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Chances are, you’ve probably seen something about the pending merger of Office Max and Office Depot in the news or on TV. This is a big deal as there are two of major players in the office supply industry, and the story has made both national and international news.

So exactly what is happening?

Unless the latest publicly announced merger deal changes, here’s what will happen: OfficeMax shareholders will receive 2.69 shares of Office Depot stock for each OfficeMax share they own. The entire deal is based on stock and no money will change hands. At the time of this post, a new CEO and potential company name have yet to be announced.

Most industry insiders feel that it’s attempt to gain ground on industry giant Staples, and online superstore Amazon, which has be gaining a foothold in the office supply industry. Once the merger is completed, the new, yet to be named entity will be the “largest” office supply company in the US with 2,000 brick and mortar stores compared to the 1900 stores owned by Staples. Interestingly enough, the combined sales revenue from both only accounts for about 70% of Staples reported earnings.

If you jump back in time to 1997, a similar proposed merger between Office Depot and Staples was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission with a decision that was loosely based in popular anti-trust rhetoric of that time. Since the current merger isn’t completed, it’s possible that the FTC will take some action against this merger as well.

Here are some other resources with information about the proposed merger:

Office Depot, OfficeMax to merge – CBS News

Office Depot, OfficeMax merger is about survival

OfficeMax, Office Depot Talk Merger – Struggling firms seek boost against, you know, Amazon

Twitter talk about the merger:

@HuffPostBiz
Report: Office Depot, Office Max merger announced prematurely http://t.co/f3xXfaOB

@USRadioNews
Plz flw @PatriotRadioNet: Office Depot And Office Max In Serious Talks About A Merger – http://t.co/TQjLZK4be2

@gregrocs
Simple #infographic on the Office Depot-Office Max merger compared to Staples http://t.co/2r9IxSiFPN

The jury is still out on the actual merger being completed and who the real winner is? Many industry analysts are reporting that Staples may be the real winner is this deal as it’s expected that the new merger company will begin closing unprofitably or under-performing stores, which leaves Staples as the only standalone “big box” OP retailer in those locations.

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Posted by
on in Industry News, Kids in Need Foundation

Last month, we announced a partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), a non-profit who provides free school supplies to economically disadvantaged school children and under-funded teachers. For every order placed at Business Supply, we pledged to donate one item to KINF.  Today, our first donation will be delivered Classroom Central in Charlotte, NC, who is part of the KINF National Network of Resource Centers.

The January tally: 33,000 pencils. To get a different perspective on the donation, check out this infographic we created:

What You Can Do With 33,000 Pencils

Pretty cool, huh?

We’re extremely excited about how our customers and employees have embraced this partnership.  The results for the first month were spectacular, but we can’t stop there.  The more we share this story, the more children we can eventually help.  There are millions of children who go to school without the core school supplies they need to succeed. So if you can share this post, please do.  The social buttons are below.

We’ll have an update on Friday with pictures, quotes, and (hopefully) video of the delivery.

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With the Flu season being in full swing, keeping it and other nasty illnesses out of the office can be a major challenge. According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, an estimated 55 million U.S. employees miss work annually due to an illness with a an estimated economic value loss of $260 billion dollars.

Ever wonder how the flu actually gets into your body? Here’s a great video from NPR:

So what can you do to keep the flu out of the office? Let’s break it down by steps an employer can take and steps employees can take:

Employer

#1 – Have a clear policy about sickness and how it should be handled by employees. Encourage sick employees to leave the workplace without concerns of lost wages. Would you rather have a single employee out for 5-7 days or a flu outbreak that hits 40% of the office?

#2 – Consider offering free flu vaccinations onsite as it’s the single best way to prevent the flu.

#3 – Make sure that the bathroom or restroom area is cleaned and disinfected on a daily basis during flu season. Most employees needing to blow or wipe their noses will do so here, and this is typically where the potential for infection is at it’s greatest.

#4 – Consider making hand sanitizer available all around the office or even given out out to each employee (if possible). Studies done by various groups including the CDC, indicated that, while hand washing with soap and water is still extremely effective, using alcohol based hand sanitizers WAS effective in reducing the spread of airborne viruses like the flu and common cold.Hand sanitizers were not proven effective against certain viral strains like norovirus.

Stay Home When Sick

Employee

#1 – Get a flu vaccination before the flu season (typically October to February) begins. The CDC has reported that it offers the single best form of protection against the flu.

#1 – If you are sick or showing symptoms of the flu, either stay home or leave work immediately. According to data published at www.flu.gov, a person infected with the flu is contagious one day before the symptoms appear and up to 5 – 7 days after first symptoms occur.

#2 – If you absolutely have to stay in the workplace, consider using a mask to help contain the virus. Try to stay away from other employees or work in a remote area.

#3 – Don’t return to work until you are symptom free from at least 24 hours. The flu has symptoms that can come and go, like fever, so it’s important to ensure that you are symptom free for at least 24 hours.

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