An Idea is Born

Staples' founder Tom Stemberg, a former supermarket chain executive turned entrepreneur, was working over the Fourth of July weekend on a business proposal when his printer ribbon broke. Because it was the holiday weekend, local suppliers and stationery stores were closed. After driving from store to store and not finding the correct ribbon, Tom came to a realization: The world needed a supermarket for office products. Ten months later, Staples, the first office superstore, was open for business.

Before Staples, small businesses and consumers paid a premium for office supplies, while larger companies negotiated huge discounts with supply wholesalers. Small–businesses and consumers, like Tom that Fourth of July weekend, were at the mercy of the stationery store’s schedule.

Staples was founded to make it easy for small–business owners and consumers. Stores feature convenient locations and hours, and a great selection of products and services at competitive everyday prices.

Filling a Need

From the beginning, skeptics questioned the need for a discount office supply superstore. They wondered if anyone really cared about the price of paper clips. The answer was yes. While researching Staples, Tom spoke with one small–business owner who underestimated his yearly office supply budget by a factor of five. In 1985, 10.8 million of the 11 million businesses in the U.S. were small businesses, and the total market for office supplies was $85 billion and growing.

On May 1, 1986, Staples opened the world’s very first office supply superstore in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Soon, Staples was such a success that some 20 competitors launched similar retail concepts over the next two years. Today, only three major retailers remain in the business.

Staples is Growing

Once a retail–only operation, Staples continues to expand and meet the office product needs of the ever–changing global market, estimated to be a $260 billion opportunity. The company now serves customers through catalogs, delivery service and award–winning e–commerce sites around the globe. Quill, a direct marketer of office products, is nationally recognized for its customer service to vertical specialty markets such as the legal and medical professions.  Our Contract business is one of the fastest growing in the United States. 

Our European stores, delivery organizations and e–commerce sites provide Staples with incredible growth potential in a very fragmented marketplace. Meanwhile our delivery businesses in Argentina, Brazil and China are building a foundation for growth in those emerging international markets.

Staples has not only grown; we have evolved to meet the needs of our customers. We know that business is much more complicated and customers are pressed for time, now more than ever. Today, Staples promises to help make it easy for people to buy their office products. Our stores are easy to shop with high–demand items like paper and ink up front where customers can easily find them. Staples guarantees to have the ink or toner cartridge in stock that our customers need . And all associates are trained to help people get in, get what they need and get back to the business of running their business.

Staples®. that was easy®.