International Division
Office Depot sells to customers in 49 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Central America either through wholly-owned entities, majority-owned entities or other ventures covering 39 countries, and through alliances in an additional 10 countries. Our International Division sells office products and services through direct mail catalogs, contract sales forces, internet sites and retail stores, using a mix of company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alliances and other arrangements. The international direct channel was launched in 1990 with the start-up of operations in the United Kingdom. We now have catalog offerings in 14 countries outside of North America, and we operate approximately 35 separate websites in the International Division.
In 2000, we launched the Office Depot contract channel in the UK and subsequently expanded the channel to four additional countries. We further expanded our contract start-up business in 2003 with the acquisition of Guilbert, S.A. Guilbert operations and customers have been fully integrated into the Office Depot operations since the end of 2006.
In an effort to expand our geographic footprint around the globe, we have made certain acquisitions over the past few years. During 2006, we completed acquisitions in South Korea (majority ownership interest in Best Office), China (majority ownership interest in AsiaEC) and Eastern Europe (100% ownership interest in Papirius s.r.o.). Also in 2006, we increased our ownership interest to a majority stake in Office Depot Israel. During 2008, we became a 51% owner of a joint venture, which acquired eOfficePlanet India pvt. Also in 2008, we completed an acquisition in Sweden (majority ownership interest in AGE Kontor & Data AB) and purchased the remaining shares of Asia EC and Office Depot Israel.
The International Division currently operates, through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities, retail stores in France, Hungary, Israel, South Korea and Sweden. In addition, we participate under licensing and merchandise arrangements in stores in South Korea and Thailand.
Since 1994, we have participated in a joint venture in Mexico. In recent years, this venture, Office Depot de Mexico, has grown in size and scope and now includes retail locations in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, as well as call centers and distribution centers to support the delivery business in certain areas. We provide services to the venture through management consultation, product selection, product sourcing and information technology services.
Including company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements we sell office products through over 400 retail stores outside of the United States and Canada.
40+ public Web sites outside of North America:
15+ corporate customized contract Internet sites:
|
Home> International
