Office Depot Named as Finalist in Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service

Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, today announced that it has been named a finalist in the sixth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. The international competition recognizes excellence in disciplines that are crucial to business success, and honors the accomplishments of sales, customer service, and call/contact center professionals worldwide.

Office Depot is a finalist in the following five categories:

• Sales Support Team of the Year: An innovative Sales Support Team helps Office Depot’s sales force improve productivity.
• Front-Line Customer Service Team of the Year -- All Other Industries: Office Depot deploys proactive web chat and email support.
• Contact Center of the Year (Over 100 Seats): Office Depot’s Work at Home Call Center.
• Best Use of Technology in Customer Service -- All Other Industries: Office Depot utilizes technology to deliver breakthrough performance.
• Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year: Office Depot’s Customer Relations Team skillfully handles the Company’s most difficult service challenges.

"Being named a finalist in five categories is a testament to Office Depot’s commitment to customer focus, which is one of our core values,” said Tim McGrath, Vice President of Customer Service for Office Depot. "We help our customers succeed in business by listening to their needs and delivering on our promises.”

More than 1,000 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year's competition, which has 27 categories for customer service. More than 100 members of seven specialized judging committees will determine Stevie® Award placements from among the finalists. Finalists were chosen by business professionals worldwide during preliminary judging. The sixth annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service will be presented at a gala banquet event in Las Vegas in late-February.

Office Depot won a Stevie® Award in 2009 for "Customer Service Team of the Year – Recovery,” which recognized excellence in the handling and resolving of customer issues, and in 2004 for "Capturing the Customer Experience,” which recognized the process of utilizing the Voice of the Customer for process improvement.

About Office Depot

Celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides supplies and services to its customers through 1,656 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and global e-commerce operations. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $11.6 billion, and employs about 40,000 associates around the world. The Company provides more office supplies and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 58 countries.

Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com and http://socialpress.officedepot.com/.

About The Stevie® Awards

The Stevie® Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie® Awards at http://www.stevieawards.com/, and follow the Stevie® Awards on Twitter @TheStevieAwards.