UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) December 1, 2002
Commission file number 1-10948
OFFICE DEPOT, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 59-2663954
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(State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
2200 Old Germantown Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33445
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(561) 438-4800
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Former name or former address, if changed since last report: N/A
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
On December 1, 2002, Office Depot, Inc. announced the sale of its Australian
operations to Officeworks, a unit of Coles Meyer Ltd. A copy of the press
release announcing the sale is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated
by reference herein.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(c) Exhibits
99.1 Press release of Office Depot, Inc. issued on December 1,
2002.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
OFFICE DEPOT, INC.
Date: December 2, 2002 By: /S/ DAVID C. FANNIN
David C. Fannin
Executive Vice President and
General Counsel
OFFICE DEPOT
NEWS RELEASE
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Office Depot Contact: Officeworks Contacts:
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Investor/Media Relations: Media
Eileen Dunn Scott Whiffin
1-561 438-4930 03 9829 5548
edunn@officedepot.com Analysts
- --------------------- Amanda Fischer
03 9829 4521
OFFICE DEPOT ANNOUNCES THE SALE OF ITS AUSTRALIAN
OPERATIONS TO OFFICEWORKS, A SUBSIDIARY OF COLES MYER
(Delray Beach, FL) December 1, 2002 - OFFICE DEPOT, INC. (NYSE: ODP), the
world's largest seller of office products, today announced that it has reached a
definitive agreement with Officeworks, a subsidiary of Coles Myer, to sell its
Australian operations. The acquisition of the Company's Viking Office Products
Pty Ltd. and Viking Direct Pty Ltd. operations are subject to regulatory
approval, and is expected to be completed by year-end. Terms were not disclosed.
Bruce Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot commented, "While our Viking
Australian operations have achieved success over the past nine years, industry
consolidation has made it difficult to continue to grow shareholder value in
Australia. We continue to have tremendous opportunities for growth and expansion
in Europe, where the majority of our international operations now reside, and
this sale is the right strategic move for Office Depot to ensure sustainable
growth in shareholder value over the longer-term."
Coles Myer Chief Executive Officer John Fletcher noted that the acquisition of
Australia's largest direct marketer of office supplies would further strengthen
Coles Myer's Officeworks business, establishing it as a major multi-channel
provider of office supplies. Mr Fletcher also said that the Viking acquisition
was in line with its five-year strategic plan to substantially grow the
Officeworks business.
Officeworks Managing Director Peter Scott commented, "Viking is the leading
direct marketer of office products in Australia, focusing on the small to medium
size business market. Our acquisition of Viking is of key strategic importance
in sustaining longer term growth for Officeworks by strengthening our current
multi-channel access for customers."
ABOUT VIKING OFFICE PRODUCTS PTY LTD, & Viking Direct Pty Ltd.
Viking services 128,000 active business customers throughout Australia via
catalogues and online; and generates annual sales of approximately $150 million.
ABOUT OFFICEWORKS
Officeworks is Australia's largest retailer of office supplies, catering
specifically to the needs of small to medium size businesses, home offices and
students. A further 45 store openings are planned over the next four years. It
currently operates 62 stores around Australia.
ABOUT OFFICE DEPOT
No one sells more office products to more customers in more countries through
more channels than Office Depot. As the largest seller of office products around
the world, the Company operates under the Office Depot(R), Viking Office
Products(R), Viking Direct(R) and 4Sure.com(R) brand names. As of September 28,
2002, Office Depot operated 853 office supply superstores in the United States
and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network
supported by 24 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13
regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company sells products and services in
19 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 32 office supply
stores in France and 12 in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and
110 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements
operating under the Office Depot name in five foreign countries.
The Company operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot brand Web site at
www.officedepot.com where customers can access Office Depot's low competitive
prices seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. The Company also operates
seventeen additional Web sites, under the Office Depot and Viking Office
Products names, in the U.S. and ten international countries including: Austria,
Australia, Belgium, France, Japan, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom.
Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for historical
information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including without limitation all
of the projections and anticipated levels of future performance, involve risks
and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those
discussed herein. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time
by Office Depot in its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC"), including without limitation its most recent filing on Form
10-K, filed on March 19, 2002 and subsequent filings on Forms 10-Q and 8K. You
are strongly urged to review all such filings for a more detailed discussion of
such risks and uncertainties. The Company's SEC filings are readily obtainable
at no charge at www.sec.gov and at www.freeEDGAR.com, as well as on a number of
other commercial Web sites.