Canadian Office Supplies Web Site Offers Business Customers Dual-Language Capabilities And Local Inventory

Canadian Office Supplies Web Site Offers Business Customers

Dual-Language Capabilities And Local Inventory

Building on the success of its domestic site, Staples.com today announced the launch of its first international e-commerce site, Staples.com Canada, which can be reached at the following URLs: www.staples.ca, www.businessdepot.com, and www.bureauengros.com. The site, available in both English and French, provides local inventory and country-specific content to help Canadian small business customers run their offices more efficiently.

"With a strong retail presence, excellent brand recognition, a growing catalog business and efficient call centers, Staples is the clear leader in the Canadian office supplies market," said Jeanne Lewis, president of Staples.com. "Now we have an opportunity to significantly build on that business with a new site tailored to the needs of the Canadian small business customer. As a result, Staples.com Canada is an e-commerce resource run in Canada by Canadians for Canadians."

A recent study conducted by the Retail Council of Canada determined that $688 million was spent online in Canada in 1998. However, 63 percent of those dollars went to U.S.-based Web sites. The study indicated that this migration of spending dollars was mostly due to necessity, not choice. At the time of the survey, only 26 percent of top Canadian retailers were selling online compared to 50 percent in the U.S.

Staples.com Canada offers all the valuable tools small businesses need to run their offices, including:

--Free, next-business-day delivery for orders over $50 in most markets;

--An intelligent search engine to help customers find what they need quickly;