The office supply store is the place people stopped noticing while it disappeared. ODP, the parent of Office Depot and OfficeMax, told the SEC that it operated 822 retail stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on September 27, 2025. A year earlier it was 885, and at the end of 2023 it was 916. Under an earlier plan that ran from May 2020 to December 2024, the company closed 340 stores.
Then the public record closed too. In a current report filed on December 10, 2025, ODP said the merger had closed that day, that each share was converted into the right to receive $28 in cash, that it had asked Nasdaq to suspend trading and delist its stock, and that Craig Gunckel had become chief executive as Gerry Smith ceased to serve. Atlas Holdings issued the press release announcing the completion. The last filings before that happened describe a chain deliberately turning away from the shopper.
Trend Signal
24/100 Weak momentum
- Emerging
- Rising
- Mainstream
- Peaking
- Cooling
Store count and retail sales falling by double digits
ODP told the SEC, in its quarterly report for the period ended September 27, 2025, that it had 822 Office Depot and OfficeMax stores open, down from 885 a year earlier, with Office Depot Division sales down 13 percent in that quarter, and said a restructuring plan its board approved in February 2025 would leave a significantly smaller retail footprint.
Our editorial reading of the cited data, not a forecast. How it is scored
By the numbers
- 822Office Depot and OfficeMax stores open on September 27, 2025, against 885 a year earlierODP via SEC
- 13%Office Depot Division sales, quarter ended September 27, 2025, against a year earlierODP via SEC
- 340Retail stores ODP closed under the Maximize B2B plan, May 2020 to December 2024ODP via SEC
- $28Cash per ODP share in the merger that closed December 10, 2025, per its 8-KODP via SEC
The store count, year by year
The numbers come from ODP’s own filings and they move in one direction. In its annual report for fiscal 2024 the company ended 2023 with 916 stores and 2024 with 869, after closing 47 that year, 43 of them under the Maximize B2B plan. In its quarterly report for the period ended September 27, 2025 it reported 822 stores, after closing 12 in that quarter and 44 in the first nine months of the year. The Maximize B2B plan, which ran from May 2020 to its completion in December 2024, closed 340 stores and two distribution facilities in total, at a cost of $89 million in restructuring expenses.
Sales fell faster than the footprint. Office Depot Division external sales were $4,451 million in 2022, $3,884 million in 2023 and $3,358 million in 2024, a 14 percent drop in the latest of those years. In the third quarter of 2025 the division took $742 million against $852 million a year earlier, down 13 percent. Comparable store sales, which ODP defines as stores open at least a year and which drop out of the calculation a month before a store closes, fell 8 percent in 2024 and 7 percent in the third quarter of 2025.
ODP attributed the 2024 decline to planned store closures, lower demand and lower average order values in its stores, and said the weakness ran across the majority of its product categories, including a competitive back-to-school season.
| Period | Stores open | Office Depot Division sales | Comparable store sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2023 | 916 | $3,884 million | -6% |
| End of 2024 | 869 | $3,358 million | -8% |
| Third quarter 2024 | 885 | $852 million | -10% |
| Third quarter 2025 | 822 | $742 million | -7% |
Almost 100 stores closed in under two years, and sales fell faster than the store count.
Why the aisle is shrinking
The demand story is visible in the products themselves. The American Forest & Paper Association, in a report released September 17, 2026, put US printing-writing paper shipments down 7 percent in August against a year earlier, and down 9 percent in July. Meanwhile the BLS producer price index for paper rose from 256.718 in August 2025 to a preliminary 282.266 in August 2026, about 10 percent by our calculation. Less paper, sold at higher cost, is a hard combination for a store built around it.
The company’s answer was to change customers rather than defend the aisle. In February 2025 the board approved a plan called Optimize for Growth to expand into new business-to-business segments including hospitality, healthcare and third-party logistics, while reducing store and distribution occupancy costs. ODP said the plan suspends further growth investment in its consumer business and that it expects to close retail stores and the distribution facilities that serve them, leaving a significantly smaller retail footprint. It estimated total cash restructuring costs of $185 million to $230 million.
The pivot already shows in the mix: of $6,990 million of total sales in 2024, the contract arm, ODP Business Solutions, accounted for $3,578 million against the retail division’s $3,358 million.
What going private changes for shoppers
The immediate change is informational. A public company has to tell everyone how many stores it runs and how its comparable store sales moved; a private one does not. The December 10, 2025 filing that recorded the merger at $28 a share, the delisting request to Nasdaq and the change of chief executive is effectively the last chapter of this public data trail.
The second change is priorities. Private equity ownership arriving alongside a stated plan to shrink the retail footprint and chase business-to-business segments is not a signal that consumer stores are about to be reinvested in. ODP had already said it was evaluating which stores and distribution facilities would close, and that closures would generally track lease termination dates.
For a shopper, the practical consequence is that a nearby store is a depreciating convenience. It is worth knowing where the second-nearest option is before the first one closes, particularly for the purchases people make when something runs out mid-task.
The quarterly numbers that documented this trend have stopped; the closures have not.
What this changes for a home office buyer
Same-day pickup is the first thing to check rather than assume. ODP reported that online sales fulfilled through warehouses, click-and-collect, orders shipped from stores and same-day delivery represented 25 percent of Office Depot Division sales in the third quarter of 2025, down from 34 percent in the same quarter of 2024. That share is falling as stores close, which is exactly the capability that used to justify paying a store price for a cartridge at 4pm.
House brands deserve a second look too. CPSC recalled about 64,000 WorkPro Momentum chairs on January 16, 2025, sold by Veyer, which ODP describes as its supply chain, distribution, procurement and global sourcing operation. They had gone out through Office Depot and OfficeMax stores as well as marketplaces, and the recall was issued because bolts joining the back to the base could fail. Store brands are not inherently worse, but the company standing behind the warranty is the one restructuring.
- Check whether your nearest store still offers same-day pickup for the specific item, not just the category
- Buy paper, ink and folders in larger units when the price per unit is clearly lower
- Keep one local fallback for same-hour purchases, since office superstores are no longer the default
- Check the warranty contact for house-brand furniture before buying it
The counter-signals
This is not a chain in free fall. ODP reported that Office Depot Division operating income rose 35 percent to $31 million in the third quarter of 2025 from $23 million a year earlier, and that the rate of decline in comparable store sales improved to 7 percent from 10 percent. Closing weak stores tends to flatter the ones that remain.
We read the direction as settled and the pace as uncertain. The stores are going; which ones, and when, is now a private decision that shoppers will learn about locally rather than from a filing.
What to watch next
- Local closure notices, since store-level decisions are no longer disclosed in quarterly filings
- Whether same-day pickup and ship-from-store options survive at your nearest location, after falling to 25 percent of division sales in the third quarter of 2025
- AF&PA monthly paper shipments, the demand series underneath the whole category
Where to start
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Office supply staples compared on how they are best bought
| Product type | Good fit for | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Hanging file folders in bulk | Fits paper filing that keeps growing | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
| File storage boxes | Fits archiving and moving | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
| Desk organizer set | Fits a desk that never stays tidy | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
Product types that fit the trend described above, not tested models. Check the exact listing before you buy. How we pick them.
Hanging file folders in bulk
Where to look: Amazon
The clearest case for buying online in quantity rather than by the handful in a store, since the price per folder falls sharply with box size.
- Cheapest per folder in bulk boxes
- Standard sizes are widely stocked
- Frames are often sold separately
- Tab styles are not interchangeable
File storage boxes
Where to look: Amazon
Worth checking whether the lid is attached or separate, because that decides how the boxes behave once they are stacked three high.
- Stack for long-term storage
- Fit letter and legal in the same box
- Flat-packed boxes take assembly
- Weak lids collapse when stacked
Desk organizer set
Where to look: Amazon
The category where store browsing used to win. With fewer stores to browse, measure the desk and check the stated drawer dimensions instead.
- Keeps small consumables in one place
- Cheap to replace as needs change
- Drawer sizes rarely stated clearly
- Takes desk depth you may need
More: Work and Office trends and how the Trend Signal is scored.
Sources
- The ODP Corporation quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 27, 2025 — US Securities and Exchange Commission
- The ODP Corporation annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 — US Securities and Exchange Commission
- The ODP Corporation current report on Form 8-K, December 10, 2025 — US Securities and Exchange Commission
- AF&PA releases August 2026 printing-writing monthly report — American Forest & Paper Association
- Veyer recalls WorkPro office chairs due to fall hazard, recall 25-097 — US Consumer Product Safety Commission
Questions readers ask
Is Office Depot going out of business?
Its filings do not say that. They say it is getting smaller: 822 stores on September 27, 2025 against 916 at the end of 2023, and a February 2025 plan to suspend growth investment in the consumer business and close stores, leaving a significantly smaller retail footprint.
Who owns Office Depot now?
Affiliates of Atlas Holdings. ODP told the SEC that the merger closed on December 10, 2025, that shareholders received $28 in cash per share, that it asked Nasdaq to delist the stock, and that Craig Gunckel became chief executive as Gerry Smith departed.
Why are office supply store sales falling?
Demand for the core product is shrinking. AF&PA, in a report released September 17, 2026, put US printing-writing paper shipments down 7 percent in August against a year earlier. ODP blamed its own 2024 decline on planned store closures, lower demand and lower average order values across most categories.
Can I still get same-day pickup?
At fewer places than before. ODP reported that online sales fulfilled from warehouses, click-and-collect, ship-from-store and same-day delivery made up 25 percent of Office Depot Division sales in the third quarter of 2025, down from 34 percent a year earlier.
