Staples is About to Revamp Its Image

Is it possible to make an office supplies store look cool? Staples is about to give it a try.

The company is overhauling its marketing efforts and has a re-branded campaign that will be kicking off next week. Thanks to the creator, Interpublic’s MRM/McCann, there will be nationwide commercial soon on our TV sets.

Staples is shying away from the office supply idea and wants to show people that there’s a lot more to the company.

The spots will feature extol office and building managers who fix copy machine and restock the break rooms. Featuring these stars in the ads is Staples’ attempt to show the workers that the company thinks are significant. The ads will revolve around Staple’s delivery business.

Frank Bifulco, the company’s chief marketing officer stated, “We wanted to tell a new Staples story. It’s going to convey to all audiences that Staples is much more than a retail office- supply company.”

The company’s delivery business offers customers a sales representative and online ordering. This division in the company has been making more money than the company’s brick-and-mortar stores.

With sluggish sales at brick and mortar locations, the focus is now going elsewhere. For over two decades Staples has focused on advertising their physical stores and now this is changing.

Staples expects only 20% of its revenue to come from its retail stores by 2020. This would be a 40% drop compared to now.

The new corporate slogan will be “It’s Pro Time.” A voice over in one ad sayd, “it’s not always easy to summon your pro, but once you’ve found it, you’ll find you can do anything.”

In other news, Staples could have some takeover interest right now. Reuters reported this week that private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management and Sycamore Partners have shown acquisition interest.

According to the report, Staples has engaged in M&A talks with firms like Sycamore and Cerberus.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) and have not been compensated for this article.