Research
2019 TWICE Top 100: Watch List
Keeping close tabs on key players that appear to be reaching either strategic or existential crossroads
Staples
Retail
Life After Retail: Staples & Office Depot Search For Greener Pastures
It was a grand case of “I told you so.”
Keeping Current
Staples’ New Owners Spinning Off The Retail Business
Private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which has agreed to acquire Staples for nearly$7 billion, said it plans to separate the chain’s struggling retail business from its...
news
Sold! Staples Going Private In $7B Buyout
Following months of speculation that the No. 1 office supply chain was being shopped around, Staples has agreed to be acquired by private equity...
news
Staples Teases Black Friday Deals
Staples has divulged some of its Black Friday deals. Teased items include: *an HP Laptop with Intel Core i5 processor for $390, a savings...
Home Automation
Staples’ Easy Button Now Really Works Thanks To Watson
Watch out Amazon Dash: You’re not the only button in town anymore. Geared toward small-business owners, Staples unveiled one of its signature red Easy...
news
Forget Rice: Staples Teams With TekDry To Save Soaked Smartphones
Staples is expanding its partnership with TekDry, a water-damage recovery service for mobile phones, from 82 to 600 stores. The $70 service employs a...
news
Black Friday 2016 Watch: Staples Will Be Closed On Thanksgiving
Staples is sticking to its guns and will keep Thanksgiving Day sacrosanct like it did last year. “We encourage our customers and employees to...
Industry
It’s Official: Staples’ Interim CEO Shira Goodman To Run The Show
Shira Goodman, who was named interim CEO at Staples last June, will get to keep the corner office. In announcing the decision, Staples board...
news
Staples App Makes Back-To-School Shopping A Snap
A new mobile service from Staples is helping parents collect their kids’ required school supplies simply by snapping a photo of the checklist. Under...
Financial
Staples Posts $766M Q2 Loss
Nearly $1 billion in pretax charges stemming from its failed acquisition of Office Depot led to a massive second-quarter loss for Staples. Net loss...
Home Automation
Staples Unplugging From Staples Connect Smart-Home Platform
Updated! Staples is no longer selling Staples Connect, its proprietary smart-home platform. Instead, the No. 1 office supply chain and is handing off sales and...
Industry
Staples Names Steve Matyas N.A. Retail Chief
Staples has picked Steve Matyas, president of its Canadian operation, to head its North American retail division. In his new role, he assumes much...
news
Staples Launching Same-Day Delivery Service
Staples has joined the same-day delivery fray. Its new Staples Rush service, which is currently being tested in parts of Boston, Dallas and Manhattan,...
Industry
Staples CEO Ron Sargent Stepping Down
Staples chairman Ron Sargent will relinquish his CEO post following the company’s shareholders meeting on June 14, when he will be succeeded on an...
Blogs
Strike Two For Staples And Office Depot
Let me get this straight: It was OK for Office Depot and Office Max to merge, but Staples couldn’t join the party. Hmmmm. What...
Blogs
Staples, Office Depot: The Gloves Are Off
If the presidential campaign has done anything, it has reinforced the notion that politics makes strange bedfellows: For over a year now, archrivals Staples and...
news
Staples-Office Depot Deal Is Dead
The proposed $6.3 billion merger of Staples and Office Depot is kaput. Staples dropped its acquisition plans last night after a U.S. district court...
news
Store Closings Continue At Staples
Staples closed 73 North American stores in 2015 and plans to shutter another 50 this year, the No. 1 office-supply chain reported. The closings,...
news
Staples, Office Depot Delay Merger
The nation’s two largest office-supply chains have put off their planned merger until May while they fight a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit seeking to...
Blogs
An Open Letter From The CEOs Of Staples And Office Depot
The chairmen and CEOs of Staples and Office Depot have issued an open letter to customers in the wake of the FTC’s move this...
news
FTC Moves To Block Staples-Office Depot Merger
In the industry’s second major merger challenge by federal regulators this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday moved to block Staples’ proposed $6.3...
news
Staples-Office Depot Deal Hits Snag: Report
Staples’ proposed $6.3 billion buyout of Office Depot may be hitting a regulatory roadblock. According to the New York Post, the Federal Trade Commission...
news
Toshiba Tops Staples’ Cyber Monday Stable
Staples has joined the Cyber Monday pre-announcement fray with a notebook-heavy lineup of sale-priced Toshiba Satellites, HP Pavilions and Lenovo Ideapads. Tablets, by Amazon,...
news
Staples Touts $300 Notebooks, $55 Fire Tablet Bundle For Black Friday
Staples will formally break its Black Friday ad on Sunday (Nov. 8), but has leaked a trio of teaser items in the meantime to...
news
Office Depot Kicks Off Pre-Black Friday Sales This Sunday
Office Depot and its OfficeMax subset will enter the pre-holiday promotional fray this Sunday with the first of two “early Black Friday” sales. The...
Industry
Staples Co-Founder Tom Stemberg Dead At 66
Thomas Stemberg, co-founder of Staples and co-creator of the office-supply superstore concept, succumbed to stomach cancer last Friday. He was 66. He famously came...
news
Black Friday Backlash: Staples To Stay Shut On Thanksgiving
Staples is bringing the Friday back to Black Friday. Despite the growing trend of Thanksgiving openings, the office-supply retailer said in a statement it...
news
Staples Raising The Stakes In 3D Printing
Staples, an early advocate of 3D printers and services, is upping its game again. The No. 1 office supply chain (which is about to...
news
Staples Debuts Online Crowdfunded Product Store
Framingham, Mass. – Staples has added the first wave of crowdfunded technology products to its online store. The winning products from the retailer’s inaugural...
Financial
Office Depot Primed For Merger With Staples
Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot is getting all its ducks lined up in anticipation of its year-end $6.3 billion acquisition by Staples. In...
Home Automation
Amazon’s Echo Heard In Staples
Framingham, Mass. — Amazon has extended distribution of its Echo smart speaker to Staples, making it the exclusive third-party retailer of the Cloud-based device....
Home Automation
The Latest In Home Automation: What To Look For
New York – Home-automation suppliers have updated their product portfolios or added distribution in recent days, with key announcements coming from Amazon, Smart Things,...
Industry
Staples Changes Chief Merchants, Updates Martha Stewart Line
Framingham, Mass. — Staples has promoted Peter Scala to merchandising executive VP, succeeding Mike Edwards. Scala had previously honchoed the chain’s online assortment and...
Financial
Office Depot Narrows Q4 Loss
Boca Raton, Fla. — Office Depot trimmed its losses during its fiscal fourth quarter. The No. 2 office-supply chain reported an $84 million loss...
news
Staples Makes $6.3B Bid For Office Depot
Updated! Framingham, Mass. — Staples will buy Office Depot for $6.3 billion in cash and stock under a definitive agreement reached between the two...
news
Staples, Office Depot Could Be One: Report
Framingham, Mass. – Staples and Office Depot are in advanced merger talks, sources told the Wall Street Journal. Details of the negotiations weren’t available,...
Industry
Roland Smith: Office Depot Chief Staples Two Former Rivals
On the first anniversary of its merger with OfficeMax, Office Depot chairman/CEO Roland Smith last month described the combination as “a huge success.” Not...
news
Investor May Broker Office Supply Marriage: Reports
New York – Activist investor Starboard Value may be fostering a merger between Staples and Office Depot. The hedge fund has reportedly acquired a...
news
Staples Helps Amazon Launch Fire TV Stick
Framingham, Mass. — Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick is getting additional sales support from a seemingly unlikely ally: Staples. The office-supply giant said Monday...
news
TWICE Names 2014 Excellence In Retailing Awards
TWICE is pleased to formally announce the winners of our 2014 Excellence In Retailing Awards series. Now in its 11th year, the program was...