Hot Deal to watch for: Office Depot closing 70 stores, clearances?

[AndrewR]

Saw this story on MSNBC.com, and it appears that 70 OD stores will be closing this year. It might be a good time to watch for this in the event of some clearance sales to reduce merchandise inventory.

Just an FYI and not technically a Hot Deal, but it has some decent potential if people keep their eyes peeled.

 

[smartt]

My aunt works at one of these stores. If her's is closing, it probably won't be such a hot deal for her. :frown:

 

[Kroffty]

I hope they don't go under I really like that store!

 

[Souka]

Exerpt from article:
"NEW YORK, Jan. 3 ? Office supply retailer Office Depot said on Wednesday it would close 70 North American stores and take a fourth quarter charge between $280-$300 million in a vast restructuring aimed at profitability.

Profitability??? They shouldn't be selling Network-Inbox kits for $20, or Epson printers for $99.... hehehe




Far as deals go, a friend bought a TV from Future Shop during their "going out of business" sale....at the checkout the salesman tried to sell the extended insurance, tried everything to get my friend to buy it, even added an extra year of coverage. Funny. (for those who don't know, extended insurance is through the place of purchase only....they're going out of business, but still sold it...go figure).

 

[immortalis]

Yeah, really sad if they would close those stores!
After all those deals I got from them, I' feel a bit guilty.

 

[daid]

I LOVED OD, but since they stopped their 155% LPG they have kinda sucked IMO. I'm sure they aren't closing them all, just the ones that don't generate the high revenue. BTW... It may indeed be a "Hot Deal" if you happen to work for one of the closing stores... First crack at the deals! LOL

 

[eagle71276]

Interestingly enough the article I read, said that they planned on closing the 70 stores, but also opening 50 new stores this year.

 

[dkcs]

OD recently closed two stores near me but they didn't offer much a sale except for 50% off software under $50, demo electronics/comps/furniture etc... Anything they could still sell was shipped off to the next closest store.

 

[TBP]

<< Interestingly enough the article I read, said that they planned on closing the 70 stores, but also opening 50 new stores this year.

>>



Yeah, they are trying to avoid the area where anandtechers are populated.

 

[serzone]

Looks like OfficeDepot made a big mistake trying to get into the computer/technology market. Should stick to selling desktop calendars and pencils. How many digital cameras or home networking kits do you find in the average office? How many pens?

Mr. Recession is here and he's going to be working very closely with Mr. Bush.

 

[jAcKeL]

yup yup, looks like wallmart's gonna be making alotta mooola...

 

[BadMuleS]

i hope i can get some clearances, sorry to be at the expense of some peeps who work there.. maybe they can get in on the fun as well and then go work at best buy or staples or something

 

[AndrewR]

They are fairly healthy fiscally and have their paws on enough corporate accounts to keep them solvent, I'm sure. Their stock price is well above their 52 week low and not exceedingly far from their 52 week high (meaning, they haven't tumbled too low). However, they missed earnings estimates by three cents.

I can think of two stores they need to close near me, both of which are VERY poorly situated and quite crappy overall (very poorly managed, unlike the one closest to me which is run extremely well). My guess is that the 50 they plan on opening will be better situated near corporate offices for those lucrative business contracts.

All of these stores need to evaluate their inventories for relevance. I saw the other day that CompUSA has some MUSIC CDs for sale -- what in God's name are they thinking??? I don't think Office Depot is that misguided in having digital cameras or network kits. Our company uses cameras for some field reps for taking pictures that can be quickly forwarded back to the office. Small network kits are useful for small businesses. They have eliminated DVDs, which didn't make sense to me, and GPS units seem kind of screwy in a business environment.