Staples announces 70 more store closings as sales continue to sink
The company shuttered 48 locations in North America last year after U.S. regulators blocked its attempt to buy Office Depot.
“Staples’ ‘Plan B’ is off to a rough start,” a recent headline in The Boston Globe reads.
It’s not media coverage that any PR pro wants to see—and for the company’s communicators, it looks like more hits are on the way.
On Thursday, the company announced disappointing fourth-quarter sales results—and then said that it would close 70 stores in North America.
In its press release, Staples explained:
Total company sales for the fourth quarter of 2016 were $4.6 billion, a decrease of three percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $615 million, or $0.94 per share. Fourth quarter 2016 results from continuing operations include pre-tax charges of $791 million primarily related to goodwill impairment, restructuring costs, and the impairment of long-lived assets.
The subpar earnings announcement also caused the company’s stock price to drop to the lowest it’s been in nearly seven months.
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