Staples Canada continues to transform itself with the recent acquisition of leading Canadian office supplies dealers Denis Office Supplies and Furniture and Supreme Basics.
The retailer, which has branded itself as The Working and Learning Company, said the acquisitions are part of an ongoing strategy to continually improve support for businesses across Canada.
This acquisition will allow Staples to expand its product and service offering in Print and Marketing, Technology, Facilities and Commercial Furniture to Denis Office Supplies and Furniture and Supreme Basics customers. Jean-Guy Robillard, Vice-President of Operations for Denis Office Supplies and Furniture will join the Staples Canada leadership team.
“We are pleased to partner with Denis and Supreme to bring together three exceptional Canadian brands to amplify the way we support businesses across the country,” said David Boone, CEO, Staples Canada. “In working together, we will strengthen and grow our product and services offering, while continuing to provide the exceptional customer service that our brands are known for.
“Staples is a B2B and B2C company. We found two terrific organizations that fit our B2B business. Incredibly well run with great staff. And we want to do a better job serving businesses in Canada. So we’re excited by that.
“The way people work is changing and so those organizations are going to add value to Staples. We think there’s a few things we can do to help their customers be more successful as well.”
Denis Office Supplies and Furniture is a family-owned business founded in 1972 and the largest independent supplier of office supplies and furniture in Canada. It services business customers throughout Quebec and Atlantic Canada through its network of stores/showrooms and Fulfillment Centres.
Supreme Basics is a family-owned company in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario since 1974. It has become an industry leader in office supplies and furniture, as well as learning products, legal products and wholesale distribution.
“What a lot of people maybe don’t know about Staples when they’re attached to coming into a store occasionally is that 85 per cent of businesses in Canada have a relationship with Staples,” said Boone. “One of our goals is to do a better job servicing business and use all of our assets to do that whether that’s retail, ecomm, our B2B sales teams, etc. So it is about fusing it together and growing in B2B.
“We started our transformation in 2018. We’ve been working on our store experience, our digital experience, in bringing those together. We’ve been working on our services, our merchandise. And now over the past 24 months, we’ve been really scaling and working on how do we bring the business community into these programs and make these programs come alive in our retail experience and in all of our experiences.”
When asked if Staples would look at other company acquisitions, he said the retailer is currently happy with what it has.
“We will look at anything that’s available in the marketplace but we’re pretty content where we are,” added Boone.
Staples has more than 300 locations. It has two brands that support business customers, Staples Preferred for small businesses and Staples Professional for medium to large-sized enterprises, as well as seven co-working facilities in Toronto, Kelowna, Oakville, Ottawa and Calgary under the banner Staples Studio.
“This is a great opportunity for our teams to offer more products and services to our valued customers, while creating winning conditions for our employees that will continue to ensure their success,” said Robillard. “Our customers will benefit from the additional support and resources that our combined resources will provide.”
The retailer said Staples Professional customers will benefit from an expanded assortment of Education and Legal products from Denis and Supreme. The acquisition will also expand the supply chain for the three brands with an expanded delivery and furniture installation network, broadening the ability to reach more customers effectively and efficiently.
“We are excited to provide customers with an unparalleled product and services assortment to support them when, how and where they want to meet us,” said Michelle Micuda, President, Staples Professional. “This partnership reaffirms our commitment to our customers to provide the deep expertise and exceptional customer service that they have come to expect.”
