Serious competition

The nation's three largest office supply chain stores are competing so seriously for business in Southwest Florida that the companies won't say where the new outlets are planned.

They won't talk about their plans, even when that information is a matter of public record or common knowledge.

"For competitive reasons, we wouldn't want to say where we are planning to open new stores," Office Depot spokeswoman Mindy Kramer said.

Here's what's going on in the small- to medium-sized business market that Office Depot, OfficeMax and Staples all covet.

Staples has plans to open a store at Wiggins Pass Road and U.S. 41 North, less than two miles north of the Office Depot scheduled to open later this month in Naples Park.

There is a "Staples is coming" sign at the intersection of Wiggins Pass Road and U.S. 41. While Staples spokeswoman Mylissa Tsai said she didn't know anything about that location, leasing agents for a Benderson Development project on the corner confirmed that Staples is part of their plan.

Also, in October, Staples will be moving into the Promenade at Naples Centre, a Sembler Co. project under development that is adjacent to the Hollywood 20 movie theaters, Best Buy and Costco.

Photo by MICHEL FORTIER, Daily News

Bonita Springs Office Depot manager J.P. Plancher, background center, helps Bonita resident Scott Trueblood locate a metal form folder Friday to replace the one Trueblood has used at his office for the past 25 years. Trueblood, owner of Cutting Edge Construction & Woodworks Inc., says he uses Office Depot often. “They’re definitely a necessity,” he says.

It is down the road from an OfficeMax in the Carillon Place shopping center near the intersection of Pine Ridge and Airport-Pulling roads.

Tsai said Staples had been searching for the most convenient location in Collier County for several years. The company has two stores in Fort Myers, with one in the Gulf Coast Town Center in San Carlos Park.

In choosing locations, Tsai said the company wants to make it easy for Staples customers.

"We select our stores based on a variety of criteria (especially) proximity for the small- and medium-sized business owners in areas of business development and economic development," she said.

Traded on Nasdaq as SPLS, Staples operates 1,786 office supply stores throughout the world.

The three competitors are philosophical, pragmatic and secretive.

Kramer said it really isn't that unusual for competing businesses to build stores close to each other. It shows that business is growing in that area, and competitors are all seeking a piece of that growth to reach Office Depot's core customer, which is the small businessman, Kramer said.

"If we see the growth, competitors see the growth," Kramer said.

And while she said the North Naples Office Depot on U.S. 41 between 104th and 105th avenues will open within a couple of weeks, she declined to say how much more growth customers would see in Collier and Lee counties, or even in Florida.

Nor did she mention that Office Depot in March pulled Collier permits for a store on the northeast corner of Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41. Office Depot officials also declined to say how many new hires they anticipate for the North Naples store

Kramer would only say that the chain plans to open 100 new stores around the nation within the next few years, adding to its current count of 1,049 as of May 31.

Until the North Naples store opens its doors, Office Depot has one store in Naples Plaza across from Coastland Center mall, one store on Bay Landing Drive in Bonita Springs, and three stores in Fort Myers.

Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP.

OfficeMax has five stores in the two-county area: Bonita Bay Plaza, Shops at Coconut Point in Estero, Carillon Place and Courthouse Shadows Shopping Center in East Naples, and Sam's Plaza in Fort Myers.

OfficeMax spokesman William Bonner said OfficeMax has about 55 stores in Florida, but declined to discuss expansion plans or competition.

"I don't have specific information on new stores to open in the area at this time. We typically announce new stores just prior to grand openings. As for competitive philosophy, we focus on our customers rather than on our competitors," Bonner said.

Traded on the New York Stock Exchange as OMX, OfficeMax has nearly 870 stores throughout the nation.

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Stores at a Glance

Office Depot current locations

Naples Plaza

Bay Landing Drive, Bonita Springs

College Parkway, Fort Myers

Page Field Commons, Fort Myers

Hancock Bridge Square Shopping Center, North Fort Myers

Office Depot future locations

U.S. 41 between 104th and 105th avenues.

U.S. 41 and Collier Boulevard.

OfficeMax current locations

Bonita Bay Plaza, Bonita Springs

Shops at Coconut Point, Estero

Carillon Place, Naples

Courthouse Shadows Shopping Center, Naples

Sam's Plaza, Fort Myers

OfficeMax future locations: Not available.

Staples current locations

Gulf Center Drive, Fort Myers

Cypress Lake Shopping Center, Fort Myers

Staples future locations

Gulf Coast Town Centre, San Carlos Park

Promenade at Naples Centre

Unnamed Benderson Development project at Wiggins Pass and U.S. 41.