depot. "To help students achieve success in the classroom throughout the year, Office Depot's 5% Back to Schools Program gives local schools the tools they need." Office Depot's 2005 Back to School campaign will be supported by a new series of television and radio advertising. The ad campaign, which kicks off July 24th and airs for six weeks, will showcase how Office Depot is taking care of its customers' businesses and their children's school supply needs, while highlighting special values and savings. Helping Students Get to the Head of the Class Office Depot ensures students are ready to hit the books when they go back to school by offering great values on a wide array of products, including the latest technology, updated basics and state-of-the-art study aids. -- Studying Solutions. Parents can help students tackle tough subjects with Office Depot's exclusive Grab-and-Go CD-ROMs. Available in a variety of subjects, including geometry, algebra and English, these study aids use pictures, text and audio to appeal to multiple styles of learning. -- Technology 101. A computer is the foundation of your child's study space. A bundle offering such as the HP PC Bundle: Pavilion PC with Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 15" LCD Monitor and Printer takes the guess work out of compatibility and offer a good deal on price. -- Updated basics. This year's products combine function and fun. Mead's Scholastic Subject Specific Notebook comes pre-labeled and color coded to help your child keep organized and also contains subject-specific reference information inside for easy reference. Office Depot Expands Charitable National Backpack Program This year Office Depot has expanded its signature National Backpack Program to put 300,000 backpacks filled with school supplies in the hands of needy children in time for the new school year. Established in 2001, the program was created to ease the burden placed on parents and teachers who cannot afford to provide students with the basic school supplies needed to start the school year. Since the program began (and including 2005), Office Depot will have placed 880,000 backpacks in the hands of children from small rural towns to larger inner city communities. Office Depot's Star Teacher Program Recognizes Educators Making a Difference To recognize Pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers for the difference they make in so many lives every day, Office Depot offers the Star Teacher Program throughout the U.S. and Canada. The program includes everyday discounts on purchases and special events and promotions throughout the year. Teachers get an instant 5% discount on in-store purchases and an instant 15% discount on Copy & Print Center Services. Star Teachers also receive Advantage Rewards - up to 10% back - based on qualifying purchases made in store, by calling 1-800-GO-DEPOT or online at www.officedepot.com in the U.S. and www.officedepot.ca in Canada. Throughout July and August, Office Depot will host its 12th Annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts. The events, held at almost all of Office Depot's 1,000 retail stores across North America, are designed to provide a venue for teachers to network and prepare for the upcoming school year. More than 100,000 teachers are expected to attend. Visit www.school.com to find out the date, location and time for scheduled breakfasts in your community. Office Depot has also created Teacher Trees as an added benefit for the Teacher Appreciation Breakfasts. The goal of the Teacher Tree is to help teachers get the supplies they need for their classrooms at Office Depot. The tree offers teachers a place to write down their wish list and communicate it to parents and school supporters. Revving Up Race Fans with Special Back-to-School Offer In commemoration of its Back to School campaign, Office Depot is introducing a limited edition die cast model of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford, featuring a special Back to School paint scheme to be unveiled at the Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race on Aug. 14 in New York. The limited edition car model will be available exclusively at Office Depot retail locations in early August for $9.99 with any $99 purchase. Office Depot is a proud sponsor of NASCAR and Roush Racing's No. 99 Office Depot Ford Taurus, driven by Carl Edwards in the NEXTEL Cup Series. As the Official Office Products Partner of NASCAR, Office Depot is taking care of business both on and off the track, and breaking new ground by utilizing NASCAR to reach out to small businesses, Office Depot's core customer. Race fans can follow news of Carl Edwards and the No. 99 race team all season long at www.officedepotracing.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: Complete information concerning Office Depot's Back to School campaign and community efforts, including press releases, product images and other materials, can be found at http://mediarelations.officedepot.cc/bts05/. 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. (1) 5% Back to Schools Program is available at Office Depot store locations, by calling 1-800-GO-DEPOT (800-463-3768), and online at www.OfficeDepot.com or in Canada at www.OfficeDepot.ca. 5% of qualifying student school supply purchases (computers, all technology including personal digital assistants (PDA's), all furniture items and furniture accessories, some bulk packaged products, ink and toner cartridges and Gift Cards are not qualifying purchases) made during either program period will be tallied under the name of each school designated by our customers. At the end of each program period, the total credits tallied per school will be offered to that school for its use toward the purchase of any products or services from any Office Depot store. Credits are only effective once the offer is accepted. Credits will be issued 60 days after the end of each program period and will be valid for 120 days after date of issuance. Credits will not be offered to schools with less than $10.00 in tallied credits per program period. See your local Office Depot store for a list of qualifying products. Office Depot will honor up to $10 million in total credits to the designated schools that opt to participate. Unaccepted/declined credits immediately expire and are void. Offer is limited to Pre-K-12th grade. CONTACT: Office Depot, Delray Beach Mindy Kramer, 561/438-4276 mkramer@officedepot.com or Burson-Marsteller Lisa Hofstetter, 212/614-5257 lisa_hofstetter@nyc.bm.com SOURCE: Office Depot