The company is planning to “license its name” to increase profits.
Bloomberg reported that in an effort to increase sales Staples will be licensing the name, and that they will work with GRM Information Management Services who will “offer a Staples brand service”, which will “manage records”, according to executives in the company. GRM will be offering cloud services through a site called ‘Staplescloud.com’, and prospective buyers can purchase secure online storage and document scanning.
The company expects customers from health care provision, real estate companies, law firms and record intensive businesses. The report added that by thinking outside the box, Staples hopes to develop this side of the business without expenditure or risk and to expand on its “brand reputation”. CEO of Staples, Shira Goodman has been closing stores that are not performing well since taking over from Sargent after the Office Depot merger fell through.
The licensing strategy could address the fall in demand for office supply retail, and “future deals handled by licensing agency Brandgenuity” could see Staples’ name on “business insurance and flooring” said Paul Bessinger, Staples’ Director of Merchandising and Innovation, who added that “licensing will get the company into new markets faster by eliminating many of the barriers to entry”. Bessinger explained in turn that “There’s this whole element of the learning curve that we would have to go through.
“Imagine if Staples were to ramp up these businesses? Building them is one thing and figuring out how to sell them is another. This is more instantaneous”. Being a well-known brand, Staples hopes to have enough power to “disrupt markets such as online document storage”, and the company’s name could become big in “new channels of distribution rather than just its own stores”.
Frank Bifulco, Vice President of Global Marketing for Staples, commented: “Our customers view us as their primary source of office supplies. We want to be viewed more and more as their preferred provider of all the essential products and services they need.”
Avner Schneur, CEO of GRM, said: “The Staples name gives us much better reach to far more customers. This will amplify our offering dramatically compared to our own capabilities. That’s why it’s a good match.”