Staples’ Turn

It was bound to happen.

It was announced last week that Staples plans on closing up to 225 stores in the next year.

Now let’s realize that they say “up to” which means that it could be significantly less than that, but chances are that it probably will be that number.

After all, being that odd of a number, they just didn’t pull that number out of thin air.

Or did they?

Personally I think this number will be much greater in the long term. The reason is simple: they are obsolete and there is nothing they sell that you can’t find someplace else.

And the new slogan doesn’t work either.

Make more happen. Make more what happen? It just doesn’t make any sense. But then again neither did “That was easy”. What really was “easy”?

Then there was the stupid “What the L?” ad. I say what the L are they talking about? Sadly they were trying to capitalize on Kmart’s “ship my pants” idea. It just doesn’t click at all. What is their point or do they even have one anymore?

It is quite apparent that the company is lost as far as their advertising is concerned. This does not help to bring in the customers at all.

Then there are the print ads. Pick up an ad from 5 years ago and it looks strangely similar to the same type of ad tactics used today. Maybe it is time to make a new approach to advertising.

All this helps create the problem leading up to the store closures.

So now the idea is why are these stores closing? As with RadioShack mentioned previously, Staples is planning on closing underperforming stores. Add to this, they want to close stores whose rent has come due and they wish not to renew in those areas.

Now I can understand all this. But, and it is a big but, in both companies’ cases, what about those overpaid executives?

Many of these companies are so overweight with high-paid executives; it makes Dolly Parton look flat-chested. Obviously, there is no need for so many of these companies especially given that many of those people who really make the company money are losing their jobs.

So while these executives spend their day playing Sugar Farm Bear Crush Casino, others are thrown to the street for no really good reason except that their store was an underperformer.

While no official list of store closings have been announced, I would not be surprised if the store that I was employed at would be on that list. The reasons I believe it would are as follows:

· It is an old store. The plaza it is located in is old and run down. Some of the walls in the store are cracked and the whole building structure never seemed safe to me.

· It is located too close to the airport. It may be convenient to the airport, but when a plane goes overhead, you definitely feel it.

· Too many intersections make it hard to get to. The only way I ever got there was to take the back road. Too much traffic to follow any other way. I always heard this as a major problem.

Overall, with the stock falling to just a little over $11/share, the company should consider getting rid of their far, not just those who actually do the work. But then again, Staples never did take the easy way out.