Talk:Staples Inc./Archives/2014

This is an archive of past discussions about Staples Inc.. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Comments

70.128.187.123 01:58, 16 February 2007 (UTC)Is it just me, or does this entire page read like a big advertisement for Staples? Certainly not NPOV.--DavidNYC 13:47, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I moved the Staples company page to its own entry because, properly, the disambiguation page belongs on Staples. Previously it was on Staples (disambiguation). Redfarmer 04:35, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Well, yeah. I put it at Staples (disambiguation) because of the only three disambig entries, only the office supply retailer is important at this title (the Staples Center is never referred to as "Staples" and a high school just isn't important by comparison). I don't even think the disambiguation is necessary at all - I was just doing it as a courtesy. RADICALBENDER ★ 05:26, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

The disambiguation message up the top of this page is definitely not necessary - a high school definitely would not be referred to as "Staples, Inc." Brianjd

Home automation has been receiving a fair amount of attention recently and it appears that Staples will be introducing it to the market via a line called Staples Connect. I do not know who updates this page, but are there any plans to add that to this article?Emerald Dragonfly 23:35, 26 November 2013 (UTC) — Preceding comment signed as by Emerald Dragonfly (talk • contribs) actually added by Lisa Beck (talk • contribs) Stumbled upon some references for Staples Connect and am adding them here. The first is the Staples Connect website: [1] and the second is to an article (actually a press release) in the Wall Street Journal [2].Emerald Evergreen 04:11, 27 November 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lisa Beck (talk • contribs) A photo that could potentially be used for a section on Staples Connect. [3]Emerald Evergreen 04:33, 27 November 2013 (UTC)

Mitt Romney?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYobWOSY2s

Dennis Miller claims that Mitt Romney contributed to the founding of Staples. If we can verify this, it should be added to the "History" section of the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.164.167.46 (talk) 20:42, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

AGREE - Please someone with good, verifiable knowledge of the corporate history add this in ASAP. I saw at TPM (not a Romney-supporting site) that Bain Capital (the private equity firm of which Romney was a partner and eventual CEO) "started or grew" three companies, Staples, Sports Authority and Domino's Pizza. We all know it can't have "started" Domino's in any meaningful sense, and generally a big PE like Bain doesn't work with startups, so I doubted the accuracy of this and came here to check it out vis-a-vis Staples. What would be most helpful in understanding accurately what the Bain/Staples relationship was, and to what extent Romney may have been hands-on involved, would be to know when the company first went public, when Bain took it private (assuming that was the order of things) and then when it went public again. Thanks! Headed to SEC filings next. Hope this meme becomes accurate before it spreads all over! 24.22.46.137 (talk) 03:03, 9 January 2012 (UTC)

Domino's had 6000 stores already when Tom Monaghan sold it to Bain in 1998, and 14 years later has a total of 9000 stores, so technically it has "grown" (it's a franchise operation, not O&O) (per their own web site history).

In the case of Staples Inc., Bain Capital did provide the early funding for the first store Google Books source

The Wikipedia article on Sports Authority states Sports Authority was created by a syndicate of at least 6 private equity firms - Bain was not the leader of the syndicate. Unlike Staples, I don't see any suggestion that Bain Capital played any active role in the management of the company. The company was sold to K-Mart in 1990 when it only had 10 stores Sears/Kmart corporate History.108.82.248.203 (talk) 23:56, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

According to Michael Kranish and Scott Helman's book The Real Romney, Bain's total investment in Staples was quite small -- no more than $2 million -- and they bailed very early when the chain only had two dozen stores. Bain was brought in by a venture capital firm Bessemer, which had a considerably larger and earlier stake in Staples than did Bain. The Kranish/Helman book also documents how Romney originally was opposed to investing in Staples and turned down their funding request several times before finally being talked into putting up $600K. It wasn't until the business was going well did Bain put more money into the deal, but as soon as the stock went public, they cashed out. 208.83.61.116 (talk) 18:40, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

Staples Repair Centres

To summarize, InterTAN also acts as a repair depot for Staples, while Staples sells their extended warranties by telling customers the products go to a Staples owned repair location.

Having previously worked at Staples, we were told that when you pay gobs of money for their Extended Service Plan, you equipment goes to a Staples repair depot. As such, this is what we told customers. Now, having used their repair services, and receiving poor support, I requested full documentation of what was going on. One of the documents I received was an shipping invoice from InterTAN. After pushing their phone techs at the warranty call centre, I found out that Staples ships their warrantied products here. Sometimes, products are still repaired in house by the employees working on the floor - both part-time and full-time. All non-certified to be repairing products. Sometimes they bring in a certified tech, but how is a customer supposed to know when their product in for warranty support is being looked at by someone with the qualifications to fix their product? Even my store's general manager told me it's ok, because he's full time. I know this guy, and he shouldn't be fixing computers that people have paid good money for repairs. Not only is Staples lying to their customers, but they're lying to their employees so that the lie seems true when customers are to this.

Haveing worked for staples for a while i have never herd such a thing. we are simply told that the products are not returned to the store, and that the customer must go through the number provided in the pamphlet for the repairs. Also note that it might not be in all cases, but at my store not just anyone can work on all parts of the computers. And everyone i know has some kind of training, even if they do indeed have no certification. 97.97.238.10 (talk) 06:36, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Easy Button

--E-Bod 04:21, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Eddie?

What's with the adress, phone number, and Eddie Huo reference in the copy and print section? Should it not be deleted? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.89.146.105 (talk • contribs) 16:23, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Infobox

Can someone shorten the link on the Staples' info box? The link is long, and its a good idea to shorten it for the WP Accessibility guidelines. I tried shorting the link, but I couldn't without screwing it up. If someone can do it, thanks in advance! Steven312 01:58, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

All fixed, I don't know why someone did not fixed it faster, but anyway, I played around and fixed the link Steven312 01:31, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

History

Does anyone have any inkling of Staples company history? Y'know, like Myra Hart founded the company, corporate milestones, why they became successful, etc. etc.? -HiFiGuy 17:36, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

The company has a lot of history besides their silly ad campaigns, where I am wondering if it should belong in the article. Mitt Romney also was one of the people whom helped open the first Staples store in Brighton back 20 years ago, in which is missing in this article. Steven312 01:31, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

cont. from above . . .

This article does read like an adverstisement. I removed the following from the community section:

Staples was featured during Season 3 of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where they furnished the office of Sadie Holmes' charity (see episode details in the list of episodes).

Staples (like every sponser of these shows) paid for the priviledge to flaunt some generosity. I believe that this information is not NPOV unless that cost of the sponsership is included. Anything else would seem to reflect a self promotional bias.

I believe this section should be removed altogether, as it is not notable. All major companies have community programs. Unless someone can demonstrate an aspect of Staples' programs that are notable, then that info is best left for their website. Srice13 04:10, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Looks like an advertisement to me too. I would agree with removing all the promotional bs, which looks like it was cut and pasted from somewhere. Nbauman (talk) 22:21, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

I made a few changes. See "Rewards, ink, and other programs" section below. JBarta (talk) 11:38, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Staples Legal and Goodbye Tom

I don't feel like writing this up at the moment, but there is probably a noteworthy section to be added addressing some these issues:

as well as last year's ouster of founder Tom Stemberg: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/05/18/forced_out____and_furious/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Business+News

Rewards, ink, and other programs

Considering the massive sections on Office Depot's article about their rewards programs, ink recycling, and other programs, there should be a similar section for Staples.

According to my receipt, the Staples Rewards program lets you "receive 10% back in rewards on all ink, paper and Copy and Print Center purchases." --CCFreak2K 10:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

I removed a handful of non-encyclopedic content (sorry Staples). Somewhere along the line the article piled on far more promotional and non-notable gunk than has any reason to be in an encyclopedia article. I also took the liberty of removing the "inappropriate tone" tag because this issue has been addressed to a reasonable extent. JBarta (talk) 11:31, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I removed the section for the $3 back when you bring in ink cartriges to recycle, as far as I can tell the website cited - https://staplesrecyclefored.com/ - is no longer active, and as of August 24th 2009 Staples Canada isn't giving out credit on them - feel free to update it if the program is still active in the United States —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.67.27.172 (talk) 06:26, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Canada

I'm going to add that Staples also does business in Canada, under the Staples Business Depot and Bureau en Gros brands. I realize that the Canadian division is sperate, but the US company owns 100% of the Canadian company. please feel free to reword/change my edit. Thanks, Rich Guy (talk) 16:53, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

"Office1Superstore" Acquistion

Does anyone have any information whether Staples purchased the regional office supply store "Office1Superstore"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.86.200.143 (talk) 23:55, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

Sounds like an ad

Doesnt follow the writing guidlines for most wikipedia articles (See OfficeMax) Seems kinda off.... Patrick Flynn (talk) 08:42, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

It's actually been trimmed up a bit... you should have seen it before. That said, I'm sure there is still stuff that can be removed and some things reworded so it looks less like a promomotional gig and more like an encyclopedia article. (And looking at the OfficeMax article, that one isn't much better.) JBarta (talk) 15:10, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

On a similar note, the advertising section seems a little long compared to other (larger) companies (Intel, IBM, Walmart).--98.220.250.244 (talk) 17:24, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Libel Lawsuit

Shouldn't there be a note about the emails that the company sent out that's lead to one of the nations bigger libel lawsuits? If you're not sure what i'm talking about, http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2009/03/10/98525.htm --207.196.235.222 (talk) 22:50, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Enviromental

"Satisfactory. (No source cited, so this must be opinion based(?) and therefore should be removed unless someone can provide a viable source with a ranking system where satisfactory is included)

Staples is ranked in the top 25 of EPA’s Green Power Partner,[10] In 2006 Staples offered more than 2,900 different office products incorporating recycled content. Staples is currently trying to pursue developing Staples brand products with green raw materials.[11] In response to a 2-year campaign targeting the company, Staples, Inc. adopted an environmentaly friendly paper policy in hopes of increasing the amount of post consumer recycled paper made available for sale in order to phasing out products originating from endangered forests.[12] Staples also introduced an environmentaly friendly paper policy.

-Approximate quote from a Staples Representative (What is an approximate quote from a Staples Representive? Should be removed)"

My comments in (). 216.99.65.63 (talk) 17:01, 2 December 2009 (UTC)

Mightyest

Hi, whoever wrote the revision as of 00:07, 12 April 2010 this is for you, "Mightyest is NOT a word --CrossCountryTrains (talk) 17:18, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

"Mighty" isn't the best word choice for an article anyway. "Largest" is probably a better term, with qualification as needed for largest by sales volume, locations, etc. —C.Fred (talk) 17:28, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Not moved. Apteva (talk) 23:07, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

Staples Inc. → Staples (store) – Per WP:COMMONNAME, suffixes like Inc. are not to be used on articles. Sources like this and this suggest that the "Inc." part is not in common usage. Compare Walmart, not "Walmart Stores Inc."; Sears, not "Sears, Roebuck and Co."; Dollar Tree, not "Dollar Tree, Inc."; et cetera. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 05:18, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

Comment. Part of your arguments are not necessary true. Yes, under WP:COMMONAME and WP:NCCORP, suffixes like "Inc." are not normally used in article titles, but they are not prohibited either. Unlike Walmart, Sears, and Dollar Tree, Staples (the office supply store), is not the primary topic of "Staples". Thus, under WP:NCCORP, the legal status or suffix may be used to disambiguate, should consensus prefer a "natural disambiguation" title (just like how the Apple Inc. article is currently named) over the parenthetical disambiguation title you are proposing now. There is no hard rule on preferring a parenthetical disambiguation instead, but I'm also not sure if Staples (store) is a good distinguishable title when you have Staples (Canada) and Staples Argentina, which are also "stores". One reason why some users prefer a natural disambiguation title with the "Inc." suffix is to disambiguate the main article on the company from its various subsidiaries with similar names and services. Zzyzx11 (talk) 07:06, 26 March 2013 (UTC)
Oppose per WP:NCCORP. True, suffixes like Inc. are not normally part of article titles. However, they are allowed when disambiguation is needed. Legal status is the first listed option there for disambiguation, though I don't necessarily infer from that that it's the preferred option. However, I think that the natural disambiguation is better than the parenthetical one. —C.Fred (talk) 03:22, 27 March 2013 (UTC)
Oppose. There are other stores with the name Staples. RightGot (talk) 21:19, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

COI Edit Request

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest was declined. The request was not specific enough. You may consider leaving your comments on the Talk page or escalating significant issues to the conflict of interest noticeboard.

I noted while doing other tasks that the page was outdated on the information regarding customer relations on the rewards program; in the UK all basic rewards and premier (£1000+ spend a year or business account holders) customers receive 10% back on ink/toner, box and ream paper and from the copy centre. Premier holders also receive 10% back on food and drink as well as janitorial and cleaning supplies. As for Staples US, as of May 3rd, you earn 5% back on all products purchases in store with the Staples rewards program, this offer is not applicable in the United Kingdom.

For the recycling scheme in the United Kingdom, Staples stores provide £1 off for each individual cartridge recycled on an ink purchase on a cartridge for cartridge basis. If a customer is not buying a cartridge at the time they are provided with a voucher they can use at a later date.

Gathered this information from various sources, mainly primary from Staples' website and on the basis of my employment with them, I've refrained from adding the information to the article on this basis because it violates WP:COI. The section is Customer Relations.

There also appears to be no note of the stores Staples UK had to close over the Christmas period, see [4] for example. Crashdoom ^Talk 22:59, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

Can you please be specific with the edit you would like to see made? It appears as though you have stated that there is some incorrect and/or outdated content in the article, but have not provided alternate text. Describe the change in detail and offer independent sources that support the edits you are suggesting. Be as specific as possible, ideally following a "replace X with Y" model, specifying the precise text and citations you are proposing. Once you provide this information, we then review the suggestion for compliance to make the change in whole or in part. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. Best regards, Cindy(talk) 09:11, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
I've disabled the request. Crashdoom, you need to be a lot more specific - please include the exact text and the exact sources that you would like to appear in the article. — Mr. Stradivarius ^{♪ talk ♪} 10:44, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Make More Happen

On January 2nd, 2014, the company announced via a press release, the launch of “Make More Happen,” a new tagline and campaign focused on how Staples’ expanded product assortment helps businesses succeed. The campaign showcases the new Staples, the world’s second largest internet retailer with more products in more categories with more ways to shop. The brand re-launch includes a twist on Staples’ iconic logo and the first change to its tagline in more than 10 years.

More information on the launch and new tagline can be found here:

http://staples.newshq.businesswire.com/press-release/corporate/staples-launches-make-more-happen-new-tagline-and-campaign#axzz2qIAzU0gv

Per the Wikipedia posting guidelines, I am disclosing that I am a PR person working for the company and am posting the information on the new tagline here, on the talk section, instead of making direct edits to the page.

Community, please edit the main page as you see fit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Markcautela (talk • contribs) 18:11, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

New logo

As of January 2nd, the company had a new brand logo, which needs to be updated on the main article page. The logo can be downloaded here:

https://staples.newshq.businesswire.com/sites/staples.newshq.businesswire.com/files/logo/image/S0801569_ENL.JPG

Per my other talk note, full disclosure, I am PR person working with the company, and am following Wikipedia guidelines to request this update. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.37.244.10 (talk) 21:02, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Advice for PR people

If you do want to offer material to include in the entry, I would suggest that you skip the advertising campaigns and anything else directed to the consumer. It looks like a TV commercial. And also, who cares? Unless it's some spectacular ad campaign which changes the history of advertising, it's not really important to anybody outside the sales force of Staples. I think that Advertising section should be trimmed back substantially.

Don't write for customers, write for business school students. If you are going to talk about advertising, at least give a substantive discussion of Staples' advertising. What's their advertising budget? Where do they spend it? How effective is it? What does Advertising Age say about them?

I'm interested in Staples as a business. I don't care about their store layout. Didn't an MBA ever write a paper about Staples? What did it say? After all, they've managed to outcompete the neighborhood office supply stores, for better or worse. How did they do it? How are they better? How are they worse?

I buy stuff from Staples myself, and I'm not hostile to them. I realize that lots of people get jobs there. (Although a lot of them don't seem to be well-paid.) But I don't want to see a Wikipedia article repeat their ad campaigns. --Nbauman (talk) 05:36, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

NPOV suggestions

Right now this entry looks like an advertisement, and it's probably best edited with a chainsaw.

One of the important issues the way Staples treats its employees. There's a big debate about this. OTOH it provides a lot of jobs. OTOH they're low-wage jobs without much security.

And of course Bain Capital is a big supporter of the Republican Party.

One good source for this debate is Mother Jones. The Google search is site:motherjones.com staples

Low-Paying Staples Is Romney's Go-To Example of "Success ... www.motherjones.com/.../low-wages-romneys-go-...‎ Mother Jones by Kate Sheppard - in 2,440 Google+ circles Aug 30, 2012 - The RNC lineup for Thursday night includes Thomas Sternberg, the co-founder of Staples. Mitt Romney, who served on Staples' board of ...

Perhaps our PR contributors could also add some WP:RS links in which independent third parties defend Staples on these issues. That would keep it WP:NPOV and give them something useful to report back to their client. --Nbauman (talk) 05:48, 21 March 2014 (UTC)

Closing stores

Staples is closing stores because of competition from the Internet. They've got their own Internet store, but it takes fewer employees. Does this mean that employees in retail sales, a major employer, are being displaced by automation like the travel agents? Is Staples getting as much online sales as they're losing in the stores? There should be a lot about this and other important issues in their 10K form or whatever they file.

This is more important than a new logo.--Nbauman (talk) 07:13, 21 March 2014 (UTC)