Office Depot Introduces New Product Leasing Option to Help Its Customers Take Care of Business in Tough Economy

Office Depot® (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced the launch of a new office equipment and furniture leasing option for small business customers in North America. The new SmartWayLeasing™ service, delivered in partnership with specialist international leasing business ThinkSmart, is currently available in select Office Depot retail store locations in the Greater Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida area, with nationwide expansion expected during the year. SmartWayLeasing from Office Depot is the first small business product leasing solution available through an Office Supply Superstore. Office Depot’s SmartWayLeasing enables small businesses to save thousands of dollars of upfront expenses by providing them with the option to lease office equipment, including computers, peripherals and office furniture. Customers can select from a three or four year term and can choose from a wide variety of equipment ranging in price from $500 to $10,000. At the end of the lease term, the customer has the option to either renew the current lease, return the equipment, or upgrade to new equipment. "Small businesses are facing many challenges with the current economic environment, and the new SmartWayLeasing option from Office Depot will help to provide these customers with the flexibility needed to stretch their equipment budgets further,” said Chuck Rubin, President of North American Retail for Office Depot. "Small business growth is a critical component that fuels today’s economy and Office Depot understands the small business customer better than anyone. That’s why we continue to look for new and innovative ways to partner with our customers and help them to succeed.” Small businesses can also include important core supplies such as ink, toner and paper as part of their SmartWayLeasing plan. Approval takes place directly at Office Depot retail locations, with most approvals taking less than 10 minutes. Customers can take in-stock merchandise with them the same day, with the exception of large items such as furniture that can be scheduled for delivery. For more information about Office Depot’s SmartWayLeasing plan, please visit www.officedepot.com. About Office Depot Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to its customers through more than 1,600 worldwide retail stores, a dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.9 billion e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately $15.5 billion, and employs about 49,000 associates around the world. The company provides more office products and services to more customers in more countries than any other company, and currently sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 43 countries. 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 ThinkSmart ThinkSmart is a leading international financial services company that is focused on the delivery of B2B finance products through the retail environment. The business currently operates with market leading retailers and financial institutions in Europe and Australia where it has built a reputation for processing high volumes of low value business finance transactions both quickly and efficiently. ThinkSmart is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange code (ASX:TSM).