Marketing91

  • Home
  • Discounts and Deals
    • Marketing Tools Discounts
    • Financial Tools Discounts
  • Brands Analysis
    • Competitors
    • Top Brands Lists
    • SWOT of Brands
    • Brand Ownership
Home » SWOT of Brands » Swot Analysis Of Staples

Swot Analysis Of Staples

April 17, 2019 | By Hitesh Bhasin | Filed Under: SWOT of Brands

Staples, Inc. is an American multinational office supply retailer. It has around 1,500 stores in North America and is headquarteredFramingham, Massachusetts and it opened its first store in Brighton, Massachusetts. Staples does business with large enterprises in Canada and USA.

It sells office machines, office supplies, technology&business services, printing & marketing service via both physical and online stores. It serves the wide range of enterprises from solopreneurs to Fortune 100 Companies. Staples assures that it has all the office supplies a company would need.

Table of Contents

  • Strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Staples
    • 1) Sustainable Brand
    • 2) Excellent Strategy
    • 3) Omni-channel offering
  • Weaknesses in the swot analysis of Staples
    • 1) Strong competition
    • 2) R&D activities
  • Opportunities  in the swot analysis of Staples
    • 1) New Technology
    • 2) Growth Acceleration
  • Threats in the swot analysis of Staples
    • 1) Counterfeit products
    • 2) Currency Fluctuations
    • 3) No point of differentiation

Strengths in the SWOT Analysis of Staples

SWOT ANALYSIS OF STAPLES - 1

1) Sustainable Brand

The brand has a program called “EcoEasy” program that provides its customers access to earth-friendly and recyclable products. It has a large market share and the brand image of Staple is that their products are of high quality.

Since years, Staples has made sustainability a fundamental part of its brand identity. It wants to become a globally responsible brand by ensuring its products are environmentally favorable and uses its position in the market to educate its customers about recycling and waste reduction.

2) Excellent Strategy

Staples has built expertise at entering newer markets and obtaining success, the expansion in different markets has helped the organization build newer revenue streams and diversify the economic cycle risks in different markets it operates in.

It has a strong focus in Omni-channel commerce strategy by fulfilling customer’s “get-it-now” demands and it also assures customers receive same-day delivery. By 2020 Staples wants to focus on growing the mid-market in North America, cut back the cost of the company and remain profitable in North America.

3) Omni-channel offering

Staples is improving its online and mobile capabilities to allow customers to experience differentiated multi-channel experience shopping experience. It is obtaining success in categories like breakroom supplies, technology products, copy & print. It wants its customers to have a seamless shopping experience.

Also Read  SWOT Analysis of Kurkure

The customers are provided a toll-free number at their fingertips to have a live chat with the representative. It has ensured customer engagement as the focus of their Omni-channel retailing. In a Staples, outlet customers will have both Point Of Sale and also online checkout. They also thoroughly integrate marketing campaigns across all the channels present.

Weaknesses in the swot analysis of Staples

1) Strong competition

Staples faces tough competition from companies like Walmart, Office Max and Circuit city store and also Amazon. Even though it is the largest distributor of office supply it is not immune to the tough competitions.

The competitive advantage of Staple is its economies of scale and excellent operating capabilities. However, it’s a competitive advantage is getting diluted due to a merger of OfficeMax and Office Depot and also threat by Amazon on its delivery business. The products at Walmart are much cheaper than that of Staples, however, Stales should play on its strength of providing high-quality products.

2) R&D activities

Even though Staples is investing above average in Research & Development, it has not been able to compete with the players. In terms of innovation, Staples is lagging behind its competitors. Staples looks forward to bring out products that are based on tested features in the market. Both Amazon and Walmart are either building capabilities or buying them and are also establishing their own incubators, Walmart has its own research firm Walmart Labs which invests in businesses and startups

Opportunities  in the swot analysis of Staples

SWOT ANALYSIS OF STAPLES - 2

1) New Technology

Staples leverage the use of newer technology to provide differentiated pricing opportunities to the customers. It has enabled the firm to retain loyal customers through their value-oriented propositions. It is prioritizing innovation as a catalyst to provided a differentiated product offering to the customers.

They have voice-enabled Easy Button recording systems to quickly record supplies, chat about their needs and track shipments. It combines product management with technology.

2) Growth Acceleration

Staple’s expansion model has helped it build newer revenue streams and has ensured superb performances in newer markets. It is now planning to integrate its retail and online offering, increase investments, implement leadership changes, also initiate a multi-cost saving plan and restructure its internal operations. All these strategies are aimed at accelerating the growth and also improving productivity. These strategies if implemented properly will allow greater growth opportunities for Staples.

Also Read  SWOT Analysis of Lindt Chocolates

Threats in the swot analysis of Staples

1) Counterfeit products

Counterfeit is a trillion dollar problem and is a significant threat to any brand. It is one of the most growing threat online. The volume of fake office supply products are increasing and the products have reached the global marketplace. The marketing costs also increase when illicit sellers bid up the paid advertising and erode legitimate SEO initiates. It affects the loyalty and lifetime value of the consumers. Staples have developed counterfeit detector pens to identify fake office supplies, however, the threat from this is still strong.

2) Currency Fluctuations

The company is operating in numerous countries thus it is exposed to currency fluctuations. It has to face the volatile political climate is various markets.

For a company like Staples, it is difficult to predict its earnings. If the company predicts to earn a certain amount each year, it faces significant reduction or increment depending on the exchange rate.

3) No point of differentiation

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Staples was selling office supplies, computer hardware, and software and it was considered a unique product positioning but with companies, Office Depot and Office Max also expanded and gained significant market share.  Walmart also started selling similar products and Amazon started selling office products with better delivery service. Thus it is always necessary for a company to evolve its shopper experience and thus Staples needs to create a better point of differentiation.

Liked this post? Check out the complete series on SWOT

Related posts:

  1. SWOT Analysis of McDonalds (Updated 2025)
  2. SWOT Analysis of Aquaguard – Aquaguard SWOT Analysis
  3. SWOT Analysis of Absolut Vodka – Absolut SWOT Analysis
  4. SWOT analysis of Nivea (Updated 2025)
  5. SWOT Analysis of Pantene – Pantene SWOT analysis
  6. SWOT Analysis of Zara (Updated 2025)
  7. SWOT Analysis of Duracell – Duracell SWOT Analysis
  8. SWOT Analysis of EasyJet (Updated 2025)
  9. SWOT Analysis of Rado
  10. SWOT Analysis of Timex

About Hitesh Bhasin

Hitesh Bhasin is the Founder of Marketing91 and has over a decade of experience in the marketing field. He is an accomplished author of thousands of insightful articles, including in-depth analyses of brands and companies. Holding an MBA in Marketing, Hitesh manages several offline ventures, where he applies all the concepts of Marketing that he writes about.

All Knowledge Banks (Hub Pages)

  1. Marketing Hub
  2. Management Hub
  3. Marketing Strategy
  4. Advertising Hub
  5. Branding Hub
  6. Market Research
  7. Small Business Marketing
  8. Sales and Selling
  9. Marketing Careers
  1. Internet Marketing
  2. Business Model of Brands
  3. Marketing Mix of Brands
  4. Brand Competitors
  5. Strategy of Brands
  6. SWOT of Brands
  7. Customer Management
  8. Top 10 Lists
Not found what you are looking for? Search this website.
Advertisement
Recent Posts:
  • Helium 10 35% Off Coupon Code on Monthly Plans
  • Best Semrush Alternatives in 2025: 10 Top Competitors Compared
  • 3 Crucial Tools for Digital Acquisition Marketing – All for Free
  • Best Prop Firms for US Traders in 2025
  • eSIM Solutions That Save Big on Business Travel Expenses
Advertisement

Marketing91

ABOUT THIS WEBSITE:

  • About Marketing91
  • Marketing91 Team
  • Sitemap
  • Contact us
  • Advertise with us
 

LEGAL NOTICES:

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policy
  • Terms of Use
Marketing91 - Discounts and Coupon Codes on Best Online Tools

Copyright © 2009 - 2025 Marketing91 All Rights Reserved