Office Depot supplies more selection in megastores - opened three supersized units, plans more

Discount Store News, Feb 19, 1996 by Laura Liebeck

WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Office Depot joined the ranks of mega category killers recently with the opening of three 45.000-sq.-ft. to 50,000-sq.-ft. stores in the New York metro area. More supersized units are planned to open this year.

The megastores, with 7,000 skus. 40% more skus than a conventional Office Depot store, are packed with products and services not previously available at the nation's No. 1 office products superstore. The expansive-looking units feature 8-ft. shopping aisles, an open ceiling and bright lighting.

The focal point of the store is the massive area reserved for computers, highlighted by a Hunter Douglas grid ceiling. It is flanked by a 10,000-sq.-ft. furniture department and an area of equal size out fitted with office supplies, including an enhanced luggage department.

Behind computers is a greatly expanded computer software department and a large area outfitted with office equipment.

The store also offers a 24-hour business center, located at the front entrance of the store, where computers can be rented and copiers used. Customers using this department may also opt for custom printing, design services, signs and engraving, plus use one of the four computer workstations in the area (two Macintosh and two PCs) for $10 per hour. An Internet hookup is planned. A department debit card is available for copy machine usage.

Also new to the mega Office Depot units is a space reserved for Uptime Services. These services provide customers with computer-assisted instruction, equipment rentals, professional installation, 24-hour software support and warranty protection. In addition, the store introduced shoppers to Information Depot, a freestanding kiosk located at several places in the store, including the computer department, that provides store information and services.

The Westbury unit, the chain's 500th store, opened quietly Dec. 26, but didn't celebrate its grand opening until Jan. 22 due to the early January blizzard. The store is located in the Roosevelt Field shopping area, the new mecca for megastore operators. The other two units are located in North Bruns-wick and Totowa, N.J. The first Office Depot megastore opened last summer in Las Vegas.

The format provides the office products chain with a cutting-edge format to introduce to new markets and to communities where its two main competitors, OfficeMax and Staples, are already operating traditional stores.

Office Depot isn't alone in its quest to offer more goods and services to the growing home office market. OfficeMax in '96 will remodel 150 superstores and open 80 OfficeMax superstores, 65 FurnitureMaxes, 65 CopyMaxes, 15 TriMax Super Centers and at least five distribution centers. It will also add mini CopyMaxes to 350 OfficeMax superstores.

The heart of this Office Depot unit, the computer area, features 28 display computers for customers to try before purchasing, the largest such offering in the industry. The area offers 10 Packard Bell models, three Acers, four Hewlett Packards, three IBMs, four Compaqs and four Macintoshs.

Each computer has been set in its own workstation environment so customers won't disturb one another. The entire computer area, including software and business machines, rests on a gray Pirelli textured floor.

The software department, located directly behind computers, is expansive, covering 252 linear ft. of display space categorized by Macintosh, Utilities, Productivity, Adult Education and Entertainment CD-ROMs, Productivity CDROMs and Children's Education and Entertainment CDROM. The general area also includes 8 ft. of magazines and 96 ft. of books.

The furniture department, which offers approximately 1,000 skus, is presented in a brightly lighted carpeted area. (In November, Office Depot introduced Furniture At Work, a freestanding furnitiure department in Austin, Texas.)

The prices in this department range from $30 for a chair to $2,000 for a three-piece furniture grouping by Gunlocke. Approximately 24 manufacturers are represented in this area including Globe, O'Sullivan, Sauder and Rubbermaid.

At the rear of the furniture department is a selection of lighting products. About 50 skus of desk lights are presented at eye level, with all of the lights turned on. Prices range from $9 to $90; an additional 10 skus of floor lamps are nearby, priced from $18 to $80.

Adjacent to this is a kids furniture department, dubbed Kids Corner Office, an expansive amount of space sparsely outfitted with a few pieces of quasi-furniture by Little Tikes, O'Sullivan, Ameriwood, Fisher-Price and Step 2, plus some accessories.

The office products area, unlike the carpeted furniture area and the gray Pirelli floor of the computer area, is furnished with a red and white tile floor and slant fixtures.

Special displays in this department include Kenneth Cole leather goods presented on a freestanding fixture. Prices here include $247 for a leather attache and $200 for a leather backpack. An endcap with lucite shelves featured Monarch/ Lucas leather bags priced from $100 to $130. These two areas are separate from the 32 linear ft. of luggage and assorted bags already displayed in-aisle.