As more and more of its business moves into the digital realm and away from physical stores, office supply chain Staples Inc. said it would close another 225 stores over the next two years.
Staples has stores locally at 7910 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills, as well as at 6260 Commerce Palms in New Tampa. The company did not indicate which stores are closing, or if either the Zephyrhills or New Tampa locations will be affected.
Sales were off by more than 10 percent for the chain over the final three months of 2013, and Staples had already shuttered more than 60 stores nationwide last year. Since then the company has increased its online offerings from 100,000 products to 500,000, and reduced store sizes and different locations, according to its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Staples has more than 1,500 stores in the United States, and employs more than 50,000 people.
For the stores that remain open, Staples is looking to add more product categories by the end of June. They includes supplies for facilities and break rooms, maintenance repair, storage services, and gifts and cards for office parties, among other items. In all, Staples says it will add 1,600 products beyond office supplies, and remove 1,000 others as the store tries to refresh its offerings.
