Office Depot Rolls Out New Concept In Austin Market

The combined Office Depot-OfficeMax retail chain will roll out its new small business-centric concept in the Austin market in January.

In the last 24 hours, the new BizBox powered by Office Depot signs have gone up at all remaining brick-and-mortar Office Depot locations in Austin. At the former OfficeMax store on West Fifth St., the company also has launched a massive renovation, with a new cashier-less business service center moved to the front of the store and aisles of office supplies pushed to the back.

Office Depot's corporate office said the new concept will roll out in January. The company also pointed to the announcement of its launch of BizBox services in November.  

That purchase was intended to shift Office Depot into the digital space. BizBox, a new digital platform Office Depot announced over the summer, focuses on an online platform of small business solutions, including website design, digital marketing and back office services for customer relationship management, finance, accounting and payroll.

The company also acquired CompuCom Systems in October for $1B, an attempt to add office tech services to its portfolio. The decision was not well received by the investment market at the time, according to Bloomberg.

"It's going to be a big revolution in the retail space," CEO Gerry Smith told Bloomberg about the digital shift. "It's a lot better alternative than us not doing anything. It's an extremely important pivot."

Office Depot and OfficeMax, both office supply companies, merged in 2013. A planned merger with Staples was called off in 2016 due to Federal Trade Commission objections. Boca Raton-based Office Depot had approximately 1,400 stores, 38,000 associates and $11B in sales in 2016, according to the company's online profile. 

CORRECTION, DEC. 19, 7:57 P.M. CT: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Office Depot acquired BizBox. This is a new product launch.