Yeah right Staples

[Demon_Skeith]

So I got to enjoy a very nice 10 hour shift today, with the first two hours of my manager talking about his recent trip to Texas where all Staples GMs were gathered to talk about the future.

Apparently Staples is going to hide its name behind other brands like True Red, NXT and other names for pens, tech and other crap. Which spoiler alert, they look crappy.

They also want to bring in coffee shops, remodel sections of the store to put up booths that people can use for either quick office work or podcasting and put in small bleachers so companies can hold small group chats. Among other dumb ideas all so they can now call themselves Staples Connect.

Only good thing is they plan on updating our dinosaur registers (it can take 30 seconds to ring out a simple purchase, but with the machine age and network lag it can up to a good 2 mins) and they changed the dress code to allow jeans.

Also we're getting back to helping teachers out :

Staples Teacher Rewards Makes it Easy with More Ways to Save on Supplies | Staples Online Newsroom

 

[froggyboy604]

Unfortunately, most store brands generally look crappy.

Hopefully, the booths will at least be affordable to rent. I can see the booths being useful for people who need to quickly record a video, or voice recording without loud background noises which can be a problem in rooms with thin walls.

 

[VirusZero]

In some ways it's good for them. They have to adapt as places like Amazon are eating into their profits. And it's not hard to see why either... I mean you log onto Amazon, find the item you're looking for (with pretty good search tools and filters) from hundreds of options, click add to card and then maybe there's a coupon to reduce the price some. Then you click check out and you pick your shipping speed/cost (or if you have prime then you make sure that's clicked for the fastest shipping). Once you finish that they send you the item right to your home. It effectively cuts out the middleman (staples in this case) who inflates the price in order to make a profit themselves.

No need to go to the store and spend time wandering around, hoping they have whatever item you're looking for (if not then you have to order it online anyway). No need to feel pressure from salespeople (sorry DS) who are only trying to do their jobs but still have to push things customers likely don't want/need.

Brick and mortar stores have a tough time competing with Amazon. But they can do things Amazon can't... they can offer other services and features. Like a quiet room to do voice work or a lounge area to type up the report before going over to the print centre and printing it. Those could be important elements. I mean to me it makes more sense in many cases to just pay the per-page cost to print something than it does for me to buy a printer myself and get ink/paper.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

In some ways it's good for them. They have to adapt as places like Amazon are eating into their profits. And it's not hard to see why either... I mean you log onto Amazon, find the item you're looking for (with pretty good search tools and filters) from hundreds of options, click add to card and then maybe there's a coupon to reduce the price some. Then you click check out and you pick your shipping speed/cost (or if you have prime then you make sure that's clicked for the fastest shipping). Once you finish that they send you the item right to your home. It effectively cuts out the middleman (staples in this case) who inflates the price in order to make a profit themselves.

No need to go to the store and spend time wandering around, hoping they have whatever item you're looking for (if not then you have to order it online anyway). No need to feel pressure from salespeople (sorry DS) who are only trying to do their jobs but still have to push things customers likely don't want/need.

Brick and mortar stores have a tough time competing with Amazon. But they can do things Amazon can't... they can offer other services and features. Like a quiet room to do voice work or a lounge area to type up the report before going over to the print centre and printing it. Those could be important elements. I mean to me it makes more sense in many cases to just pay the per-page cost to print something than it does for me to buy a printer myself and get ink/paper.

no need to be sorry, I have sadly pushed more onto people that what should ever be pushed and I am a bit a shamed of it.

Although food for thought VZ, staples website is supposedly second behind amazon. Also even Amazon is starting to build phyiscal stores mostly because customer still need interaction. PCs, chairs and furinture among other things, they want to see and feel before purhcasing. Yes Amazon's return policy is great but you still have to deal with shipping.

 

[CM30]

Seems like the usual strategies these companies are using to try and stay relevant. Reinventing themselves as 'destinations' rather than just shops (hence the coffee shops and booths).