Some forms of retail work better in a brick-and-mortar store than they do online.
Clothing and footwear, for example, benefits from the ability to try the items on. Even people who wear the same size across multiple brands sometime put on an outfit, a pair of sneakers, or some fancy shoes only to find that they don’t fit right.
The internet shines, however, on items that don’t need to be held, touched, or tried on. That has made some retailers more vulnerable than others.
Office supply chains, which includes Office Depot and Staples, have been in a slow, steady decline.
“Office supply stores as a sector employ some 60,000 people and bring in $10.3 billion in revenue in the U.S., which is projected to decline roughly 2% a year through 2026, according to research firm IBISWorld.
That has led to Office Depot closing more than half its stores since 2013, a process that has continued with the chain’s most recent shutdowns.
Office Depot has been in a steady decline
Office Depot merged with Office Max in 2013, with the combined chain operating about 1,900 U.S. stores following the merger, according to the Dallas Morning News.
At the time of the deal, the two companies said they planned to close 400 stores. The industry was already in decline, according to FOX Business.
“Office supply stores are fighting a battle for relevance, with shoppers increasingly buying their paper, toner and technology online from Amazon.com Inc, drugstores or mass merchants. Analysts covering office supply stores have long called for consolidation in what they see as a cluttered sector whose sales crumbled during the last recession,” FOX reported.
The company, which is no longer public, reported in a an SEC filing that it had 822 locations as of Nov. 5, 2025.
It has continued to shed locations since then, but no longer provides a store count since it does not have to report results as a private company.
These Office Depot locations have closed since Nov. 2025
High Point, NC: Office Depot closed its longtime store at the Peters Plaza IV shopping center at 274 Eastchester Drive on Dec. 20., according to the High Point Enterprise.
Fresno, CA: The Office Depot on Divisadero Street shut down Feb. 21 after more than 30 years in business, with employees saying the property owner declined to renew the lease, reported CBS47.
Ballard (Seattle), WA: The OfficeMax in Ballard closed April 11, 2026 with the building having been purchased by AutoZone for $7.8 million in late 2025, according to My Ballard.
Porterville, CA: The OfficeMax at 1260 W. Henderson Ave., the city’s only major office supply store, is closing, part of a pickup in OfficeMax closures that accelerated in 2025, reported Recorder Online.
Merriam, KS: The OfficeMax at Merriam Town Center near Johnson Drive and Antioch Road is closing, with liquidation sales already underway after more than a decade at that location, according to Johnson County Post.
