Staples

[videogamer75]

I'm 99% sure it was built as a Staples...it's been there as long as I can remember. Plus, the plaza itself was built in 1991, and American Stores had much bigger stores by that time.

[Mobil]

Originally posted by videogamer75
I'm 99% sure it was built as a Staples...it's been there as long as I can remember. Plus, the plaza itself was built in 1991, and American Stores had much bigger stores by that time.

I thought it looked like an American Store, but I guess not. There was an American Store in Chester, PA that was replaced by an Acme with the peaked roof in 1972.

[wwefan101]

a href="http://s199.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/websterma101/stores/?action=view¤t=staplesaburn.jpg" target="_blank">http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/websterma101/stores/staplesaburn.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

[wwefan101]

the last pi is from the  staples in aburn ma

[CTAmeshopper]

I have another update.

Recently, I was in the Staples in Torrington (which used to be a Stop & Shop & a Pricebuster that had a basement) with my mom,and I was entertaining myself, then I had to go to the bathroom. Well before this I was checking through the doors of the Employees Only area and other areas to see if there were any signs that the basement area was in use, things looked dim. It seemed they made the Staples one floored AT FIRST! HOWEVER after I went to the bathroom (which was located within the Employees Only area) I noticed a red elevator type thing that was behind some doors. I checked to see if it led upwards IT DIDN'T. So
I checked if it led down, by looking for any signs of a hole that led down a basement area. Low and behold I saw a shaft THAT LEAD DOWNSTAIRS!:bouncing: and I could spot part of a basement area that looked dark, and not very lit. This means Staples is still using the basement from the previous two stores area FOR SOMETHING.:tumble: The sign indicated that the elevator wasn't used for personnel so my bet there's a storage area for products that they get to the second floor by putting on the red elevator. Now this is my best guess because I haven't actually seen the thing in action. I think the guess is pretty close. I also found various black doors that have no windows, but I'm pretty sure some of them lead to a staircase to the basement,there's some way to get down there. I don't recommend taking pictures in the area though I think the store would have a fit.        

[XDeSuEhTX]

Staples has been failing me lately. I think it goes without saying their prices can't beat newegg.com or similar online retailers. But they also just don't have a lot specialty stuff.

I found out the hard way they don't sell low-profile sata cables, or 32gb SDHC memory cards.

A locally owned computer store stomps them on product availablity and price. But I still like Staples.

[videogamer75]

I like Staples very much, great deals on ink toner, paper products etc. and their monitor prices are usually very good. The monitor I currently use came from Staples

[TRJ22487]

Here is the original Staples when it first opened in 1986 in Brighton, Mass

[retailisking]

In this forum we all too often focus on the chains but not the people who made them happen.  Leo Kahn was responsible for not one, but TWO legendary chains.  He founded Purity Supreme supermarkets, then co-founded Staples.  What a giant of retailing!  Nice guy, too...you don't always get that combination.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2011/05/13/kind_hearted_entrepreneur_leo_kahn_dies/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/business/13kahn.html

[retailisking]

An early example of what Staples looked like inside when it was starting out. Pictured are Staples co-founders Tom Stemberg (left) and Leo Kahn (right.)

[JimSawhill]

I have to get a picture of the Staples in Brandon, FL. The Staples in East Hartford was on the site of Wonder Bread....and the one in Glastonbury is in the Putnam Bridge Plaza...(the plaza where East Hartford's Zayre/Ames was.)

[Bdubs]

I was in Staples in Norwich, CT, it was a former Sound Playground, and the rest was divided into still empty store fronts.  Staples was just remodeled this past year, and it is really obvious they took some serious square footage away from the sales floor. The computer and office desk section are just little corners now, where they used to be huge depts. The aisles are closer together.  I believe they created a whole other space for another business in the back of the building because Staples gave up so much space.

[JimSawhill]

I was in Staples in Norwich, CT, it was a former Sound Playground, and the rest was divided into still empty store fronts.  Staples was just remodeled this past year, and it is really obvious they took some serious square footage away from the sales floor. The computer and office desk section are just little corners now, where they used to be huge depts. The aisles are closer together.  I believe they created a whole other space for another business in the back of the building because Staples gave up so much space.

I think you'll see a downsizing of Staples in terms of store size... the furniture section might be phased out...

[standa]

I heard that the Staples in North Haven, CT will close in early January.  It is in a former Office Max.  Does anyone know about other CT Staples closing soon?

[ynkeesfn82]

Waterbury, CT cut their hours. They'll probably be among the 225 that are closing. They close at 7PM now.

[retailisking]

That can't be a good sign, Marc. I notice that Kmart is doing the same thing at a lot of their slower locations where the lease hasn't run out.

[TheFugitive]

The Staples I usually go to on Banksville Rd. in Pittsburgh recently added a US Postal Service Center.
You can do pretty much anything you could do at the post office, but at more convenient hours.

This is not without controversy.  The union that represents postal service employees is VERY displeased.
The center is staffed by Staples employees making retail wages and not by union members.  There are
threats that Staples could be subjected to picketing or other labor actions.

[retailisking]

The long-struggling Aroostook Centre Mall loses another major tenant
http://bangordailynews.com/2014/12/24/news/aroostook/staples-closing-presque-isle-store-in-2015

[ynkeesfn82]

Office Depot and Office Max just merged last year. Now Staples has announced it's buying Office Depot.

http://www.courant.com/nation-world/chi-staples-office-depot-merger-20150204-story.html

[retailisking]

If the FTC is consistent they will block this merger. Remember when they sued to break up the Wild Oats-Whole Foods merger despite a ton of competition in the natural foods business?

[jason83080]

Yeah, but this is OFFICE SUPPLIES, and there isn't much overlap between the two/three chains, is there? Office Depot was EVERYWHERE when they came to NE Ohio, and the stores all sat vacant for years. Staples and OMX didn't really overlap that much and, if they did, odds are that one or the other hasn't survived to this point.

I say, let them all merge into one store. Then, Walmart can buy them and rebrand them as "Walmart >|< Office." After that, Walmart can take the Office branding to malls and smaller plazas, absorbing old RadioShack stores and calling them "Walmart >|< Office Express." It'd be pure genius!

(... You just know that, one day, Walmart will own everything, especially in NEOH, where very few chains dare to come in and expand.)

[JimSawhill]

Here in Tampa... in a stretch of 4 miles...there are 2 Office Depot and a Staples and an empty OfficeMax.

[AmesNewington]

Near me, both Office Depots closed (the only two in Central CT). West Hartford/Corbin's Corner is still vacant last time I checked and Wethersfield on the Silas Deane became Planet Fitness, just like Newington. Now all we have left is Staples on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington.

[mixedday]

The Staples in East Gate Square, Mt. Laurel, NJ has downsized reducing its footprint possibly 25% down, and removing furniture and other items from the store. The store is remodeled with just one checkout lane typical of a small Best Buy. The plaza is a big box center but with other vacancies elsewhere, I can't imagine rent so high with the vacancies.

Essentially, it is giving it back to the shopping center owner so that another small tenant can assume the space. The center has Best Buy, hhgregg, Home Depot, Dick's - so it's somewhat destinational and near the Moorestown Mall. But another Staples in Marlton, NJ isn't too far and is a full-service Staples store. I was a little surprised by the move, but it seems like even Staples is trying to slim down where it can.

[retailisking]

A Federal judge sides with the FTC, so they will go their separate ways
http://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-judge-blocks-staples-office-depot-merger-1462920789

[TheFugitive]

We've seem a massive reversal in the way the Federal Government approaches antitrust issues.
These things were all being rubber-stamped until three or four years ago.

[retailisking]

We've seem a massive reversal in the way the Federal Government approaches antitrust issues.
These things were all being rubber-stamped until three or four years ago.

I'm not so sure about that. The Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger was initially approved, only to be reversed after the fact, and that occurred in the 2007-2009 time frame.

[retailisking]

Cerberus (yes, THAT Cerberus) is the reported suitor
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2016/10/staples_stock_up_on_report_cerberus_will_take_over_european

[TheFugitive]

I remember about a year after the Berlin Wall came down Staples ran an ad in Discount Store News
seeking retail managers to do store set-up and training in Poland.

Had I not been recently married I would have found that to be a fascinating adventure.

[retailisking]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/12/07/staples-unloads-its-european-business/sY1QB2tWZ96fkqeO7Zw9sK/story.html