Dive Brief:
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Office Depot will close more than the 150 stores it had earlier slated, the company announced. The total this year will now be 165.
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The office supply retailer also announced that it settled a longstanding lawsuit in California by one of its former accountants, who said the retailer overcharged the state for supplies. The retailer admits no wrongdoing but is paying $80 million.
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The retailer saw Q2 same-store sales decline 3%. The company acquired rival office-supply chain OfficeMax last year.
Dive Insight:
Office Depot is still working out details post-merger, but the pressure in the office-supply retail sector remains strong. It’s an area of retail that has seen an enormous shift to online commerce, and is less likely to bring in customers to its brick-and-mortar stores to reorder supplies.