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My God...They're everywhere!!!! If you have never seen an OfficeMax in your neighborhood, chances are you will. The number three office supply chain behind Staples and Office Depot, OfficeMax has a whopping 960 stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands with more on the way. OfficeMax caters to mostly small and medium sized businesses, home office customers, and individuals, luring buyers with discounts of 30-70 percent below suggested retail prices on anything from felt pens and sticky notes to toilet paper and small refrigerators. But OfficeMax also does high tech; computer and electronic sales now make up 50 percent of the company's revenue. Its TriMax Super Stores are small cities themselves, three stores in one: OfficeMax, CopyMax (printing and copy services), and FurnitureMax (office furniture). Bringing order to the office supply galaxy Out of chaos came order. That's probably the best way to describe the retail market before Michael Feuer and partner Robert Hurwitz opened the first OfficeMax in 1988. At the time, most of the nation's businesses and consumers bought their office supplies from thousands of small retailers that offered a limited selection and service. Backed by the financial strength of Kmart (which knows a few things about mega stores and at one point owned over 90 percent of Office Max) the office supplier quickly expanded in the nineties, buying up such chains as Office World and BizMart. OfficeMax plans to invest $100 million to open 50 stores in Mexico and will add 200 outlets in Japan over the next five to seven years. In order to grow, one must shrink The real scary thing about OfficeMax is that, despite its sheer size (over $3.9 billion in revenue for 1998), there is still plenty of room to grow. OfficeMax, Staples, and Office Depot together make up only 20 percent of the $180 billion office supply market. So what is OfficeMax's strategy for growth? Getting smaller, at least in store size. The company recently opened OfficeMax PDQs, a line of small 6,500 square ft. stores aimed at office parks and college campuses. OfficeMax is also looking toward rural towns and small suburbs, areas where small retailers cannot match its selection or discounted prices, by dropping its minimum population market size from 200,000 to 50,000. OfficeMax also expects big things from its web site, offering more than 20,000 items to customers on-line. Making way for Gateway In spite of PC sales of $67.8 million a quarter, OfficeMax was losing money in that category. The company entered into an agreement in 2000 with Gateway to close all computer departments in its U.S. stores and open Gateway "stores-within-stores". All national OfficeMax stores will be outfitted with Gateway sub-stores by spring 2001, completely staffed with Gateway employees. Staying strong OfficeMax was the object of an unsolicited acquisition bid in 2000, and as a result instituted a "poison pill" to protect it from future attempts. Investors are now limited to a 15 percent stake in the company. OfficeMax is looking to grow on its own, and remain its own company. It now offers new online services for its small business customers in conjunction with Tornado Development and OneCore.com enabling customers to access email, voicemail, faxes, and pages from a single mailbox through any web-enabled computer, Web TV browser or touch-tone phone, and access OneCore's financial management services.
OfficeMax has virtually no recruiting presence on college campuses. Most of the hiring is done through referrals, advertisements in trade magazines, such as Discount Store News, or major newspapers. Managers are also known to scout potential employers at nearby retailers. The company has recently begun posting job openings in stores. You can also check out the company's Web site at www.officemax.com. OfficeMax also accepts resumes by mail to its corporate headquarters in Ohio. Employees describe the interview process as "relaxed" and "frugal" with "2 or 3 rounds of low stress interviews. No technical questions but lots of 'how would you handle this situation' questions." A college degree and computer skills are big assets. OfficeMax may also conduct psychological profiles and a "thorough background check to weed out potential liabilities." Applicants for managerial positions are usually interviewed by the Regional Human Resources Manager, District Managers, and one or two Store managers. Human Resources and department heads screen potential corporate hires. With OfficeMax expanding rapidly, qualified applicants have "a lot of bargaining power." According to one insider, "due to the scarcity of retail managers and rapid growth of companies like OfficeMax, a college degree in business, retail management experience, or a combination of both assure you of a job offer. They need you more than you need them." Once you are offered a job, one employee advises, "ask for 2 weeks paid vacation during your first year. Companies like OfficeMax prefer not to give it to you but will if you tell them it's something you really need to be able to work for them. Otherwise, you'll work more than a year without a vacation."
Plenty of opportunities, but... Since OfficeMax is a relatively young company, employees describe the environment as "changing", "dynamic", and "growing". Growth is an often used word at OfficeMax with one employee commenting "You couldn't choose a stronger company financially. There are many opportunities due to the explosive growth of our company." However, with expansion comes growing pains. "The corporate culture is based on fear and blame," said one insider. "There is very little support for the individual locations. You are left on your own to sink or swim and that is not something they want to hear. Their replenishment system of merchandise is extremely weak and not coordinated with their advertising." Do things yourself? Perish the thought Pay is pretty much industry standard with the usual benefits package- medical, dental, visual, and a 401K plan for salaried employees. According to one insider, "Managers' stock options are virtually worthless. Pay for managers and associates has gone up, while store payroll has remained the same. That means if you want something done, be prepared to do it yourself." Pay for an Assistant Manager ranges from the low 30's to the mid 40's with a Store Manager earning from the low 40's to the upper 50's. Diversity: serious room for improvement Hours range from 10-12 hours a day/5-7 days a week. Dress code at the corporate office is professional attire with business casual on Fridays. OfficeMax is not known for its commitment to diversity. "At the end of 1998, OfficeMax had no female regional managers and 2 female district managers," said one employee. "The majority of Store managers in the Phoenix area were white males." The employee notes that OfficeMax recently settled a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by its then highest female ranking executive against Michael Feuer, OfficeMax's founder and CEO.
Human Resources
Electronics;Computers;Office supplies;Office furniture
Best Buy;BJs Wholesale Club;Circuit City;CompUSA;Corporate Express; Egghead.com;Kinko's;Office Depot;Sears;Staples;U.S. Office Products;Wal-Mart More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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