Office Depot and Office Max will be consolidating into a single company by the end of 2013, according to statements issued today by both companies. While Office Max annouces it as a merger of equals, the holders of Office Max stock will actually get shares of stock of the current Office Depot. According to the Washington Post, the name they use will be determined after the merger and when a new CEO is named. (I hope they don’t call it “MaxDepot”.)
I’m a member of the rewards programs for both companies – and I first heard the news this morning when I received an announcement via email from Office Max. Kudos to the people who run MaxPerks for getting it out so promptly.
Industry pundits say the merger will result in store closings because there are too many stores out there. You can draw a triangle around my home – with OM, OD, and Staples all about the same distance in different directions – so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that they don’t close either of our local stores – allowing me to get supplies no matter which direction I drive.
With Walmart, Amazon and the big box stores all selling office supplies, we’ll need to see how much this impacts the industry.