OfficeMax Has a Ball with Store Redesign

OfficeMax is staging a series of parking lot events featuring the world's "Largest Rubberband Ball" to celebrate the opening of 14 new and remodeled stores in the Chicago area.Consumers visiting the stores, which incorporate elements of an updated format announced in October 2005, are invited to have their photos taken next to the 4,594-pound ball, or with "Max," a costumed mascot with a rubberband ball head. OfficeMax's corporate icon is a rubberband ball. The Chicago tour continues through January and may be extended to other cities after that, according to an OfficeMax spokesperson. The chain signed on as "official sponsor" for the ball in November, when it was inducted into the Guinness World Records book. Steve Milton of Eugene, OR, built the ball with more than 175,000 rubber bands. The updated store format, dubbed "Advantage," is being incorporated into all new store constructions and select remodels. The company expects to have some 70 stores in the format by the end of the year. The design departs from the chain's prior warehouse format in favor of a more colorful environment that highlights small- and home-office solutions. Elements of the format include:A technology "hub" in the center of the store featuring electronics such as wireless networking products, telephones and an HP computer "design center" kiosk. Large, overhead perimeter signage with simplified imagery and messaging to aid navigation. A soothing color palette of golds, oranges, greens and blues.The recently rebranded ImPress department providing digital printing, copying, binding, finishing and laminating. OfficeMax Ink, a kiosk providing refills for inkjet printer cartridges. A cafe with tables, free coffee and WiFi connectivity. Brightly colored bulk bins offering basics such as paper clips, pens and rubber bands.OfficeMax partnered with Envirosell, a research firm specializing in consumer shopping, and FRCH Design Worldwide, an international architecture and design firm, to help create a format that helps customers "do their thing," in line with OfficeMax's tagline, "What's Your Thing?"

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