Office Depot Expansion Brings Jobs to Jackson, MS

At a ceremony today in Jackson, Mississippi, Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, officially opened its new crossdock serving the Company’s retail stores throughout a six-state region. The new facility, which brings more than 100 new jobs to the area, supplies Office Depot stores in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Located at 840 Boling Street in Jackson, the 186,000 square-foot operation features scanning technology that ensures inventory control, efficiency and accuracy. The crossdock concept utilized by Office Depot allows for rapid sorting, consolidation, and outbound shipping of merchandise, while significantly reducing the inventory-holding requirements of a traditional warehouse. This streamlined flow of inventory is customized to service the replenishment needs of Office Depot’s 74 retail stores throughout the region. "We’ve worked very hard to continue to bring new jobs to our state and we are very pleased that Jackson is now home to Office Depot’s new facility,” said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. "We greatly value the company’s presence, economic contributions, and corporate citizenship, and look forward to its ongoing success in the Jackson community and in the state of Mississippi." "Office Depot’s business in this region continues to grow,” said Steve Odland, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. "This new Jackson facility allows us to more effectively serve our expanding retail base, provides consistent delivery to our stores and replenishes inventory as it is needed.” During today’s ceremony, Office Depot celebrated the opening of the crossdock by making a number of charitable contributions that will have a direct impact on area students and residents. The donations, which reflect the company’s strong commitment to enhancing quality of life in the communities in which it conducts business, include: United Negro College Fund - $5,000, which is designated for support of its member institution, Tougaloo College, a private, historically black, coeducational four-year liberal arts school located on the northern edge of Jackson. It is known nationally as "The Cradle of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi.” Jackson Public School District - 1,000 new backpacks containing school supplies for use by its students. United Way of the Capital Area, the Jackson Urban League and Mississippi Children’s Home Services - a $500 Office Depot gift card and 250 backpacks with school supplies for each organization to use in support of its programs and services. The backpack donations are part of the Office Depot National Backpack Program, through which the Company will distribute 300,000 new backpacks to non-profit organizations and schools serving "at-risk” children throughout the United States and Canada in 2007. Office Depot recently donated its one-millionth backpack through this program in 2006. About Office Depot Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot has annual sales of over $15 billion, and employs approximately 52,000 associates around the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 42 countries. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of December 30, 2006, Office Depot had 1,158 retail stores in North America and another 348 stores, either company-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. Office Depot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales force, telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web sites. With $4.3 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the Company is also one of the world’s largest e-commerce retailers. Office Depot’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. About the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) As the nation’s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization, the United Negro College Fund’s mission is to provide financial support to its 39 member institutions and increase minority degree attainment by reducing financial barriers to college. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 25 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 300 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship programs, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. About Jackson Public School District With more than 32,000 students enrolled in 59 schools, the Jackson Public School District is the largest school district in Mississippi. Students are enrolled in grades K-12, with 23 elementary schools offering Pre-K classes. A number of special programs are available to meet students' individual needs. It is the only district in Mississippi to offer the International Baccalaureate program from elementary through high school. 84% of schools now rate as successful, exemplary or superior. Nearly 1,400 students are enrolled in AP level courses. JPS makes educational technology available to all students with 100% of its classrooms wired for Internet accessibility. About United Way of the Capital Area The United Way of the Capital Area’s mission is to empower others to build and sustain a healthy and vibrant community. In the Capital Area, it is focused on four key impact areas of education, financial stability, housing and health care. The United Way has been a part of the community since 1939, and continues to bring the whole community together to reach its goals in these areas. About Jackson Urban League The mission of the Urban League movement is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. It employs a five-point strategy to accomplish this through education and youth empowerment, economic empowerment, health and quality of life empowerment, civic engagement and leadership empowerment, and civil rights and racial justice empowerment. About Mississippi Children's Home Services Established in 1912 to find homes for the homeless children, Mississippi Children’s Home Services has evolved to a premier behavioral health and social service agency that served over 10,000 individuals in 2006 alone. Through its affiliates, Mississippi Children’s Home Society and CARES Center, Inc., the agency offers an array of programs including adoption, psychiatric residential treatment, intensive in-home services, therapeutic group homes, foster care, children’s shelters, special education, home-based services and peer prevention education. The agency’s mission is to improve the lives of children, youth and families by providing compassionate, measurable and effective behavioral health and social services statewide.