OfficeMax

{{Infobox company

| name = OfficeMax

| logo = OfficeMaxLogo.svg

| logo_size = 200px

| logo_caption =

| image = OfficeMax Toledo.JPG

| image_caption = An OfficeMax store in Toledo, Ohio (2013)

| type = Subsidiary

| parent = Kmart (1991–1995)
Boise Cascade (2003–2004)
Office Depot (2013–present)

| caption =

| locations = 941 (2021)

| industry = Retail

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1988|4|1}}
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

| founder = Bob Hurwitz
Michael Feuer

| location =

| area_served = United States
Mexico (since 1996)
New Zealand
Australia (until 2020)

| products = Office supplies

| subsid =

| homepage = {{URL|www.officedepot.com}}

}}

OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. As an independent chain, it was the third-largest office supply retailer in the United States. Following a 2013 merger, it is currently a brand and subsidiary of Office Depot.{{cite web|author1=Marcia Heroux Pounds|title=Office Depot picks Boca Raton HQ over Chicago-area|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-12-11/business/fl-office-depot-selects-boca-raton-20131210_1_officemax-headquarters-roland-smith|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029233803/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-12-11/business/fl-office-depot-selects-boca-raton-20131210_1_officemax-headquarters-roland-smith|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2014|website=Sun Sentinel|access-date=29 October 2014|date=11 December 2013}}

File:OfficeMax Mayfield Heights.JPG (2013)]]

File:Office Max building in Mexico City, 2010.jpg (2010)]]

File:OfficeMax Arborland Shopping Center Ann Arbor Michigan.JPG (2013)]]

History

OfficeMax was founded in Cleveland on April 1, 1988, by Bob Hurwitz and Michael Feuer. Hurwitz served as executive chairman and chief executive officer, and Feuer was the president and chief operating officer. On July 5, 1988, OfficeMax opened its first retail store in the Golden Gate Shopping Center in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Hurwitz left the company in 1993 and Feuer became the chairman and chief executive officer.Arlene Fine [http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local/article_e1ad04ae-1165-11e1-a756-001cc4c03286.html#.TsgX_laHn-4 "OfficeMax ... in the beginning"]. Cleveland Jewish News. 18 Nov, 2011.

OfficeMax grew by acquisition with Office World first in November 1990, with Office World executive and Montgomery Ward becoming minority shareholders.Laura Liebeck [https://archive.today/20120708103958/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n3_v29/ai_8769391/ "OfficeMax, Office World to merge into one chain - Shakeout in office supply segment looms"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. In 1990, Office Square stores were purchased from Kmart, in exchange for a 22% equity stake.{{cite news |author= Laura Liebeck |date= December 17, 1990|title= K Mart support to spur OfficeMax expansion – office supply warehouse stores – K Mart's Fresh New Face|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n23_v29/ai_9293554/|url-status= dead|work= Discount Store News|location= FindArticles.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060529094728/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n23_v29/ai_9293554/|archive-date= May 29, 2006|access-date= January 6, 2017}} In 1991, Kmart increased its stake in OfficeMax to 92%.[https://archive.today/20120709152454/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n21_v30/ai_11513975/ "Kmart ups OfficeMax stake"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. In January 1992, OfficeMax acquired five sites from Highland Superstores in Boston. OW Office Warehouse, a Virginia-based regional chain, was acquired on June 30, 1992.Laura Liebeck [https://archive.today/20120715020319/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n12_v31/ai_12379757/ "OfficeMax moves headquarters; acquisitions help expansion"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. The company then acquired BizMart, its largest acquisition (104 stores) to date, in 1993 from Intelligent Electronics.[https://archive.today/20120712035754/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n1_v32/ai_13417283/ "OfficeMax acquires BizMart; 3 major superstores remain"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. On August 16, 1993, OfficeMax joined Kmart and most of the other Kmart-owned banners in the "largest power center" Kmart operated in Utica, Michigan.[https://archive.today/20120709144419/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n16_v32/ai_14300909/ "Kmart opens largest power center - multistore Kmart complex opens in Utica, Mich"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. OfficeMax acquired a 19% stake in Corporate Express, a contract stationer.[https://archive.today/20120708053648/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n18_v33/ai_15854944/ "Sports Authority OfficeMax shares on the block; Kmart spin-offs could raise $700M"] . Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. In May 1994, Kmart put a plan in front of its stockholders to sell 20% to 30% of each of its specialty store subsidiaries shares on the open market to pay down debt and fund future expansion of the subsidiaries.{{cite news|title=Kmart reveals details of specialty chain stock sale|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v33/ai_15261373/|access-date=7 January 2018|work=Discount Store News|date=May 16, 1994|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708091826/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v33/ai_15261373/|archive-date=July 8, 2012|location=FindArticles.com|url-status=dead}} Kmart's shareholders turn down the proposal at their June 3 annual meeting.Laura Liebeck [https://archive.today/20120708091825/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n13_v33/ai_16100486/ "Super K opening lifts sagging Kmart spirits; board fails to resolve spin-off question - Super Kmart Center, Michigan"]. Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. In November 1994, FurnitureMax store within a store concept begins testing in the Cleveland market.{{cite news|last1=Andreoli|first1=Teresa|title=Furniture: the next mass superstore star|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n11_v34/ai_17008473/|access-date=6 January 2018|work=Discount Store News|date=June 5, 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207190031/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n11_v34/ai_17008473/|archive-date= February 7, 2011}} In 1995, Kmart sold off 51% of OfficeMax shares, spinning off the company and became a NYSE-(OMX) publicly traded corporation, based in Shaker Heights, Ohio.Laura Liebeck [https://archive.today/20120709123310/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n17_v33/ai_15804954/ "Deja vu: Kmart to remake itself; spin-offs will shift focus to core discount stores"]. Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011.

=Public corporation=

In 1995, OfficeMax became one of a handful of companies doing business through internetMCI.{{cite news |last= Halverson |first= Richard |date= April 3, 1995|title= Mass market goes on line; Service Merchandise, OfficeMax tap cybersales – retailing on computer networks|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n7_v34/ai_16783978/|url-status= dead|work= Discount Store News|location= FindArticles.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051224103557/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n7_v34/ai_16783978/|archive-date= December 24, 2005|access-date= January 6, 2018}} Around this time Kmart sold the remaining 25% of the OfficeMax shares it held.Jim Silver [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_19950627/ai_n10085443/ "Kmart to Sell OfficeMax Stake, Raising About $347.9 Million"]. Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City). FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. On July 14, 1996, a new kiosk program called BatteryMax was test launched in two Phoenix stores. BatteryMax were operated by Batteries for Everything.

OfficeMax also filed lawsuits for infringement for use of the "Max" name against Med Max and Circuit City for CarMax, its used car business.{{Cite news|url=http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/949/409/1453330/|title=Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. OfficeMax, Inc., 949 F. Supp. 409 (E.D. Va. 1996)|newspaper=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=2017-01-29}} For the next few years OfficeMax and its rivals, Staples and Office Depot, continued to open new stores, saturating the market segment.

OfficeMax developed regional delivery centers, and invested in its super-regional PowerMax distribution centers in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and Birmingham, Alabama after litigation began with previous logistics and shipping provider.{{cite news |title= OfficeMax reveals plans at shareholders meeting|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v37/ai_n27535479/|url-status= dead|work= Discount Store News |location= FindArticles.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110911171258/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v37/ai_n27535479/|archive-date= September 11, 2011|access-date= January 6, 2018}}

A small sized store concept, OfficeMax PDQ, test was launched in Woodmere, Ohio, in late June 1998.Mike Troy [https://archive.today/20120708185358/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n15_v37/ai_21028428/ "OfficeMax unveils new prototypes"]. Discount Store News. FindArticles.com. 18 Feb, 2011. By 2001, the chain operated 960 stores.{{Cite web |title=OfficeMax opens 23,500 sf store in Cottage Grove |url=https://www.globest.com/2001/12/04/officemax-opens-23500-sf-store-in-cottage-grove/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=GlobeSt |language=en}} That year, OfficeMax began closing underperforming stores in some neighborhoods and in regions where it did not have a strong presence.{{Cite web |title=OfficeMax plans nationwide closings, including city store |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/01/31/officemax-plans-nationwide-closings-including-city-store/62160673007/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}} In 2003, OfficeMax was acquired by Boise Cascade Corporation for $1.3 billion.[http://www.marketwatch.com/story/officemax-to-get-129-mln-from-boise-cascades-ipo-2013-02-12 "OfficeMax to get $129 mln from Boise Cascade's IPO"], Feb. 12, 2013. marketwatch.com The following year, the combined company split into two: its wood and paper operations were acquired by Madison Dearborn Partners, and the remaining company adopted the OfficeMax name.{{Cite news |last=Henderson |first=Nell |date=2004-07-27 |title=Boise Cascade Quits Forest Industry, Will Focus on Office Supplies |language=en-US |work=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2004/07/27/boise-cascade-quits-forest-industry-will-focus-on-office-supplies/84f4ad02-cf76-4df3-bda4-6e16ba254f93/ |access-date= |issn=0190-8286}}

In December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Mexico; that year, net sales were $6.9 billion, down from $8.3 billion in 2008.{{cite web |title=OfficeMax 2012 Annual Report |url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDk4NDg5fENoaWxkSUQ9NTM4MDQzfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109172748/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9NDk4NDg5fENoaWxkSUQ9NTM4MDQzfFR5cGU9MQ==&t=1 |archive-date=9 January 2016 |access-date=29 October 2014 |website=Office Depot Inc.}}

=Merger with Office Depot=

It was announced on February 20, 2013, that OfficeMax and Office Depot would combine in an all-stock deal, creating the largest U.S. office-supplies chain.{{cite web |title=Office Depot, OfficeMax to Merge to Compete With Staples |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-20/office-depot-officemax-to-merge-to-compete-with-staples.html |access-date=20 February 2013 |publisher=Bloomberg}} However, as of May 2, 2013, a lawsuit filed by a stockholder, Hollander v. OfficeMax Inc et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 13-3330 was filed to block the merger, which would pay all OfficeMax shareholders 2.69 shares of Office Depot in exchange for a single share in OfficeMax. Eric Hollander said in a statement "OfficeMax, if properly exposed to the market for corporate control, would bring a price materially in excess of the amount offered in the proposed transaction..."{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-officedepot-officemax-idUSBRE94203I20130503 | work=Reuters | title=OfficeMax investor sues to block merger with Office Depot | date=May 2, 2013 | access-date=October 23, 2016 | last=Baynes | first=Terry | archive-date=September 24, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181011/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/03/us-officedepot-officemax-idUSBRE94203I20130503 | url-status=live }} Office Depot said on May 5, 2013, that it would hold a special meeting with shareholders after the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finished reviewing documents relating to its merger with OfficeMax.

The merger with Office Depot closed on November 5, 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/office-depot-and-officemax-complete-merger-2013-11-05|title=Office Depot and OfficeMax Complete Merger|work=MarketWatch|date=November 5, 2013|access-date=November 11, 2013}} On December 10, Office Depot, Inc. announced that it had chosen Boca Raton, Florida for its global headquarters post-merger, closing the OfficeMax headquarters in Naperville, Illinois.{{cite web| url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/9355601/|title=Office Depot moving OfficeMax HQ from Naperville to FL|publisher=WLS-TV|date=December 10, 2013}}

Following the merger, the two chains integrated, though many retain the OfficeMax name. Some have since closed, while others rebranded as Office Depot following renovations.{{Cite web |last=Ewoldt |first=John |title=Twin Cities' Office Depot/Office Max store closings start to leak out |url=https://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-office-depot-office-max-store-closings-start-to-leak-out/270383341/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Star Tribune}} The first OfficeMax closed permanently on May 16, 2015.{{Cite web |last=Dorn |first=Sara |date=2015-12-04 |title=Fresh Thyme to open in 2016 in Mayfield Heights |url=https://www.cleveland.com/hillcrest/2015/12/fresh_thyme_farmers_market_to.html |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=cleveland |language=en}}

=New Zealand branch closures=

On 26 August 2020, OfficeMax announced that it would be closing all 14 of its New Zealand branches and shift operations online in response to growing online usage and the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.{{cite news |last1=Shaw |first1=Aimee |title=OfficeMax set to shut down its retail stores |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12359718 |access-date=26 August 2020 |work=New Zealand Herald |date=26 August 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Foxcroft |first1=Debrin |title=OfficeMax closing its shops in New Zealand |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/122568682/officemax-closing-its-shops-in-new-zealand |access-date=26 August 2020 |work=Stuff |date=26 August 2020}}

References

Notes

Further reading

{{cite news |last=Fine |first= Arlene |date= November 18, 2011 |title=OfficeMax ... in the beginning |url= http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/local/article_e1ad04ae-1165-11e1-a756-001cc4c03286.html|newspaper= Cleveland Jewish News |location= Beachwood, Ohio |access-date= October 18, 2013}}