Leading up to the conclusion of its merger of equals with Office Depot announced in February, OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) hopes to help turn around its most recent quarter's downward revenue results by opening in-store, comprehensive service centers.
OfficeMax said today in a statement the new centers will offer small-business owners a full complement of more than 40 services, primarily supporting administrative and operational needs. The offerings include website design, marketing, credit-card processing, merchant-payroll assistance and human-resource solutions, among other services, OfficeMax said.
OfficeMax has partnered with numerous industry leaders in order to provide the new services, including ADP, Paychex, and GoDaddy.com, according to the OfficeMax press release.
OfficeMax cited the results of its recent Small Business Efficiency Index study to support the need for the enhanced, in-store service centers, saying, "Small business owners lose more than 4 billion hours each year managing time-consuming -- but crucial -- business operations and administrative tasks."
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Kim Feil commented in the press release, "Our new OfficeMax Services Center builds on services we have always provided to give business owners a complete range of essential support, from credit card processing and payroll services to IT support and cloud storage."
By the third year after closing the merger with Office Depot, which has received shareholder approval and is expected to close by the end of 2013, the combined entities expect to realize between $400 million and $600 million in annual savings. One-third of the expected savings, OfficeMax said, should be realized in the first full year after the deal closes.
