Office Square readies for major expansion - office supplies warehouse store chain

Discount Store News, August 21, 1989

Office Square Readies For Major Expansion

TROY, Mich. -- K mart has moved its two-store Office Square venture out of the test stage.

The discounter is set to open the office supply megastore chain's third store in October in the Deerbrook Mall in Deerfield, Ill., as the kickoff of a growth plan that includes adding 20 stores during the next two years.

"We are pleased with the results to date our existing [Office Square] stores and are ready to go beyond the experimental stage," said Larry Parkin, K mart executive vice president for warehouse and grocery operations. Office Square is a division of Builders Square, K mart's San Antonio, Texas-based warehouse home center subsidiary.

The discounter declined to detail its plans for Office Square beyond noting the overall market for future units is the North Central states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Stores would likely be opened in major cities--the two current units are in Chicago--along with smaller communities, with Akron, Ohio, and Lansing, Mich., cited as examples.

Office Square's projected 23 stores would still leave the chain far behind in the race among office supply warehouses to open as many units as quickly as possible. Four chains--Office Depot, Staples, Office Club and Biz-Mart--will be operating anywhere from 28 to 55 units by year-end alone, with at least 10 firms likely to be twice Office Square's size in two years.

K mart's plan to expand Office Square came on the heels of the resignation of Frank S. Denny, Builder Square's chairman who founded the discount office supply chain. Denny recently launched Office Products of America as his second entry into the office supply megastore field (see DSN, Aug. 7, page 3). Denny's severance deal with K mart prohibits him from opening stores in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio for two years.

Jack Gutherie continues to head up Office Square as its executive vice president and general manager.