Office Depot Comps Up 1%

DELRAY BEACH, FL-Office Depot’s same-store sales during the second quarter inched up 1%, as the Independence Day holiday just missed falling in the quarter, said executives during their conference call on the period. Management says that without the holiday shift, comparable sales would have risen between 2% and 3% for the period, which ended July 1.

During the quarter Office Depot opened 22 units and relocated two, bringing the chain to 1,071 stores. For the entire year, executives expect to open 100 stores. The retailer is expanding in both existing and new markets in North America.

Additionally, the company is remodeling stores into a new format that executives refer to as “M2.” During the quarter there were 49 remodels and 150 are planned for the year. Executives hope to remodel the entire portfolio in the next three to five years.