Staples will formally break its Black Friday ad on Sunday (Nov. 8), but has leaked a trio of teaser items in the meantime to rouse customer interest.
On sale in stores beginning at 6 a.m. on Black Friday will be:
*Toshiba i3 Windows 10 notebooks for $299 (from $499 with instant savings and rebate);
*Dell i3147-10000sLV Windows 10 laptops for $299 (from $499); and
*an Amazon Fire 7-inch tablet bundle for $55 (from $80, with instant rebate).
In addition to its “Black Friday Burst” event, the No. 1 office-supply chain will also offer special online deals all during Thanksgiving — which keeps the company in the promotional fray despite its decision to keep its storefronts closed.
In other Staples news, the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) has released a study suggesting that the pending merger of Staples and Office Depot will stifle competition within the B-to-B office-supply sector.
The report, “Bad for Business,” concludes that “prices will go up and choices will go down” should federal regulators allow the deal to go through.
The APWU has a vested interest in the outcome, having long protested a Staples pilot program that employs non-union members to man in-store postal counters.
Staples’ proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of the No. 2 office-supply chain is still under review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
