Staples

Staples is an American office supply retail company that opened in 1986. Thank you for your suggestion. Staples Business Depot Staples was founded in November of 1985 by Thomas Stenberg and Leo Kahn, who had previously competed against each other in the Boston grocery market. Stenberg had worked in the New England food business since graduating from Harvard Business School in 1973, after his employer fired him in 1985 because of philosophical differences, used his year's worth of severance pay to explore other business opportunities. Stenberg was interviewing for a job at a generalized warehouse club retailer when he noticed that the aisle featuring office supplies was in disarray, attesting to the popularity of the products which moved quickly out of the store. When he learned that this small category of goods accounted for 7% of all warehouse store sales, Stenberg recognized a niche market that would provide him with the opportunity he wanted. In formulating his concept for an office supplies warehouse, Stenberg drew on several demographic factors. As large corporations cut their workforces, small businesses were taking up the slack in the American economy, signaling a quickly expanding lucrative market. In addition, the service sector of the economy was growing rapidly and such business typically used a good deal office supplies. Stenberg's plan called for the elimination of the middleman in office supply distribution. Traditionally, manufacturers of paper and other items sold their goods to one of six major wholesalers around the country. The wholesalers then sold their goods to office supply dealers and stationary stores. The dealers sold supplies to large corporations while stationers catered to small businesses and individuals. Along the way, however, the two layers of middlemen between the factory and the customer drove up costs dramatically. With his Staples store, as he planned to call the outlet, Stenberg would collapse those two layers into one because suppliers would be purchased directly from manufacturers. The store would be able to offer much lower prices than its competitors in the heavily fragmented retail environment. Stenberg approaches old nemesis, Khan, who invested $500,000. In addition, Stenberg made presentations to venture capitalists in the Boston area and was met with an enthusiastic response. The first Staples office superstore opened its doors in May at 1660 Soldier Field Road in Brighton, Massachusetts. Consisting of one vast open 14,000 square foot space, the Staples store had a typical warehouse decor with concrete floors and an unfinished ceiling. A huge array of goods was stacked on metal shelves and shopping carts were provided for customers at the front. More than 40 workers were deployed to ring up sales at six cash registers. In an effort to provide customers with one-stop shopping, the store stocked everything that could be conceivably be used in an office, from paper and pens to office furniture to microwaves. Most products were offered at a price half as low as that of Staples competitors. The company conducted a heavy marketing campaign to draw customers in. It was slow at first, but the company began building a solid customer base. In November of 1986, the company opened its second store in Wuburn, Massachusetts, the following year at third location, Immersion Providence, Rhode Island, and the company began to plan for its expansion into the New York area. By the end of 1987, the company had opened a total of nine stores that were cl The following year, Staples moved into other major East Coast markets of Philadelphia and Washington, D. C. By May of 1988, Staples had opened 16 stores and the company revenues had risen to $40 million. The company went public in 1989 and had 23 stores at that point. In July of 1990, the company also commenced operations in a new market, Southern California. Staples made its inroad into this competitive field with three stores located in Orange County, California. Staples followed its West Coast expansion with the introduction of a new retail concept called Staples Express. In 1993, Staples celebrated the opening of its 200th store and at that time, the company announced plans for an additional 130 store openings over the next two years. The company also launched a new advertising campaign in 1995, one that featured the tagline, Yeah, we've got that, the ads, which captured several advertising awards, ran through early 2003. In the meantime, the latest expansion pushed 1995 sales past $3 billion, making Staples only the sixth company in the United States history to reach that mark within 10 years of its founding. The following year, the firm opened its 500th store.