Staples Global Online Sales
Staples Business Advantages Include Online Retail Stores & Shipping
Jul 19, 2007
The world’s leading office products company, Staples expects to generate sales of some US$20 billion in 2007. There are almost 2,000 Staples stores and 80,000 associates working in 22 countries.
Staples Online Sales
While a typical Staples location sells up to 8,000 products, a Staples online website offers customers 30,000 items plus weekly specials, Staples discounts, Staples deals and Staples online coupons. Staples.com is America’s second-biggest online retailer with US$4.9 billion in e-commerce sales during 2006. To Staples credit, the company redesigned its website several yeas ago after running extensive usability tests. Staples new site ensures that online visitors can navigate Staples site easily and place orders quickly.
Private-Label Product Sales
In recent years, a typical Staples store has sold more private-label Staples products ranging from heavy-duty Staples shredders to high-speed USB cables to colored staples. Store-brand merchandise enjoys higher profit margins, so one long-term Staples goal is to improve its lucrative private-label sales from the current 20% to 30%.
Staples Business Delivery Services
About one third of Staples sales in 2006 was generated by its business delivery unit. In North America, delivery sales continue to grow by 15% per year. Profit margins for Staples delivery business are among the best in the office supplies industry. Staples has elevated its ‘That was easy’ delivery services to a household brand, partly because the company has sold more than 2 million "Easy" buttons and marketing that promotes Staples free shipping on local orders of $50 or more. In addition, Staples boosts its delivery business by providing brilliantly designed, color-coded, thoroughly indexed and well-written Buying Guides that catalog thousands of products.
Staples International Operations
Some international trade analysts point to the fact that Staples’ international operations accounted for just 13% of annual revenues in 2006. However, international sales may soon blossom given that the company has won the right to be the exclusive supplier of office furniture to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Staples and a joint venture partner already run office supply operations in Beijing and Shanghai. Earlier this year, Staples announced a second joint venture, this time partnering with huge retailer Peipei to sell office supplies in Jiangsu province. E-commerce sites in Chinese and in English serve the business needs of small Chinese firms, large domestic companies and government agencies.
Staples entered another vast Asian market, the US$10-billion office products market in India by launching at least 3 Staples superstores via a joint venture with India retail behemoth Pantaloon. The Indian business will be called Staples Future Office.
Next to Asia, South America may afford Staples with the strongest international growth opportunities. In 2004, Staples entered the South American market by acquiring Officenet. Today, the office supplies company runs the largest business-to-business e-commerce site in South America with established Staples locations in Brazil and Argentina, South America’s two largest markets.
Staples maintains a solid European presence, operating 10 different catalogs and websites that target customers in 15 European countries.
Internet Shoppers Give Staples Credit
As the popularity of Internet services climbs, more households are discovering the conveniences of Web shopping from the comfort of their homes. The long-term winners in international trade will be multinational companies with strong brand names like Staples that engineer an intelligent mix of traditional stores and effective retail websites.
Sources for this Article
This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data including statistics from staples.com.
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