OfficeMax, Inc. is the second largest
operator of high-volume, deep-discount office products superstores
in the United States. In mid-1995, the company was operating more
than 400 superstores in 41 states and Puerto Rico and was planning
to open more than 150 additional stores within two years.
OfficeMax started in 1988 as a simple idea. In little more than five years the company bolted to the forefront of the American business supplies industry, posting more than $2 billion in annual sales by 1995 and generating sound profits by 1993. The company achieved that stunning success despite intense competition and an economic recession that began in the late 1980s and lingered throughout the early 1990s. The company's savvy marketing, distribution, management, and financial systems and strategies became models for other superstore retailers in the 1990s.
