Office Depot Releases Its First Dedicated Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) Catalog

HUBs are enterprises that have not historically had equal opportunities. Examples include certified minority, women, disabled, veteran and small businesses. By purchasing from Office Depot's HUB catalog, customers are able to fulfill their second tier HUB sending requirements. Additionally, Office Depot hopes to inspire future HUB suppliers to participate in the Company's sourcing opportunity process so that they can be identified and their products can be included in future catalogs.

"Office Depot has a commitment to the economic development of the communities in which we work and live," said Steve Schmidt, President of Office Depot's Business Solutions Division. "This commitment is evident in our multi-dimensional approach to small business development and our Supply Chain Diversity Program, which assists HUBs in building community, business, and customer relationships that inspire organizational growth and empowerment within every aspect of our business."

The Office Depot HUB catalog, which will be officially released at the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) Annual Conference Trade Show in New Orleans today, will also be available online at www.officedepot.com/diversity for customer orders in early November.

Office Depot will release the HUB catalog at the NMSDC Conference to help celebrate the Company's tenth year of exhibiting at the event. Additionally, Office Depot will host a dinner at the Conference for leading supplier diversity professionals from across the country. Office Depot's Director of Supplier Diversity, Robert McCormes-Ballou, serves on the NMSDC Executive Committee.

About the National Minority Supplier Diversity Council

The National Minority Supplier Diversity Council (NMSDC) provides a direct link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses. NMSDC is one of the country's leading business membership organizations. It was chartered in 1972 to provide increased procurement and business opportunities for minority businesses of all sizes.

Office Depot's Commitment to Diversity

In 2005, through a thorough and intensive process that engaged members of the Company's Global Officer Coalition, Office Depot adopted a new vision statement -- Delivering Winning Solutions That Inspire Worklife(TM) - and identified and defined those values that guide, inform and influence every area of our operations. One of those core values was the concept of "Inclusion." For Office Depot, Inclusion means that we approach all opportunities and challenges by respecting the diverse thoughts, beliefs, backgrounds, cultures and energies of all associates, customers and suppliers.

The Company's commitment to Inclusion inspires Office Depot as it buys and sells products and recruits new associates. As a global company that offers an extensive range of products to our customers -- and that also makes a significant investment in supplies and services to keep business running smoothly -- Office Depot constantly searches for ways to partner with minority and women-owned businesses. Office Depot accomplishes this through a multifaceted approach, which includes fostering a diverse vendor and supplier network. The Company's diversity goals are to increase and strengthen the vendor diversity network to reflect the global marketplace, and to support the growth of women and minority-owned suppliers.

Office Depot works with partners like NMSDC to expand the capacity of the organization's members and to help them compete more effectively in the office supply marketplace. These efforts help Office Depot's partners achieve long-term independent business viability with sustainable economic growth.

For more information on Office Depot's diversity initiatives, please visit www.officedepot.com/diversity.

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through 1,593 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.3 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $14.5 billion, and employs about 42,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 47 countries.

Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

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SOURCE: Office Depot

Office Depot 
Melissa Perlman, 561-438-0704 
Melissa.Perlman@officedepot.com