Staples will close up to 225 stores in North America as part of a multi-year cost savings plan designed to cut as much as $500 million by the end of 2015.
The news comes after Staples closed 42 U.S. stores during 2013, eliminating more than one million square feet of floor space. Now, the retailer has 1,846 locations in the United States and Canada.
In addition to the store closures, the retailer expects to cut costs in the supply chain, labor optimization, non-product related expenses, IT hardware and services and marketing, as well as reduce the sales and customer service staffs.
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According to Q4 2013 results, total sales for Staples decreased 10.6% from 2012, dropping from approximately $6.6 billion to $5.9 billion. Additionally, Staples anticipates that Q1 2014 sales will decrease, marking the fifth consecutive quarterly decline.
“A year ago, we announced a plan to fundamentally reinvent our company,” said Ron Sargent, Chairman and CEO of Staples. “With nearly half of our sales generated online today, we’re meeting the changing needs of business customers and taking aggressive action to reduce costs and improve efficiency.”
In fact, e-Commerce results have been bright for the retailer, with sales from Staples.com improving 10% year-over-year in Q4 2013.
