Office Depot Adds More School 'Tools'

Office Depot continues to add new elements to its "Great Tools to Start School" campaign. The chain this month launched the "Great Tunes to Start School Concert" sweepstakes, which awards one school a private concert by rock artist Gavin DeGraw. From Aug. 4-31, schools are automatically entered when shoppers designate them for the chain's "5% Back to Schools" program, which provides store credit to the schools on all designated purchases. That program was introduced in Office Depot's July 8 circular.This is the first time that Office Depot has offered a private concert to students. Channel rival OfficeMax has presented surprise concerts to schools for the past two years through its "Schooled" campaign. (See Related Articles.)The second-annual "Great Tools" campaign has promoted discounts on school supplies from such brands as Expo, Accent, Papermate, Mirado, Bic, Pentel and Sharpie. Among the numerous products highlighted this season were exclusive notebook and desktop computers from Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Toshiba, which were featured in various circulars.Displays and signs in upfront locations support the campaign, along with dump bins and other displays containing back-to-school products throughout the store. (See Images at right.)Elsewhere, the chain announced last month that it will begin carrying Domtar EarthChoice Office Paper to reinforce its “buy green” initiative. Domtar’s products meet the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council and are endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance. Office Depot, Delray Beach, FL, operates 1,186 stores in the U.S. and Canada. The company reported $1.5 billion in North American retail sales in second-quarter 2007 (ended June 30), a 1.0% increase from the same period in 2006. Comparable-store sales declined 5.0%. The chain opened 15 stores and closed three during the quarter.

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