OfficeMax
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
OfficeMax  |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Public NYSE: OMX |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Naperville, Illinois |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Office supplies |
| Revenue | ▲$8.9 billion USD (2006) |
| Employees | 35,000 (2005) |
| Website | http://www.officemax.com/ |
OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), is an office supplies retailer founded in 1988 and headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. It is the third-largest office supplies retailer in the USA, behind Staples and Office Depot.
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[edit] History
[edit] Kmart
On April 1, 1988, OfficeMax was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, by Michael Feuer (who served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) along with seven other associates. On July 5 of that year, OfficeMax opened its first retail store in the Golden Gate Shopping Center in Mayfield Heights, Ohio (the location remains open today as store #1).
OfficeMax grew by acquisition, including its 1990 takeover of Office Square stores, previously owned by KMart, in exchange for a 22% equity stake. In 1991, Kmart increased its stake in OfficeMax to 92%. The company acquired BizMart, its largest acquisition to date, in 1992. OW-Office Warehouse, a Virginia-based regional chain, was acquired in 1993. For the next ten years OfficeMax and its rivals, STAPLES and Office Depot, continued to open new stores, saturating the market segment. OfficeMax developed regional delivery centers, and investing in its super-regional PowerMax distribution centers in Las Vegas, NV (North Las Vegas, NV), Hazelton, PA (Onida,PA), and Birmingham, AL (McCalla, AL). All the while OfficeMax had the worst money losing results of the three. In 2001-2003, OfficeMax began closing under-performing stores in some neighborhoods and in regions where it didn't have a strong presence. While Staples and Office Depot considered merging, that deal was called off. Of the three it was OfficeMax that would be acquired; by Boise Cascade Office Products Corporation,[1] which had a nationwide office supply delivery operation based in Itasca, IL. Boise had no bricks and mortar retail presence; their model used sales accounts people.
[edit] Boise Cascade
The company was acquired by Boise Cascade in 2003, and has undergone numerous internal changes since then, including rebranding its copy and print centers from CopyMax to OfficeMax Print & Document Services. This change was primarily to prevent customers from getting the idea that it was only a copy service. In Q4 2006 the company rolled out a new branding for their printing and finishing service after finding that OfficeMax Print & Document Services was too sterile of a name. The current name for the printing department is OfficeMax ImPress [1].
The furniture section of the retail stores is often marketed separately as FurnitureMax, though officially only a few stores have true FurnitureMax sections, characterized by much larger selections than normal OfficeMaxes. OfficeMax has 867 retail stores in the USA (including Puerto Rico) and 43 locations in Mexico (through a joint venture), in addition to an on-line retailer in the USA (OfficeMax.com). In October 2004, Boise Cascade completed its sale of its paper, building products, and timberland assets. It then renamed itself OfficeMax.
[edit] OfficeMax ImPress Print and Document Services
OfficeMax also features a business services department. First named CopyMax but later renamed to OfficeMax Print and Document Services (PDS) in 2005, and to Impress Print and Document Services in 2007. This department offers printing and copying services along with other business identity solutions. OfficeMax has made several improvements to ImPress in recent years, now offering Wide-Format color prints in all of its stores. In addition to copies ImPress also offers binding, finishing, design services, custom business cards, stamps, business forms, checks, and more. OfficeMax ImPress has also recently cut color copy prices to $0.49 for 20/24lb. 8 1/2 x 11 copies.
[edit] MaxPerks customer reward program
OfficeMax offers a customer reward program, called [MaxPerks] where customers can earn cash back for future purchases. There are two types of MaxPerks programs: MaxPerks for Business and MaxPerks for Teachers.[2]
The MaxPerks for Business program is intended for any customer. The MaxPerks for Business program allows all customers to obtain a percentage back on every $300.00 they spend in the store (excluding Electronics, Computers or MaxAssurance) at the end of each quarter with a limit of 2% back. In addition to a monetary reward, MaxPerks cardholders receive coupons in the mail, allowing them to receive a discount on a future purchase.
The MaxPerks for Teachers program is a reward program designed for teachers, however cardholders receive $10 for every $75 they spend, instead of a percentage back like MaxPerks for Business. The MaxPerks for Teachers program also allows teachers to get extra school supply money by allowing them to give their MaxPerks number to their students, which allows them to receive benefits throughout the school year.
[edit] MaxAssurance
MaxAssurance is a service from NEW that OfficeMax offers on furniture, electronics under $400, electronics over $400 and computers. About the only thing MaxAssurance does not protect against are failures caused by abuse or misuse of the covered item as well as loss or theft, though their Lo-Jack service does help track lost or stolen notebook computers. The plans are also renewable and transferable.
Furniture MaxAssurance For chairs the plan covers broken casters and wheels, normal wear and tear to the upholstery, including seam separation. For furniture the plan covers structural defects and dovetail construction, lifting, cracking, peeling or scaling of solid woods, laminated finishes and veneers, warping, cracking and the breaking of frames/legs. The plan starts 31 days from the date of purchase and is good for three years.
Electronics under $400 This plan is a replacement plan. If your product fails, contact customer service and simply return the failed product to the replacement depot using the pre-paid shipping label. Once the product is received NEW will send you a OfficeMax gift card for the total purchase, plus tax if applicable. This plan covers normal wear and tear, defects in workmanship and materials, mechanical and electrical breakdowns, power surges (from day one), environmental factors, such as heat, dust and humidity and accidental damage from handling.
[edit] Financial rebound
In Q1 2006, OfficeMax closed 110 under-performing domestic stores, and is opening 70 new stores with the new award winning "Advantage" store layout.[3] The "Advantage" store design is supposed to be more customer friendly and includes improvements in all major departments inside an OfficeMax store. The company plans to remodel most or all of its stores to the new Advantage layout.
As of April 26, 2008, OfficeMax shares traded at $19.17 per share.[4]
[edit] OfficeMax ink refilling kiosk
Starting in 2005 and ending early 2006, OfficeMax tested a semi-automated ink refill station in their stores in the Chicago area. Customers could bring in old HP, Lexmark, Dell, or Compaq cartridges, and have them tested and refilled for less than the cost of new cartridges. As of July 2006, OfficeMax outfitted all of their high profit stores with the ink refill machines. Due to the complexity of Canon cartridges, the OfficeMax Ink Kiosk is unable to refill them. This is mainly because Canon uses a colored dye in their cartridges, not ink. The electronic contacts are also digitally altered in such a way that the Ink Kiosk cannot read them.
[edit] OfficeMax ink recycling program
In 2005, OfficeMax began accepting any empty HP, Dell, or Lexmark inkjet or toner cartridges in exchange for a free OfficeMax brand ream of paper, with a limit of 5 per customer, per day, or an option to take $3.00 off their current purchase. (The same limit of 5 applied to the $3.00 off, with a minimum of purchase amount that matched or exceeded the coupon). This was then changed in October of 2006 due to many customers abusing the program. At that time, OfficeMax only offered the $3.00 instore discount, with a limit of 5, for only HP, Lexmark, Dell and Canon. In the fall of 2007 Canon was no longer participating in the program. The cartridges must also be brand name, and cannot be previously recycled or refilled cartridges. Currently OfficeMax only accepts HP, Lexmark and Dell brand name cartridges. Off brand cartridges that are HP, Lexmark or Dell compatibles are not accepted. There is a limit of 5 cartridges per customer per day.
[edit] A Day Made Better
On October, 2, 2007 at 10am OfficeMax in partnership with Adopt-A-Classroom surprised 1,000 teachers with a box of supplies worth about $1,200. Majority of schools selected were Title 1 schools, in which 40% or more of the student body is subsidized with the free school lunch program. The teacher selected was nominated by the school's principal based on merit.
[edit] Controversies
Boise Cascade, which bought OfficeMax in 2003, also owned the Cuban Electric Co. before it was seized by the Cuban government following the 1959 revolution that brought Castro to power. OfficeMax is the largest property claimant in Cuba. [2]
In 2005, OfficeMax was investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in regards to "accounting for vendor income." According to OfficeMax, the company had falsified $3.3 million in rebate claims owed by its suppliers. Six employees were fired in connection with the issue. In early November, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission completed the probe and recommended no enforcement action.[5]
In 2008 OfficeMax was targeted by protesters asking it to keep a promise that was made to protect indigenous rights. Logging in Canada’s Whiskey Jack Forest to the supply paper pulp industry is opposed by the Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation people.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ OfficeMax Enterprise Solutions
- ^ OfficeMax MaxPerks Program. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ OfficeMax: 10K Annual Report. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
- ^ OMX - OfficeMax Incorporated - Google Finance
- ^ OfficeMax Media Room - News Releases
- ^ Protests Push OfficeMax to Keep Promise on Indigenous Rights. Common Dreams (2008-01-30). Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
[edit] External links
- OfficeMax - official website
- cnn.com - SEC findings[dead link]
- False Rebate Claims[dead link]
