Three big-box office stores closing in the Fresno area. Here’s why the company’s shrinking
Office Depot is closing three of its stores in the Fresno area.
The store at Herndon and Willow avenues in Clovis and the Fresno store at Blackstone Avenue near Bullard Avenue will close. The Madera store on Cleveland Avenue is also closing.
All the stores have started going-out-of-business sales and are scheduled to close May 15, according to the company.
When asked why the stores were closing, a representative said in an email that the company continues to “optimize its retail footprint.” That’s business jargon for closing underperforming stores (which are sometimes close to other locations) and keeping ones that are bringing in enough money.
The closing Fresno store is two miles away from the Office Depot at River Park, for example.
Office Depot – whose parent company also owns Office Max – has four stores left in Fresno and Clovis. The company hopes customers will continue to shop with them online or go to nearby stores.
More store closures
Office Depot has regularly been closing stores in recent months.
In May, the company announced it planned to lay off 13,100 employees and close an unspecified number of stores and distribution facilities by 2023.
It later said it would close 90 stores by 2021, on top of 55 stores it closed before that.
Office Depot’s chief financial officer has said that the company’s brick-and-mortar stores could make up less than 20% of the company’s sales in the near future.
The company continues to focus on building its profitable business-to-business services division, including graphic design, tech support, direct mail, and packing and shipping.
COVID-19 and the business shutdowns and restrictions that came with it has affected the company’s sales.
The company’s total sales fell 8.9% in 2020 compared to the previous year.
It has 1,100 stores.
Fresno/Clovis discounts
Since the closing sales just started, the discounts are now up to 30% off. Discounts will get steeper as time goes on.
Some high-priced items, like computers and anti-virus software, are 5% off.
Most notebooks and binders are 30% off, with paper, briefcases and sticky notes discounted by 20%. Desks are 15% off.
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
