OfficeMax Comparable Store Sales Dip 3 Percent
OfficeMax comparable store sales for fiscal fourth quarter 2001 were down 3 percent, after falling 8 percent in the third quarter, the company said yesterday.Year-end inventory is below $910 million, a decrease of more than $250 million from last year, the company said. OfficeMax said it continued its inventory reductions in the fourth quarter, mainly through supply chain management initiatives.
After an annual review, OfficeMax has begun closing 29 underperforming stores, almost half of them in single-store markets, the company said. This figure is less than the roughly 40 closings anticipated in December. Closings in multi-store markets eventually might result in new stores in better real estate locations, the company said. OfficeMax said it is not exiting any major markets.
