![]() The start-up team knew that it had to keep expenditures at an absolute minimum to compete. In May, an office supplies industry trade paper published a list of 15 start-up companies that were trying to crack into the business OfficeMax was 14th on the list by asset size. OfficeMax was fighting an uphill battle from the start. ![]() Achieving that goal, they reasoned, would allow them to effectively replace mom-and-pop office supply stores, much as supermarkets had replaced small grocers years earlier. ![]() The main goal was to bypass all of the middlemen, such as wholesalers and distributors. Their goal was to create a large business supplies discount store that was an exciting place to shop, and offered professional and friendly service, as well as prices between 10 and 30 percent less than those found in more traditional office supply retailer shops. On that day, they laid out on a sheet of paper their concept for a new type of office products store. The sum was paltry compared to other retail start-up businesses at the time, but the pair thought that they could parlay the cash into a winning enterprise.įeuer and Hurwitz launched their enterprise on April Fool ’s Day in 1988. They eventually found 50 investors, including several doctors and lawyers, who were willing to contribute a total of $3 million. So they scrambled to raise capital from friends and family. He and Hurwitz decided that they didn ’t want to fund the start-up with bank debt or venture capital because they didn ’t want to forfeit control of the operation. “I had always claimed that if we could just cut through all the nonsense -for example, the 20 to 25 percent of time most executives spend on CYB (covering your butt) -and do it my way, we could make millions, ” Feuer observed.įeuer finally jumped ship and, despite other excellent corporate job offers, decided to start his own enterprise. “At age 42 I was bored and, like many executives, I also suffered from the Frank Sinatra syndrome -I wanted to do it my way, ” Feuer recalled in September 1993. Still, he was frustrated by his inability to run the company as he believed it should be operated. By his early 40s, Feuer had risen to the executive ranks. Feuer, who became the driving force behind the chain ’s growth, had been nurturing the idea during more than 17 years of service with Fabri-Centers of America, a 600-store retailer in Cleveland. The OfficeMax concept was hatched by entrepreneurs Michael Feuer and Robert Hurwitz. The company ’s savvy marketing, distribution, management, and financial systems and strategies became models for other superstore retailers in the 1990s. The company achieved that stunning success despite intense competition and an economic recession that began in the late 1980s and lingered throughout the early 1990s. In little more than five years the company bolted to the forefront of the American business supplies industry, posting more than $2 billion in annual sales by 1995 and generating sound profits by 1993. OfficeMax started in 1988 as a simple idea. Through joint ventures, OfficeMax operates stores in Mexico and Brazil. The company also maintains an e-commerce business ( ), which carries over 20,000 items. In addition to office products, OfficeMax stores also feature CopyMax modules (offering print-for-pay services) and FurnitureMax facilities, which offer office furniture. The company operates nearly 1,000 high-volume, deep-discount “superstores ” in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. is the third-largest office supply chain in the United States. NAIC: 453210 Office Supplies and Stationary Stores
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |