With so many of us still working from home, the need for office supplies has been greater than ever. It's easy enough to place an order online, but sometimes you need ink for your printer or have run out of working pens, and there's not enough time to wait for a delivery. That's when your local office supply store comes in handy—that is, as long as it's still in operation. Now, one of the biggest names in that retail space, Office Depot, is closing certain locations. Read on to find out more about these upcoming closures, which start tomorrow.
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An Office Depot in Florida is the first to go.
Zephyr_p / ShutterstockAn Office Depot in the Crossroads Square shopping center in southwest Jacksonville, Florida, is the first to close up shop, the Jacksonville Daily Record reported. The store is set to close its doors tomorrow, Feb. 4, a store employee told the outlet last month.
There are signs on the building announcing the closing, with additional notices stating that shoppers can save up to 50 percent on sales throughout the store. Another sign reads "Nothing Held Back," per a photo from the Jacksonville Daily Record, and items in-store appear to have been tagged with orange sale stickers.
The outlet reported that the Collins real estate firm is leasing the 22,692-square foot space Office Depot currently occupies. As of Jan. 3, the city of Jacksonville was reviewing a building-permit application for Kids Empire—an indoor playground for children—which would build a separation wall and split the space into two parts.
Another location in the Sunshine State is closing.
refrina / ShutterstockAn Office Depot location in Orlando, Florida, is shuttering too, the Orlando Business Journal reported. The 20,400-square-foot space is located near the city's downtown. A company spokesperson told the outlet that the store will officially close on March 25.
As with the Jacksonville location, the store has closing signs in its windows, which also advertise a "closing sale," per photos from the Orlando Business Journal.
"Office Depot continues to optimize its retail footprint. As a result, the company is closing its Office Depot store at 2112 E. Colonial Drive," a company spokeswoman told the outlet about closure plans. "We will continue to serve local customers at nearby Office Depot stores, including the Office Depot store located at 2847 S. Orange Ave. in Orlando."
The property that the Office Depot currently sits on is registered to Chau Nguyen, CEO and founder of Kobe Japanese Steakhouse. Real estate manager and development coordinator for Kobe Realty Hien Nguyen told the Orlando Business Journal that Office Depot will be replaced by Dollar Tree, which is relocating from a nearby space.
A New York Office Depot is also departing.
marekuliasz / ShutterstockAn OfficeMax location in Cicero, New York, is saying goodbye as well, Syracuse.com reported. In 2013, the OfficeMax and Office Depot brands merged to form Office Depot, LLC—now owned by ODP Corporation—but retail stores still operate under both names.
The OfficeMax store is the last in Central New York, per Syracuse.com, and it has been a mainstay on East Circle Drive for 15 years. Store employees said they were not sure when or why the location is closing.
Best Life reached out to Office Depot for comment on these closures, but has yet to hear back.
Other locations closed last year.
ShutterstockSeveral Office Depot stores closed for good in 2022, including a recent closure in Bozeman, Montana. The store closed on Nov. 12, 2022, but it was advertising going-out-of-business deals for shoppers as early as Sept. 15, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
In 2021, approximately 75 Office Depot stores were closed, according to a Nov. 2022 press release announcing results from the third quarter of 2022. With fewer retail stores, Office Depot sales were lower, per the release, but numbers were also affected by decreased demand and other planned closures.
Back in 2020, Office Depot announced plans to close or consolidate an unspecified number of stores by the end of 2023 as part of a restructuring plan to refocus and improve company costs. From 2020 through 2021, a total of 263 Office Depot stores were closed.
