Bureau en Gros history

Staples was founded in November 1985 by Thomas G. Stemberg and Leo Kahn, who had previously competed against each other in the Boston grocery market.

In November 1986 the company opened its second store in Woburn, Massachusetts, another suburb of Boston.

Gupta, Udayan, “Retail Start-Up Decides to Start Out Big,” Wall Street Journal, May 14, 1987.

1989: Company raises $37 million through an initial public offering.

McConville, James A., “Staples Targets Urban Niche,” HFD—The Weekly Home Furnishings Newspaper, October 22, 1990.

Founded in 1991, Staples Canada is a privately-held company based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with a network of over 300 stores across Canada.

These moves were all designed to increase Staples' size and penetration of the office supplies business, and they helped the company's revenues surpass the $2 billion mark for the fiscal year ending in January 1995.

Also in 1996, Staples bought out its partner in the U.K. and German ventures, Kingfisher, in a £29.4 million deal.

The FTC voted to block the deal in March 1997 and one month later rejected the deal again after Staples had reached an agreement to sell 63 stores to OfficeMax.

The expansion pace quickened in 1998, as 174 more stores made their debuts.

Nevertheless, in 1999 it shelved Dilbert, concluding that the popular cartoon character overshadowed the brand and did not produce the desired results.

During the latter months of 2000, the retail market for office supplies began foundering.

In February 2002 Sargent was promoted to president and CEO, while Stemberg remained chairman.

The first two commercials ran during the CBS program 60 Minutes on March 2, 2003.

In 2004 Staples purchased British rival Office World from the Globus group.

Rebranding of these stores to the Staples brand took place in 2005. Its first store was in Finnieston, Glasgow in April 2005

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