Office Depot Releases Second Annual Catalog Dedicated to Products from Historically Underutilized Businesses

Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced the release of the Company’s second annual Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) catalog, which highlights select HUB suppliers and an assortment of more than 1,300 items ranging from Hess white board cleaning products and Stride binders to Neutral Posture ergonomic chairs and OIC desk accessories.

One such HUB supplier, Stride, Inc., credits a 50% year-over-year boost in product sales to the organization’s increased exposure in the Office Depot HUB Catalog. In operation since 1988, Stride is a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stride also provides employment and on-the-job training to the mentally and physically disabled.

"The Office Depot HUB catalog is a one-stop-shop for the customer looking to satisfy their diversity goals,” said Patrick Brennan, Vice President of Sales at Stride. "It is just another example of how Office Depot has gone above and beyond the competition in regards to diversity. Other companies have programs but do not have the ongoing support that Office Depot does.”

Office Depot was the first in its industry to create such a catalog in 2009 and remains the only Company within the office supply industry to have one. The HUB catalog features Office Depot’s complete assortment of products sold by HUB vendors and is available to Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division (BSD) customers.

HUBs are historically under-marketed, underutilized and often misunderstood enterprises. Examples include certified minority, women, disabled, veteran and small businesses. By purchasing from Office Depot’s HUB catalog, customers are able to fulfill their second-tier HUB spending requirements. Additionally, Office Depot hopes to inspire future HUB suppliers to participate in the Company’s sourcing opportunity process so that they can be identified and their products can be included in future catalogs.

"Office Depot has a long-standing commitment to small business development and we are very proud of the strides we have made to develop a world-class Supply Chain Diversity Program,” said Steve Schmidt, President of Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division. "We look forward to showcasing this new HUB catalog to those Office Depot customers looking for a more diverse product offering.”

The Office Depot HUB catalog, which will be distributed at the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) Annual Conference Trade Show in Miami, FL in late October, will also be available online at www.officedepot.com/diversity in mid-November. The 2010 catalog is available through Office Depot’s National Account Sales team.

Office Depot’s Commitment to Supply Chain Diversity

Office Depot’s Supply Chain Diversity initiatives are focused on educating customers to provide HUBs with as many improved economic development opportunities as possible to help them grow and prosper. The Company continues to realize this goal through a multi-dimensional Supply Chain Diversity model, which encompasses Supplier Diversity, Vendor Diversity and Tier One partnerships. In 2009, Office Depot worked diligently against its five-point strategy to:

• Seek out HUBs through fairs, trade shows and an enhanced vendor managements process;
• Form partnerships with diverse business and HUB member organizations;
• Market HUBs nationally through catalogs, web sites and diversity-oriented media outlets; and
• Empower HUBs by raising their capabilities.

Throughout 2009, Office Depot’s Supply Chain Diversity team participated in more than 30 conferences, tradeshows and matchmaker events at the state and national levels. This commitment is evidenced by $400 million in HUB sales at Office Depot during 2009. For more information on Office Depot’s diversity initiatives, please visit www.officedepot.com/diversity.

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,598 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.2 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $12.1 billion, and employs about 41,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 53 countries.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. Media looking to access digital assets and news, please visit http://socialpress.officedepot.com.

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