Office Depot 2000 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Establishing Priorities for the Future
Our priorities for 2001 and beyond are highly focused and narrowed to doing fewer things better. Our
goals are to:
• Restore the health, vitality and growth of our U.S. retail operations;
• Expand our international business at double-digit rates;
• Grow our best-in-class e-commerce business; and
• Build a world-class warehouse and distribution network.
We are also committed to making Office Depot a more compelling place to work. Simply put, we want
to be the industry’s employer of choice. Whether our employees work in our retail stores, warehouses,
customer service centers, corporate offices, or in one of the 18 countries in which we do business,
we want to provide a rewarding experience that enables them to enjoy a high level of job satisfaction
and communicate that satisfaction by providing our customers with fanatical customer service.
We are equally committed to making Office Depot a more compelling place to shop. Whether our
customers shop at our retail stores, over the Internet, through catalogs or via sales representatives, we
are dedicated to delivering the products, services and unparalleled customer care they demand and
require. We are profoundly committed to these two goals and we have outlined our efforts to do so later
in this annual report.
Positioning Ourselves for Future Growth
As a result of our actions in 2000, we have positioned ourselves well for future growth. We remain the
largest supplier of office products with strong market and brand leadership positions worldwide. We have a
well-defined growth strategy and a profitable business model. We are rapidly assembling a world-class
management team. We have markets and customer bases that are healthy and growing. We are the
recognized industry leader in Internet sales, and we have a strong balance sheet that enables us to seize
new growth opportunities.
In short, we are enthusiastic about our future. We will execute our initiatives with renewed awareness of
the crucial role our employees play in shaping our future. While we know that we have an excellent business
model, we also know that the responsibility for its successful execution is squarely in the hands of our
more than 48,000 worldwide employees—a diverse group of men and women who have the power to
make Office Depot a truly outstanding company. I believe if our people regard their roles as satisfying and
rewarding, they will establish better, stronger and more loyal customer relationships across our multiple
channels. These solid relationships will truly make the difference, driving new revenues and new
profitability levels at Office Depot in the future.
What does this mean to our investors? I firmly believe that if Office Depot surpasses the expectations of
our employees and customers, and we do so better than any of our competitors, our growth will be
consistent, our earnings will be predictable and our return to investors will be exceptional. We will be, by
definition, a compelling place to invest. Simply put, that is our goal, and we will work tirelessly to achieve it.
Bruce Nelson
Chief Executive Officer
March 2001