Staples and Office Depot are merging

[kurtzfan]

That means no competition. .. How can this happen in the states?

The office megastore Staples, which today agreed to buy Office Depot for $6.3 billion, tried to tie the knot with its rival nearly two decades ago, only to be thwarted by the Federal Trade Commission. That was before Wal-Mart’s meteoric rise across the US and just three years into Amazon’s existence, when the e-commerce behemoth was only selling books.

At the time, the FTC argued that a merger between two of the three biggest office-supply stores (years before Office Depot scooped up Office Max) would be anti-competitive and result in higher prices of pens, printer toner, and fax-machine paper. During its investigation, the FTC found that average prices at Staples were higher in towns such as Charlottesville, Virginia, where its nearest competition was 65 miles away.

The world of retail has drastically changed since then. Two decades later, the rise of online shopping and the spattering of thousands of superstores has ushered in a much-needed and long-overdue marriage of the office chains.

Already, more than half of Staples’ sales are online, making the office chain the third-largest online retailer in the US after Amazon and Apple. And while Staples and other companies can still vary prices based on the zip codes where online shoppers are located, Amazon has forced price competition to become a national, if not global, exercise.

The FTC will certainly still take a long look at the merger before approving a deal, but competition from Amazon has made it an easier pill to swallow.

[John Tortorella]

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Woopy. They still will lose in the long term to fully online retailers in my opinion

[Tortorella's Rant]

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Woopy. They still will lose in the long term to fully online retailers in my opinion

Alcohol > office supplies

[Dazzle]

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Woopy. They still will lose in the long term to fully online retailers in my opinion

Lol.

I think they'll die very slowly with this move. It's still not super convenient to shop online for some office stuff - the shipping isn't cheap, whereas the item isn't expensive by itself.

Good move though.

Mobilicity + Wind should have merged too.

[WilliesStache14]

Lol.

I think they'll die very slowly with this move. It's still not super convenient to shop online for some office stuff - the shipping isn't cheap, whereas the item isn't expensive by itself.

Good move though.

Mobilicity + Wind should have merged too.

yeah they should merge and then expand their coverage because as good as their contracts are their crap coverage doesn't make it worth it right now.

[Offensive Threat]

We switched to buying all of our office supplies online a while ago. We buy a few things here and there at the Office Depot near us but its minimal. Our office is getting more paperless all the time as it is. Most businesses that I know of have as well. This merger means they will be able to cut redundant stores and squeeze suppliers to stay in the game.

[Heretic]

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Woopy. They still will lose in the long term to fully online retailers in my opinion

Fully disagree. There are things that aren't economically viable to buy online that teachers to small businesses to the everyday consumers buy from them.

[Apple Juice]

I don't think I've ever stepped foot into an Office Depot before to actually buy supplies. If anything, I only went to see if they had what I wanted because Staples didn't offer it. I buy most of my office supplies from Staples anyways despite the price hike.

[Armada]

Office Staples?

[Ghostsof1915]

It will be like when they first wanted to merge Staples: The Office Depot

I don't know how they'll do it in Canada since Office Max merged with Grand & Toy. And now Grand & Toy merged with Office Depot.

So maybe this will apply only in the US?

What I want to know is, why does Staples sell bedroom furniture?

[John Tortorella]

Fully disagree. There are things that aren't economically viable to buy online that teachers to small businesses to the everyday consumers buy from them.

I belive the same thing was said at kodak before digital

I believe the same thing was said at blackberry before apple took all their market share

I think the same thing was said about the music/movie industry

And yet here we are

[inane]

I belive the same thing was said at kodak before digital

I believe the same thing was said at blackberry before apple took all their market share

I think the same thing was said about the music/movie industry

And yet here we are

Yeah, not sure how it would be not economically viable (whatever that's supposed to mean). The only time I'd ever go into one of these stores is some kind of needing a pen related emergency. Can't say that happens often.

[Ghostsof1915]

I belive the same thing was said at kodak before digital

I believe the same thing was said at blackberry before apple took all their market share

I think the same thing was said about the music/movie industry

And yet here we are

I could argue the music industry has lost its way ever since. Most acts make money by touring. So unless you somehow get noticed on a game soundtrack, or in a movie, or on youtube with an amazing video. The music industry is so fragmented and disjointed. That's why you see acts that the big players want to push. So you hardly ever see bands now, it's all singers. People that the labels can "mostly" control.

[etsen3]

Yeah, not sure how it would be not economically viable (whatever that's supposed to mean). The only time I'd ever go into one of these stores is some kind of needing a pen related emergency. Can't say that happens often.

To be fair, many times it's a lot quicker to just go to the store than wait a few days for your order to ship.

There's no question that we're seeing a shift towards online retailing. You see a lot of "showrooming" where customers go into a store to test a device or try on some clothes before ordering online. With places like Staples though, I don't know how many people will be going into the store to test different types of post-it notes before going online to buy them.

[GLASSJAW]

I could argue the music industry has lost its way ever since. Most acts make money by touring. So unless you somehow get noticed on a game soundtrack, or in a movie, or on youtube with an amazing video. The music industry is so fragmented and disjointed. That's why you see acts that the big players want to push. So you hardly ever see bands now, it's all singers. People that the labels can "mostly" control.

uh. instead of reading the village voice or rolling stone, people read websites and blogs

nothing has changed, except useless record companies are now no longer the middle man between consumer and product

[g_bassi13]

It will be like when they first wanted to merge Staples: The Office Depot

I don't know how they'll do it in Canada since Office Max merged with Grand & Toy. And now Grand & Toy merged with Office Depot.

So maybe this will apply only in the US?

What I want to know is, why does Staples sell bedroom furniture?

I bought a study desk for my room from Staples. Was a surprisingly affordable and solid option.

But holy frack does the store suck. Going there is a total gamble with service. It feels like you'll either get someone who knows entirely what is needed, or you'll get someone who knows less about the store than you do yourself. More often than not it's the latter.

In trying to get them at different times in different locations to get them to find and pull an item from the back, and replace some broken logitech speakers, required reminding them that I was there, because they stopped doing the job and moved onto something else.

Getting that desk took an hour each at two different locations, and the speakers were far, far worse. Can't even speak about it without getting into a rant, other than to say that the floor manager seemed to have zero experience in how exchanges worked, and was more smug and agitated than he was helpful. Agitated that he had to help me.

[Heretic]

I belive the same thing was said at kodak before digital

I believe the same thing was said at blackberry before apple took all their market share

I think the same thing was said about the music/movie industry

And yet here we are

Totally different than office supplies.

Plus, it says that 50% of their business is online anyways - they are covering both markets - local and online.

[inane]

To be fair, many times it's a lot quicker to just go to the store than wait a few days for your order to ship.

There's no question that we're seeing a shift towards online retailing. You see a lot of "showrooming" where customers go into a store to test a device or try on some clothes before ordering online. With places like Staples though, I don't know how many people will be going into the store to test different types of post-it notes before going online to buy them.

Yeah, like I said, if it's a post-it note related emergency, fine. But other than that, why wouldn't you order online--especially when the items are cheaper online and shipping is free as it often is.