Office Depot (ODP)

Industry and Competition

We operate in a highly competitive environment in all three of our segments. We believe that we compete favorably on the basis of price, service, relationships and selection. We compete with office supply stores, wholesale clubs, discount stores, mass merchandisers, food and drug stores, computer and electronics superstores, internet-based companies and direct marketing companies. These companies, in varying degrees, compete with us in substantially all of our current markets.

Other office supply retail companies market similarly to us in terms of store format, pricing strategy, product selection and product availability in the markets where we operate, primarily those in the United States and Canada. We anticipate that in the future we will face increased competition from these chains.

Internationally, we compete on a similar basis to North America. Outside of the U.S. and Canada, we sell through contract and catalog channels in 20 countries and operate retail stores in five countries through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities. Additionally, our International Division provides office products and services in 29 countries through joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, cross-border transactions, alliances and other arrangements.