Making the move online: Staples closes 15 Canadian stores
Making the move online: Staples closes 15 Canadian stores
Going out to buy ink and paper clips is no longer a good excuse to leave your desk now that another office supply retailer is shutting stores. Staples Canada will close 15 of its 331 stores as part of a company-wide effort to shift more of its business online and compete with aggressive retailers such as Amazon.ca and the combination of Office Depot and OfficeMax, which merged earlier this year. Staples Inc. said in March that it was planning to close about 225 stores across North America, or about 12 per cent of its bricks-and-mortar locations, as part of a plan to cut costs to boost efficiency.
I think our customers are going to tell us how many stores, what size the stores are, the product offering as well as pricing.
Ronald Sargent, Staples CEO
Doug Stephens, a retail consultant and founder of Retail Prophet , says Staples has two problems—both related to technology. “First, technology is working to marginalize the need for many of the products they sell,” says Stephens. He says technology, from computers to apps, is reducing the need for making filing cabinets, paper and pens. More business is also shifting online and Staples needs to keep pace.
They need to reinvent the office product buying experience to be more about education and experiences, and less about file cabinets and reams of paper.
Doug Stephens, retail consultant and founder of Retail Prophet
