The retailer Bureau en gros, the Canadian subsidiary of the American giant Staples, is buying its main competitor in Quebec and Eastern Canada: Denis Office Supplies.
Posted at 4:40 p.m.
The company has 11 branches in Quebec and the Maritimes, as well as an important catalog and online ordering service. She will join the Staples Professional division, which serves the corporate account market for office supplies and furniture.
Founded in 1972, the family business described itself until recently as “the largest independent supplier of office supplies and furnishings” in Eastern Canada.
According to Jean-Guy Robillard, Vice President of Operations at Denis Office Supplies, the merger with Staples Professional is “an excellent opportunity for our teams to offer more products and services to our customers, who will benefit from the additional support and resources that our combined capabilities will offer them.”
The value and terms of the transaction were not disclosed. However, Denis Office Supplies’ key executives plan to remain in senior management at Staples in Canada.
According to this management, the acquisition of Denis Office Supplies is part of an “ongoing strategy aimed at the continuous improvement of the support offered to businesses from coast to coast”.
Because in addition to acquiring Denis in Quebec, Staples has also just got hold of the distributor Supreme Basics in Ontario. This Toronto company has 250 employees in six branches in Ontario and the Prairies, as well as a major Internet ordering service.
With this double acquisition in Canada, Staples says it wants to “expand its product and service offerings in the areas of printing and marketing, technology, cleaning products and commercial furnishings to customers of Denis office and Supreme Basics. »
In return, according to a press release, business customers of the Staples Professional division will benefit from a wider selection of products in specialized sectors such as education and legal services which are already well served by Denis Office Supplies and Supreme Basics.
This dual acquisition for Staples in Canada “will expand the office furniture supply chain for all three brands with an expanded delivery and installation network to efficiently reach more customers.”