Staples, Inc

Staples, Inc.

A typical location in Mansfield, Connecticut
Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	May 1, 1986; 31 years ago (1986-05-01) Brighton, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	Leo Kahn Thomas G. Stemberg
Headquarters	Framingham, Massachusetts, United States
Number of locations	1,220 stores (US) 40 warehouses/fulfillment centers (US)  (2016)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Shira Goodman (CEO)
Products	Office Supplies School Supplies Facility & Janitorial Supplies Office Furnishing IT Consulting Office and Data Center Technology Hardware Sourcing Industry-specific supplies Health and Beauty Electronics Office Furniture Snacks Printing Services
Revenue	US$ 21.059 billion (2015)
Net income	US$ 379 million (2015)
Total assets	US$ 10.172 billion (2015)
Number of employees	79,075 (2015)
Divisions	Staples Argentina Staples Canada
Subsidiaries	Staples Office Centre Mondoffice Staples Advantage
Website	Staples.com

Staples, Inc. is an American multinational office supply retailing corporation, with over 1,500 stores in North America. Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Staples also does business extensively with enterprises in the United States and Canada, and as Staples Business Advantage.

Staples sells supplies which include staples, office machines, promotional products, technology, and business services both in stores and online. The company opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 1, 1986.

Staples was co-founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G. Stemberg, who were former rivals in the New England retail supermarket industry.

The idea for Staples originated in 1985, while Stemberg was working on a proposal for a different business. He needed a ribbon for his printer, but was unable to obtain one because his local dealer was closed for the Independence Day holiday. A frustration with the reliance on small stores for critical supplies combined with Stemberg's background in the grocery business led to a vision for an office supply superstore.

The first store was opened in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston in 1986. Staples started with backing from private equity firms including Bain Capital; Bain co-founder Mitt Romney served on the company's board of directors for the next 15 years, helping shape their business model.

In 1991, Staples founded its Canadian subsidiary, The Business Depot, and began opening stores under that name, though over a decade later, all stores were renamed as "Staples". The first store opened in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada north of Toronto. The following year, Staples began expanding into Europe, and opened its first store in Swansea, United Kingdom.