Posted on 12/11/2008 11:19:14 PM PST by doug from upland
Office Depot will close 10 percent of North American stores
Office Depot Inc. will close 112 underperforming retail stores in North America in the next three months, including its Overland Park store, leaving it with 1,163 stores, and close 14 more stores throughout 2009 as their leases expire, for a total reduction of about 10 percent of its North American stores.
The company’s Web site lists five Kansas City-area stores. The Overland Park store is at 10551 Metcalf Ave.
The company said it will close 45 stores in the central United States, 40 in the Northeast and Canada, 19 in the West and eight in the South.
Company spokeswoman Mindy Kramer said each store has an average of 20 employees. All laid-off employees can apply for jobs elsewhere in the company she said, and those who don’t get other jobs will receive severance packages and outplacement assistance.
The 112 stores have about 2,200 employees, Kramer said.
In a release Wednesday, the company (NYSE: ODP), based in Delray Beach, Fla., said it now plans to open 20 new stores in 2009, down from its prior estimate of 40 stores. It also plans to close six of its 33 distribution facilities in North America, an 18 percent cut, consistent with its long-term plan to reduce the number of facilities and combine its separate supply-chain systems.
The actions are part of the company’s strategic review announced Oct. 29.
The company said it expects to take charges of $270 million to $300 million in the fourth quarter and in 2009 for the actions, including about $40 million in cash charges throughout 2009 for continuing lease payments on closed stores and severance for store, headquarters and field sales staff.
The company didn’t say how many employees it has in North America or how many it will lay off with the closings.
Office Depot said the actions should improve its 2009 earnings before interest and taxes and cash flow by about $90 million and $70 million, respectively.
Wednesday’s news came slightly more than a month after Office Depot’s Oct. 29 report that it lost $6.7 million, or 2 cents a share, in its third quarter, which ended Sept. 27. That compared with earnings of $117.5 million, or 43 cents a share, last year. Sales for the quarter were $3.66 billion, down 7 percent from $3.94 billion last year.
Worldwide, Office Depot has 1,705 retail stores, annual sales of about $15.1 billion and about 49,000 employees.
wonder how many hundreds of thousands of more jobs will be lost in the next report. I guess we will all like to eat at the soup kitchen soon. I will wear layers of clothes to not freeze to death. Poeple who think this is a recession are in for a rude awakening. People are maxed out on credit. People are maxed out on home equity and under in many cases. People cant pay the car/s off. Its going to be very very interesting.
Hm. Any idea if the closing stores will have GOoB sales?
Maybe I can pick up some Post-It Notes as stocking stuffers.
I own all my cars outright and have several marketable skill sets. I have no significant debt.
I started working on this the moment the Dems won in 2006.
Market correction — it may hurt, but so does a tumor removal.
The only proper response of the government is total silence.
Let the market sort it out.
This is just a business move, meant to shore up the bottom line. This happens from time to time.
I think you must be listening to Gerald Celente on Kook to Kook.
He sure paints a bleak picture for next year, and he may be right.
I will be relocating to the Philippines in January.
I don't want to be in Europe if, and when the crash comes.
At least in Philippines, everyone is already poor but happy, and I wont freeze to death.
The best part... I have lots of cute young ladies waiting for me :)))
get a garden and some chickens. Im not kidding
OffideDepot has their act together ,, this is normal and expected ,, what I don’t understand is why OfficeMAX hasn’t gone BK yet.. Staples and ODEP are the big dogs ,, OMX has never had any market..
The good news is that illegal hiring zones will now be places for open drug sales.
I am afraid Celente is right.
I hate Office Despots.
When Denny’s, Staples, Olive Garden, McDonalds, Office Depot, Burlington, Value City, Sunoco, Shell, BP, Marathon, Arby’s, Wendy’s, K-Mart, Sears, Wal-Mart,....etc closed their stores in my area, I knew we were headed down the dookie highway.
All of those are opening or have opened new stores in my area.
But then, I’m in Texas, one of the few states that still has a strong economy and no budget deficit.
Hell, we’re still hiring.
Why? I live in a real state, goes by the name of Texas. We won’t be going hungry here.
We also won’t be shipping stuff up to Michigan, what with all the MI morons shouting about boycotting the South. If you won’t buy our stuff, you don’t need what we have. :D
I live in a real state too. I have an acre. Enough to feed myself and have chicken and other food. I wont be going hungry either. Pennsylvania has rich hunting grounds that could feed a family for a long time. Deer is tasty. Along with my vegetable garden. I also have a natural spring running under my house. Endless water supply.
It's actually more of a massive correction, where the markets reflect reality rather than hype and "creative accounting."
Reality is always a shockeroo, but, hey, it's reality.
Yep, Office Depot is much better than O-Max or Staples. Hope they come though OK.
Same here. When I want to buy something I make sure I have the money on hand to pay for it. Or I don't buy it. It ain't rocket science.
More of the Great Depression news... the “big one” will be taking hold, full force, in 2009... hoo-boy!
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