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A "Staples Rewards" check can be as high as $500 a month (one can receive multiple checks) and has to reach $10 rewards for the 10% portion or it will roll over until either it has been reached or the end of the calendar quarter (whichever comes first).
A "Staples Rewards" check can be as high as $500 a month (one can receive multiple checks) and has to reach $10 rewards for the 10% portion or it will roll over until either it has been reached or the end of the calendar quarter (whichever comes first).


Staples' stores in the United Kingdom began trialling the previously named "Staples Business Rewards" at a selected number of "Hypergrowth" stores (such as Milton Keynes, Poole, Sheffield and Southampton stores) during May 2005. To receive their rewards, customers must spend £100 or more each quarter to receive 2% back on standard purchases and 20% back on Copy and Print Centre purchases. A basic "Staples Reward" customer can receive up to £50 back in cash vouchers (which have no minimum 'spend-in-store"). If a customer spends £1,000 or more in a calendar year, the customer is upgraded to the prestigious "Premier Rewards" of which they receive 5% on standard purchases and 40% back on the Copy and Print Centre, again if the customer spends over £100 during each quarter. The customer can also receive back up to £100 in vouchers.
Staples' stores in the United Kingdom began trialling the previously named "Staples Business Rewards" at a selected number of "Hypergrowth" stores (such as Milton Keynes, Poole, Sheffield and Southampton stores) during May 2005. To receive their rewards, customers must spend £100 or more each quarter to receive 2% back on standard purchases and 20% back on Copy and Print Centre purchases. A basic "Staples Reward" customer can receive up to £50 back in cash vouchers (which have no minimum 'spend-in-store"). If a customer spends £1,000 or more in a calendar year, the customer is upgraded to the prestigious "Premier Rewards" of which they receive 5% on standard purchases and 20% back on the Copy and Print Centre, again if the customer spends over £100 during each quarter. The customer can also receive back up to £100 in vouchers.


==Copy & Print Center==
==Copy & Print Center==

Revision as of 21:40, 2 May 2010

"STAPLES" redirects here. For other uses, see Staples.
Staples, Inc.
Company typePublic (Nasdaq: SPLS)
IndustryRetail
Founded1986
HeadquartersFramingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
ProductsOffice supplies
RevenueIncrease $27 billion USD
Number of employees
Around 95500 (2009)
Websitewww.staples.com

Staples Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) is the world's largest office supply store, with over 2,000 stores worldwide in 27 countries. Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, the company has catalog and delivery businesses and serves customers in Argentina (as Officenet Staples), Austria, Belgium (as Staples Office Centre, trading to professional customers only), Brazil (as Staples), Canada (as Staples (Canada), in Quebec as Bureau En Gros), China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland (as Staples Advantage, trading to professional customers only), Italy (as Mondoffice), Netherlands (as Staples Office Centre, trading to professional customers only), Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Staples Inc. sells supplies, office machines, promotional products, furniture, technology and business services both in stores and online via Staples.com/.ca. The company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts in 1986.

Quill Corporation is Staples most profitable division, accounting for nearly 25% of the company's net income. Between 1998 and 2009 Quill grew from $500 million in revenues to over $1.3 billion. The company is still one of Staples' fastest growing divisions and is led by Michael Patriarca, President of Quill Corporation.

The L in the logo is a stylized staple.

History

An older location at the Savi Ranch Center in Yorba Linda

The idea for Staples was created in 1985, while founder Thomas G. 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, Massachusetts in 1986. The 500th store was opened in Vero Beach, Florida, in 1996.

Office Depot merger

On September 4, 1996, Staples and Office Depot announced plans to merge.[2] The Federal Trade Commission decided that the superpower would unfairly increase office supply prices despite competition from OfficeMax, because OfficeMax did not have stores in many of the local markets that the merger would affect.[3] Staples ultimately argued that chains such as Wal-Mart and Circuit City represented significant competition, but this argument did little to sway the FTC. Following the denial of the merger by the FTC, a rivalry has formed between the two companies.

Other events and milestones

  • 1990 - Begins western U.S. expansion to Los Angeles area.
  • 1991 - Helps found Canada’s first office superstore, The Business Depot LTD. First Business Depot store opens in Concord, Ontario Business Depot.
  • 1992 - Enters the European marketplace, investing in retail companies in Germany and the United Kingdom.
  • 1993 - Opens first store in the United Kingdom (in Swansea) and launches Contract and Commercial division to serve multisite organizations and Fortune 1000 businesses.
  • 1995 - Restructures Staples Contract and Commercial into Staples National Advantage and Staples Business Advantage.
  • 1996 - Staples celebrates 10th anniversary and becomes Fortune 500 company while sales pass $3 billion.
  • 1999 - Staples opens its 1000th store in Duluth, Georgia, launches StaplesLink.com for contract customers and launches in-store pack and ship services.
  • 1999-2001 - Unsuccessful attempt to enter telecommunications arena - Staples Communications was formed after purchase of Claricom (formerly Executone) from an investment group - later sold to Platium Equities and renamed Nextira.
  • 2001 - Staples becomes the first office supply superstore to integrate its e–commerce site into its retail locations nationwide.
  • 2003 - "Staples. We make buying office products easy." is introduced as the new corporate brand promise, supported by the new tagline "Staples. that was easy.".
  • 2004 - Staples enters the Latin American and Shanghai markets and expands European delivery business into Vienna, Austria and Denmark.
  • 2005 - Staples premiers the Easy Button and begins selling Staples brand products in Stop & Shop and Giant supermarkets.
  • 2006 - Staples celebrates its 20th anniversary, sales reach $18.2 billion and also acquires Thrive Networks, a Boston based Managed Services and Outsourced IT provider for small businesses.
  • 2007 - Staples opens its first store in India; Staples also acquires American Identity, the United States' leading Promotional Products Distributor.
  • 2008 - Staples acquires Dutch office supplies company Corporate Express, one of the largest office supply wholesalers in the world.[4] Staples also launches 11 concept stores in the New England area featuring a large focus on small business and technology related services.

Staples advertising

Staples - "That was easy"
2 seconds
Problems playing this file? See media help.

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 had used the slogan "You want it. We've got it"; they have now changed it to "That was Easy". The Easy Button appears on the Easy Filmmaking Studios logo on youtube as well.

Following a television campaign featuring the 'Easy Button', it was turned into a real product (available in English "easy", French "simple", Spanish "fácil" and German "einfach easy"). These buttons were shipped to stores in the US, Canada and Germany starting in the fall of 2005.

The typical design for more recently built locations

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[citation needed], 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.

Another ad style is used during its annual back-to-school campaign, in which the Christmas song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is played while parents joyously shop for school supplies for their children, used for several years beginning in 1994.[5]

Their 2007 Back to school campaign was "Totally organized. Totally Easy." and the 2007 Holiday campaign was "That holiday was easy."

During the 2008 holiday season, Staples advertising for the first time engaged Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media platforms. The company created a character named "Coach Tom" to promote its “Gift it for Free” sweepstakes, in which 10,000 Staples customers won up to $5,000 in merchandise.[6][7]

Business ventures

  • 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 debuted in July 2005.[8] In August 2006, Ahold announced the addition of the Staples section to all Tops Friendly Markets locations as well.[9]
  • 2002 - Staples acquired Medical Arts Press, a leading supplier in the United States of front-office and exam-room products for healthcare facilities, including medical, dental, chiropractic, veterinary, podiatric and eye care practices. Medical Arts Press carries over 18,000 products, including general office supplies, chart labels, end-tab folders, ink and toner, furniture, code books, postcards, breakroom supplies, and appointment books. It is Quill Corporation's most profitible business unit. Medical Arts Press has over $150M in annual revenues and is led by Terry Schwarting.
  • 2004 - Staples purchased British rival Office World from the Globus group. Rebranding of these stores to the Staples brand took place in 2005.
  • 2007 - Staples acquired and created Staples Industrial/Chiswick markets and distributes industrial and retail packaging, shipping and warehouse products to thousands of small and mid–sized manufacturers, distributors and retailers throughout the US and Canada. The company offers over 7,500 industrial and retail packaging and shipping products, and their product line includes a wide variety of polyethylene bags, corrugated boxes, tape, labels, protective packaging, mailers, retail shopping bags and related packaging supplies. Sales channels include Catalog/Direct Mail, the Internet and Outside Sales.
  • 2007 - Staples acquired Thrive Networks, an experienced IT services company that focuses on bringing Fortune 500–level IT support to small and mid–level businesses. The company provides 24x7 network monitoring and help–desk support, while delivering strategic technology consulting that helps customers achieve their business goals.
  • 2007 - Staples purchased American Identity, one of the largest global distributors of corporate branded merchandise. American Identity has since been rebranded as Staples Promotional Products.
  • 2008 - Staples acquired Corporate Express.

Environmental record

Staples is ranked in the top 25 of EPA's Green Power Partner list.[10] In 2006, Staples offered more than 2,900 different office products incorporating recycled content. Staples is currently trying to pursue developing Staples brand products with green raw materials.[11] In response to a 2-year campaign targeting the company, Staples, Inc. adopted an environmentally friendly paper policy, in hopes of increasing the amount of post-consumer recycled paper made available for sale, phasing out products originating from endangered forests.[12] The Hanover, Maryland fulfillment center is powered by a 1.01 megawatt solar installation covering nearly 175,000 square feet of roof space.[13]

Staples Rewards

In April 2007, Staples introduced its new "Staples Rewards" program. Benefits include free delivery on online purchases (over $50) and a quarterly 10% rebate of purchases at the Copy and Print Center, and purchases of paper, ink, and toner. Previously Staples offered free delivery on any order for Staples Rewards card holders. Currently only Premier or associate members get free shipping on all orders. Premier status can be attained when one spends $1,000 or more in a calendar year. This also entitles the holder to receive 10% back from another area in the store.

As of January 1, 2010, "Staples Rewards" now consists of the following: 10% back every month (in a check sent via e-mail) on ink, toner, paper, and Copy and Print Center purchases. Also, anyone can now recycle up to 10 ink or toner cartridges a month and receive $3 per cartridge in that rewards check (20 for Premier).

A "Staples Rewards" check can be as high as $500 a month (one can receive multiple checks) and has to reach $10 rewards for the 10% portion or it will roll over until either it has been reached or the end of the calendar quarter (whichever comes first).

Staples' stores in the United Kingdom began trialling the previously named "Staples Business Rewards" at a selected number of "Hypergrowth" stores (such as Milton Keynes, Poole, Sheffield and Southampton stores) during May 2005. To receive their rewards, customers must spend £100 or more each quarter to receive 2% back on standard purchases and 20% back on Copy and Print Centre purchases. A basic "Staples Reward" customer can receive up to £50 back in cash vouchers (which have no minimum 'spend-in-store"). If a customer spends £1,000 or more in a calendar year, the customer is upgraded to the prestigious "Premier Rewards" of which they receive 5% on standard purchases and 20% back on the Copy and Print Centre, again if the customer spends over £100 during each quarter. The customer can also receive back up to £100 in vouchers.

Copy & Print Center

Besides office supplies and business machines, Staples also offers a Copy and Print Center for faxing, custom business cards, custom stamps, promotional products, binding, laminating, folding, cutting and engraved products as well as photocopying services. Most locations have a full service UPS shipping center offering air, ground, international and freight services, (FedEx, DHL in the United Kingdom stores & Purolator in the Canadian stores), which is open during store hours. The copy center is often referred to as a "store inside a store", especially due to the fact that many of them have walls separating them from the rest of the store. The Copy and Print Center was also the first Print Center to offer custom business cards printed in store. Known as Business Cards in Minutes (BCIM) customers are able to have custom, professional business cards in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks. Business Cards in Minutes is a great service for those who cannot wait seven to ten business days for business cards

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 ran 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 one to two resident computer repair technicians to do in-store repair during normal business hours.

Beginning January 30, 2007, Staples launched Staples EasyTech. 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. Most kiosks take up part of the Customer Service desk. Within the kiosk, Easy Resident Techs offered repair service as well as sold products. These technicians wore gray "Easy Tech" polo shirts to set them apart from regular Staples associates. While there was typically one tech per store, a second tech may have been installed for high volume stores.

Beginning July 2008, Staples launched a new program labeling all technology associates as "EasyTechs". Under the new guidelines all technology associates are required to have the skills necessary to perform basic services such as memory installation and PC configuration. In addition, all technology associates wear black polo shirts with green "EasyTech" emblems to set them apart from other store associates. The change was due to the company's new focus on services, allowing more customers to be assisted in less time. Most stores will still have a main "EasyTech" who performs most of the more complex tasks.

Beginning November 2008, 11 concept stores featuring a broader array of small business technology services was launched. EasyTechs and sales associates were now referred to as "Tech Advisors" and "Solutions Advisors". The concept stores carry many more technology related products such as digital signage, small business servers, NAS (Network Attached Storage), and business networking. Staples also partnered with an on-demand IT service provider, with such services as network monitoring, advanced network configurations, and server setup. These concept stores are mainly based in New Hampshire, with stores in Nashua, Seabrook, West Lebanon, and Concord. Some stores with this new concept also opened in Massachusetts, including the Auburn store.

Recycling

Beginning in May 2007, Staples began offering a technology recycling program, which allows customers to bring in old technology items, such as computers, printers, and monitors, and have them recycled for a $10 charge per item.

Staples accepts all used ink and toner cartridges for recycling. Prior to 2008, the only cartridges that could be recycled were HP, Kodak, and Dell, and customers were given a three dollar coupon for the store, with a maximum number of coupons that could be given, or redeemed, at any time being 25. Starting in 2008 and continuing to the present, one's ink recycling goes on the customer's Staples Rewards. It comes to them as a separate coupon, monthly instead of the normal quarterly. Most customers are able to trade in ten per month for credit, whilst Staples Premier Rewards members are able to trade in twenty per month.

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, Ashoka, Earth Force, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Hispanic Heritage Foundation and through Staples, ReadBoston.

In August 2005, Staples introduced the "Easy Button", a novelty item for offices which is advertised as a fun way of relieving stress. The button does nothing other than say "That was easy" when pressed. 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-$5.99 in all US and Canadian stores (where profits go to Special Olympics in Canada) and on the company's website. Donations also go to the Children's Fund. Staples has reportedly sold more than $7.5 million worth of Easy Buttons.[14]

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
  1. ^ "Supplies and Demand". Bulletin Online. Harvard Business School. 1996-12-01. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  2. ^ "Antitrust and the Staples-Office Depot Merger". Legal Times. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  3. ^ "FTC WILL SEEK TO BLOCK STAPLES/OFFICE DEPOT MERGER". Federal Trade Commission. 1997-03-10. Retrieved 2007-01-10. A U.S. Court agreed. (Dalkir and Warren-Boulton, 2003.)
  4. ^ Reuters, June 12, 2008, Staples wins Corporate Express in $2.65 bln deal
  5. ^ Ramirez, Anthony (1995-01-26). "A wacky campaign pushes the envelope for abrasive humor". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-01-18. Perhaps the most daring Staples spot was the back-to-school commercial broadcast in August. Filmed in a Staples store, of all places, the commercial pulled out the stops in abrasive bravado. As the Christmas song 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' plays in the background, an overjoyed father in baggy shorts and loafers dances down the aisles. {{cite news}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  6. ^ The Ellen DeGeneres Show, December 5, 2008
  7. ^ Mesulam, Sheila Black Friday, Naples News, November 23, 2008
  8. ^ "Stop & Shop/Giant Launch Staples Branded School and Home Office Supplies Sections". Ahold. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
  9. ^ "Tops Markets partners with Staples to make one-stop shopping easy". Ahold. Retrieved 2006-10-03.
  10. ^ http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/a883dc3da7094f97852572a00065d7d8/4199018af7e69d61852572cd004fc7b1!OpenDocument EPA Green Partners 4/30/07
  11. ^ http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/about/soul/environment.html Staples Environment
  12. ^ http://www.forestethics.org/article.php?id=800 November 21st, 2003
  13. ^ http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/01/07/staples_facility_unveils_solar_rooftop/ Solar Roof Installation
  14. ^ Gogoi, Pallavi (2006-12-07). "Staples Makes Selling Look Easy". Business Week. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
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