Office Depot CEO on the retailer’s hunt for partners
Office Depot marked it’s the third straight quarter of growth and the first time in ten years the company has grown its business organically.
“We are pivoting to be a business services company so we are extremely excited with the potential going forward,” Office Depot CEO Gerry Smith told FOX Business during an exclusive interview on “Countdown to the Closing Bell” on Wednesday.
That potential may include increasing its market share by exploring partner opportunities.
“We’re going to look for partners of driving products into [the business services] platform and we are always looking for opportunities,” he said.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODP | THE ODP CORP. | 25.68 | -0.45 | -1.72% |
This is not first time the office supply company has explored opportunities. However, a federal judge nixed a $6.3 billion proposed merger of Staples and Office Depot during the Obama administration.
As for the 2018 midterm elections, which handed the Democrats control of the House and Republicans a bigger majority in the Senate, Smith says his company was ready to handle the political outcome no matter what.
“Our focus is to satisfy all our customers and we’re going to do that whether which way the election went, we were prepared for it,” he said.
The office supply retailer reported third-quarter earnings above expectations accruing a net income of $60 million, or 11 cents a share.
Shares closed 24 percent higher on quarterly results.