Mission Possible

Staples® was founded with an aim to make access to office products and accessories easier for small-business owners and consumers. The features of convenient locations and hours, and a great selection of products and services at competitive everyday prices would make it convenient for its target audience to expand their horizons. Right from its inception, skeptics questioned the need for a discount office supply superstore. They wondered if anyone really cared about the price of office supplies such as paper clips. While researching, Tom Stemberg, Staples' founder spoke with a small-business owner who underestimated his yearly office supply budget by a factor of five. In 1985, 10.8 million of the 11 million businesses in the U.S. were small businesses, and the total market for office supplies was $85 billion and growing.

On May 1, 1986, Staples® opened the world's very first office supply superstore in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Soon, Staples was such a success that some 20 competitors launched similar retail concepts over the next two years.

Growth Summary

Once a retail-only operation, Staples® continues to expand and meet the office product needs of the ever-changing global market, estimated to be a $260 billion opportunity. The company now serves customers through catalogs, delivery service and award-winning e-commerce sites around the globe. Quill, a direct marketer of office products, is nationally recognized for its customer service to vertical specialty markets such as the legal and medical professions. Their contract business is one of the fastest growing in the United States.

Their product range includes art & craft supplies, basic office supplies, boards & easels, filers & binders, paper & paper products, school supplies, writing instruments, ink cartridges, computers and a vast array of other technology and gift allied products. Staples' European stores, delivery organizations and e-commerce sites provide the brand with incredible growth potential in a very fragmented marketplace. Meanwhile, their delivery businesses in Argentina, Brazil and China are building a foundation for growth in those emerging International markets.

Staples® has not only grown; it has evolved to meet the needs of its customers. As we all know, the business today is much more complicated than it has ever been and customers are pressed for time, now more than ever. That is where Staples® steps in as it promises to help make it easy for people to buy their office products. Their stores are easy to shop with high-demand items like paper and ink up front where customers can easily find them. Staples® guarantees to have the ink or toner cartridge in stock that their customers need.

The Grand Indian Entrance

Staples® has made a grand entry in to the Indian market, to make it easy for small businesses and individuals to source all their office products needs. And making this entry easier for Staples® is the Future Group (Staples Future Office Products Pvt. Ltd.). By implementing the best global practices such as online ordering, national fulfillment, cost savings through consolidated buying and control measures such as workflow-based authorization and access to consumption information, Staples® aims to change the purchase behaviour of technology and stationery across the country.

Their entry in India is for everyone to see as they have launched their flagship stores in various public domains in Bangalore in a big way. A number of more stores are ready to be launched, which will include innovative and convenient facilities like Staples Print Centre wherein customers' printing needs will be made easy and one in which you can also customize your own designs and get the delivery wherever you wish to; Easytech, which will facilitate easy solutions for all your computer emergencies and Make My PC, which will aid you in assembling your own branded computer.

In addition to this, there is 'Staples National Advantage', a program aimed at large businesses with a multi-location footprint, which works on a contractual basis and aims to create cost savings in excess of 15% with a defined service level agreement. The existing customer base of Staples in India includes the likes of Accenture, Citibank, Clariant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley to name a few. Some of the key offerings from Staples to large corporates include Stationery & Supplies Contract, Technology Buying, Corporate Gifting Program and Print Managed Solutions.

With the global sourcing expertise of Staples Inc., local sourcing expertise of Pantaloon Retail and access to the private label program of more than 100 contracted factories in China, delivering in wide assortments, low prices and high quality hardly remains a doubt for Staples Future Office Products.

With such a wide base to choose from, Staples® is undoubtedly one of the most ideal office solution brands available all over the globe.