Staples
Inducted in 2001

Turning the Vision of an Office Supply Superstore into Reality

The historic success story of Staples started in 1985 when supermarket veteran Thomas G. Steinberg identified a niche opportunity in the retail market by applying the superstore concept he knew so well to the untapped business of office supplies. Steinberg teamed up with former supermarket competitor Leo Kahn and together they created Staples Inc. Their goal was to provide small businesses with the same low office supply prices and broad product selection advantage previously enjoyed only by their large corporate counterparts.

With a founding mission of "slashing the cost and hassle of running your office," Staples set out to level the playing field by bringing bulk rate prices, state-of-the art products and technology and essential small business services to the fast-growing number of small business owners and office supply managers. The first office supply superstore opened in Boston in 1986. Today, the company operates 1,200 stores in six countries, commands $9 billion in overall sales, $450 million in online sales and is considered by Wall Street as the leading office supply retailer in the category it established 14 years ago.

What's the secret to Staples success? Smart management, forward thinking and an unbending commitment to delivering on the promise it makes to its customers- that "Staples understands." When second-to-market competitors Office Depot and Office Max began to copy the Staples formula and steal category share, Staples elevated its brand by executing marketing and advertising efforts that drove home its unique positioning-Staples is the only office supply retailer that understands small business owners, home office entrepreneurs and office managers, and their concern that "no one understands what we do, who we are and what we need." With the help of empathetic, memorable advertising, Staples made an emotional connection with its customers during a time when the competition was merely communicating point-of-entry messages about price, selection and service. Staples even took the promise that "Staples understands-when no one else does" and extended it beyond the office supply target to general consumers by establishing a back-to-school category niche with the classic TV spot "Most Wonderful Time."

Through its advertising and marketing initiatives, Staples made office supply customers feel truly understood and consumers immediately responded to the Staples promise by catapulting the office supply superstore right back into its leadership position. Within the first year of its long-running advertising campaign, Staples saw a jump in same-store sales from 9% to 27% and same store-sales have continued to experience double-digit growth every year until the last difficult retail quarter in 2000. Even then, however, Staples saw growth while competitors posted declines. Staples has been rated the No. 1 brand in overall popularity by USA Today's Consumer Poll and last year, Staples advertising was featured by Adweek as some of the best of the decade. With this year's New York American Marketing Association recognition of Staples as a marketing icon-through marketplace prominence, industry and customer impact, and pioneering practices, Staples is proud to add another chapter in its ongoing story of success.