Sales rose slightly in the past two quarters, a first in Bruce Nelson's four years of trying to jump-start the chain as it struggled to gain on Staples Inc.
By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published October 5, 2004
Office Depot Inc., the nation's second-biggest office supply retailer, on Monday said it ousted its chief executive after the company endured four years of marginal performance.
The move came after Office Depot confirmed its third-quarter earnings will fall short of analysts' projections, partly because of hurricanes and a lackluster back-to-school season.
Gone is Bruce Nelson, 59, who as chairman and chief executive of the Delray Beach retailer was paid $2.9-million last year. In for now is Neil Austrian, a 64-year-old Dillon Read Co. investment banker and one-time chief operating officer of the NFL.
Meanwhile, Office Depot hired Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to a search for a permanent successor.
Termed a "mutual" decision, the departure of the charismatic Nelson has been brewing for some time. Sales in Office Depot stores open more than a year inched up in each of the two most recent quarters. That was the first time they rose at all since Nelson took on the mission of re-invigorating the chain and its bare-bones stores four years ago.
One of the big-three chains for office supplies with sales of $13.2-billion in 2003, Office Depot slipped behind industry-leading rival Staples Inc. a few years ago and had trouble regaining traction. A $919-million acquisition of a European office supply business last year ended with a sales decline.
Nelson beefed up the technology products aisle while substantially whittling down the typical Office Depot selection to fewer than 10,000 items.
The company also recently bought 50 abandoned Kids "R" Us stores for conversions to a new standard Office Depot layout this year.
While Austrian plans to stick with Nelson's ambitious plan of adding 100 more stores each of the next two years, he said the company needs the most work on the basics of retailing and logistics.
"We don't need new plans, just better execution of them," he said.
The company's stock price was virtually unmoved Monday, closing at $15.14, up 6 cents.
