Staples Inc.

Staples Inc.
Company typePrivate[1]
IndustryRetail
FoundedMay 1, 1986; 38 years ago (1986-05-01)
Brighton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founders
Headquarters500 Staples Drive, ,
U.S.
Number of locations
994 stores (U.S., 2024)[2]
40 warehouses/fulfillment centers (U.S.)
Areas served
United States, Canada
Key people
ProductsOffice supplies and furniture
Office and data center technology
RevenueDecrease US$14 billion (FY 2019)[4]
OwnerSycamore Partners (2017–present)
Number of employees
75,000 (2021)[4]
Subsidiaries
Websitestaples.com
Staples logo until 2019.
Staples's logo from 1988 to 2019.

Staples Inc. is an American office supply retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G. Stemberg, the company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986.[5] By 1996, it had reached the Fortune 500, and it later acquired the office supplies company Quill Corporation. In 2014, in the wake of increasing competition from e-commerce market, Staples began to close some of its locations. In 2015, Staples announced its intent to acquire Office Depot and OfficeMax. However, the purchase was blocked under antitrust grounds due to the consolidation that would result.

After the failed acquisition, Staples began to refocus its operations to downplay its brick-and-mortar outlets and place more prominence on its business-to-business (B2B) services. In 2017, after its sale to Sycamore Partners, the company was effectively split into three "independently managed and capitalized" entities sharing the Staples name, separating its U.S. retail operations, and Canadian retail operations, from the B2B business.

  1. ^ "Sycamore Partners Completes Acquisition Of Staples, Inc" (Press release). Sycamore Partners. September 12, 2017. Retrieved 2021-05-19 – via BusinessWire.
  2. ^ "Staples® Store Directory | USA". stores.staples.com. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  3. ^ "About Us | Staples". staples.com. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  4. ^ a b "America's Largest Private Companies #45 Staples (SPLS)". Forbes. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. ^ Matt Townsend (June 28, 2017). "Staples sold for $6.9B in bid for turnaround". The Seattle Times.