Staples 2006 Annual Report Download - page 77

7
and a field sales force. We change our level of marketing spend as well as the mix of media employed depending upon
market, customer value, seasonal focus, competition, and cost factors. This flexible approach allows us to optimize the
effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing expenditures.
Our retail, catalog and Staples.com marketing efforts focus on small businesses and home offices. Our marketing
strategies emphasize our strong brand and leverage all of our retail and delivery vehicles to send a consistent message to
our core customers, as well as to target our back-to-school, holiday, and tax-time selling seasons. In addition, we continue
to focus more on targeted direct marketing and on our customer loyalty program. We have upgraded our systems and
capabilities to enable us to have a deeper understanding of our customers’ multi-channel purchasing behaviors.
We continue to focus our marketing message on the communication of our brand promise: we make buying office
products easy. The look and feel of our advertising vehicles reflect our “Easy” brand promise and we are consistently
communicating the brand across all channels and customer touch points, including our signage, television commercials,
product placement on national television programs, catalogs, web sites, circulars, direct marketing, and store uniforms.
Associates and Training
We have a strong corporate culture that values ethics, high performance, entrepreneurship, and teamwork. We
place great importance on recruiting, training, retaining, and providing the proper incentives for high quality associates.
Offering attractive career opportunities and a commitment to a diverse and safe work environment, we pride ourselves
on being a workplace of choice. We recruit actively on college campuses, hire talented individuals with experience in
successful retail operations, and reward current associates for referring new associates.
We consider customer relations and our associates’ knowledge of office products and related capital goods to be
significant to our marketing approach and our ability to deliver customer satisfaction. Associates are trained in a number
of areas, including, where appropriate, sales techniques, management skills, and product knowledge. In many areas of
our business, associates are required to complete ethics training on a regular basis. We have continued to make
investments in computer-based, multi-media training programs to upgrade associates’ selling skills and improve customer
service at our retail stores and delivery operations. Store management trainees advance through the store management
structure by taking on assignments in different areas as they are promoted. Store and call center associates prepare for
new assignments through Staples and third party designed training modules, written manuals, video instruction, and self-
testing.
As of February 3, 2007, Staples employed 39,437 full-time and 34,209 part-time associates.
Corporate Values
We believe that adhering to sound corporate values is good for our business. We strive to make a positive impact on
our associates, customers, and the environment by acting responsibly and with integrity, conducting our global business
as an ethical employer and good corporate citizen.
Ethics—We maintain ethical business practices by encouraging open and honest communication and providing
associates with practical tools to make sound business decisions. We launched an extensive ethics training program in
2005. Our training identifies ethical dilemmas that associates might face, and provides information on the many ways
associates can get help and report concerns. In doing this, we ensure that Staples associates act in the best interest of our
shareholders and protect our brand reputation.
Environment—We are committed to offering environmentally preferable products and focus on recycling services to
our customers, investing in renewable energy and energy conservation, and supporting environmental education efforts.
These initiatives help preserve natural resources for future generations and can help meet customer needs, create
operational efficiencies, spark new business opportunities, reduce future risks to our environment, and enhance our
brand.
Diversity—We strive to offer a diverse and inclusive work environment where associates are given the support they
need to learn, grow and reach their potential. Our employees represent a wide variety of life experiences and ethnic
backgrounds. We believe our workforce reflects the communities in which we operate. This strategy makes our
workforce better able to relate to our customers.
Community—Through Staples Foundation for Learning, national charitable partnerships, and in-kind donations, we
support communities worldwide by providing resources to non-profit organizations that provide educational