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Office Depot Pledges $1 Million for Relief in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

Encourages Other Companies to Make Contributions in Anticipation of Major Disaster DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced that it has pledged to contribute $1 million to the American Red Cross for the relief of persons affected by Hurricane Katrina, currently approaching New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley area. The Company also strongly encourages other companies to make their own pledges to create a fund that is adequate to the needs of the victims of this catastrophic storm. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050801/FLM019LOGO ) "We have many associates and facilities in harms way tonight, and we also have thousands of our customers who will suffer greatly as a result of this storm," said Steve Odland, Office Depot's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We want to make a substantial pledge of assistance in advance of the devastation that we recognize is coming. And we want to encourage other companies that have significant business assets in this area -- as well as those that do not -- to join us in a massive relief effort for our fellow citizens who will be suffering in the days and weeks ahead." 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 June 25, 2005, Office Depot has 1,011 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 76 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. SOURCE Office Depot, Inc. /CONTACT: Stephen Sauls, Corporate Relations, +1-561-438-4930, ssauls@officedepot.com, or Brian Levine, Public Relations, +1-561-438-2895, blevine@officedepot.com, both of Office Depot/ /Web site: http://www.officedepot.com http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/ (ODP)