Office Depot Inc (ODP), OfficeMax Inc (OMX), Staples, Inc. (SPLS): Can Investors Find Value in the Office Supply Sector?

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The bottom line

Consolidation in the office supply sector has been long overdue as the number of retail and online sellers of office supplies has increased.  Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP) and Officemax have already been positioning themselves as small business service providers, both in the distribution of a growing diversity of supplies and as physical outlets for services that include printing, copying, and technology support.  While the individual companies previously didn’t want to reduce their operating footprint to avoid losing marginal sales, the combined company will be able to sharply curtail its retail network, which should create significant margin expansion and lead to greater value for investors. This combination is a winner.

The article Can Investors Find Value in the Office Supply Sector? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Robert Hanley.

Robert Hanley owns shares of Officemax. The Motley Fool owns shares of Staples.

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