Office Depot 2003 Annual Report Download - page 5

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With the appointment of two seasoned veterans from
within Office Depot, we strengthened our executive
leadership in our North American delivery and North
American supply-chain organizations.
Over the past three years, we have been unwavering in
our focus. Our journey has yielded many achievements,
including worldwide employee retention rates that have
never been higher and customer service metrics that
have never been better. As we begin 2004, our strategic
focus continues to be on our one overriding objective:
To become the leading global provider of office product
and service solutions to businesses and drive superior
shareholder value by being a highly efficient, flexible,
customer-driven, multi-channel organization.
We have developed seven key strategies that will serve as
a road map to achieving this objective. These strategies are
built on the foundations of our culture: our vision of being
the most Compelling Place to Work, Shop and Invest;
coupled with our values of Respect for the Individual,
Fanatical Customer Service and Excellence in Execution.
1. Reposition North American Real Estate. We will
improve decisions about our stores – where to locate
them, what size they should be, and what they look like.
We will build a more competitive and flexible real estate
model. We will reinvest in older stores and increase the
number of new stores. Initiatives include Millennium
remodels, small store formats and alternative formats,
such as Office Depot sections within grocery stores.
2. Control Costs While Enhancing Quality. We will create
a performance-driven culture to improve quality, simplify
operations, and decrease costs. Process improvement
will become a core competency of Office Depot and we
will implement common tools to accelerate this effort.
We will leverage our global size and scale.
3. Create a Customer-Centric Experience. We will
understand our customers – who they are, what they
want, and how they want to buy. We will guide customers
to the best shopping opportunities for their needs,
allowing us to build stronger customer relationships and
resulting in increased customer loyalty, sales, and
profitability. Initiatives include improving communications
with our customers in our advertising, our in-store-
signage, our web site and direct customer interaction.
4. Develop a Differentiated Product Assortment. We will
develop a merchandising approach that differentiates
Office Depot from our competition by providing the right
products at the right place and the right price. We will
make choices and select categories that drive the
greatest sales and profit.
5. Excel in Europe. We will build on our office supply
leadership position in Europe. Initiatives include
completion of the Guilbert integration with Viking/Office
Depot processes and systems, implementation of
harmonized customer contact and product strategies,
enhancement of the retail model, and a new warehouse
management system.
6. Establish a High-Performance Organization with
Superior Leadership. We will invest in our people. We
will create a pipeline of internal talent through investment
in training, development, retention and growth of high
performers. We will further increase our efforts to attract
highly talented people to our team.
7. Build or Acquire New Business to Generate
Breakthrough Growth. We will grow new ideas by
identifying global opportunities for investment that
generate breakthrough growth and shareholder value.
Simply stated, we want to make Office Depot the most
Compelling Place to Work, Shop and Invest. We want to
be the fastest-growing, most profitable company in our
industry. We will succeed in doing so by delivering the
highest levels of customer service, with a highly efficient,
flexible, customer-driven, multi-channel organization. We
are confident that all the work we have done and
milestones we have achieved throughout the past three
years have placed us firmly on the path to reach our
goals. The best is yet to come.
Warm regards,
Bruce Nelson
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
March 2004
OFFICE DEPOT 2003 ANNUAL REPORT
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