Customer experiences in the paper clip empire
When a U.S. federal judge in early May told Staples and Office Depot/Office Max that their proposed merger was dead , I was busy grading papers. But now, a couple of weeks later, I say: "Good on ya," Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. By Takkk (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons I'm the guy personified in an old Staples TV ad, singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," when back-to-school supplies go on sale in late July. I've strolled the stationery aisles of independent drugstores, looking for a hard-to-find ink refill or discontinued ballpoint. (All-time favorite: Pilot's long-gone GX300. ) And, I've been an advocate of Staples, because they often have what I need. But not this time. True, a Staples/Office Depot merger would have better competed with Amazon and Wal-Mart in the office/home-office category. But it would've doomed many smaller stationers, and perhaps crippled the buying cooperatives that educators use ...