Business News

Staples, Inc. Announces New Russia Alliance With Pragmatic Express Ltd.

Thursday 21. October 2010 - Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) announced today a new strategic alliance with one of the leading Russian office products companies, Pragmatic Express Ltd. Within Russia, Staples and Pragmatic will work together exclusively on international accounts and collaborate to exchange best practices.

“As Staples expands globally, this alliance represents a unique opportunity for the company to serve both new and existing accounts that are looking for Staples’ expertise and industry-leading service levels in the Russian market,” said Rob Vale, president of Staples Europe. “Pragmatic is a great company that shares Staples’ passion for making it easy for customers to buy office products and services. We look forward to working with the Pragmatic team.”

“Pragmatic Express has always been interested in learning from the best,” said Renata Szostak, managing director for Pragmatic Express. “We severed our Lyreco agreement in August to join forces with the world’s leading office products company. This new alliance gives us a unique opportunity to access Staples’ knowledge in serving large accounts worldwide that will help us better serve customers in this area. Staples’ global experience combined with Pragmatic’s experience in the Russian contract market will bring our clients many benefits and a high level of satisfaction.”

Pragmatic Express is a leading office products company in Russia, offering a full range of office and computer supplies, facility products and related services. Founded in 1998, the company’s headquarters and warehouse are based in Moscow, and it operates a branch in St. Petersburg. With more than 700 employees, Pragmatic is a contract business that serves companies of all sizes.

Through the alliance with Pragmatic, Staples International will now service customers in 33 countries. Staples has operations in 26 countries and alliance partnerships in seven.