First-quarter sales for Office Depot decreased 19%, to $3.2 billion for the period ended March 28. The office supplies merchant reported a net loss of $55 million, compared to net income of $69 million for the same period in 2008.
Sales for the quarter in Office Depot’s North America Business Solutions Division, which includes catalogs, sank 17%, to $914 million, “driven by significant spending cuts by the division’s customers,” according to a company release. The North American Retail Division’s sales fell 16%, to $1.4 billion, with same-store sales down 17% for the quarter. Sales in the International Division decreased 24%, to $875 million.
Office Depot closed 107 stores during the quarter. Most of the revenue decline can be attributed to macroeconomic factors as consumers and small business customers reduced their spending—especially on large-ticket items like furniture and computers, the release says. But Office Depot’s decision to “be less aggressive with advertising promotions in certain categories also contributed to the sales decrease.”