Office Depot, Inc. Survey Finds Thoughtful and Playful Gifts Are Preferred for Holiday Giving and Receiving with Co-Workers

Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP), a leading global provider of office products, services, and solutions and parent company of Office Depot and OfficeMax, today released survey data revealing preferences, quirks and motivations of part- and full-time employees planning to buy gifts for their co-workers this holiday season. Even though 82 percent will invest effort in picking the right gift for their co-workers, 39 percent believe ‘regifting’ occurs in the workplace.

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Employees place high importance on giving a thoughtful and personalized gift to co-workers. According to the survey, 93 percent of respondents indicated that they give holiday gifts because they consider co-workers friends, and 85 percent say they enjoy exchanging gifts with co-workers. Additionally, 94 percent feel it is important to pick the right gift for a co-worker.

“People have close, personal and professional relationships with their co-workers, and they put thought and effort into choosing the right gift for them,” said Tim Rea, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Office Depot, Inc. “At Office Depot, we understand that gifting is an important part of the holiday season and we strive to make it fun and easy to find the right gift for everyone on your list – including your co-workers.”

Unique and playful gifts, personalized for the individual are near the top of everyone’s list. Respondents prefer to receive thoughtful (52 percent) and practical (45 percent) gifts from their co-workers. According to the survey, some of the best gifts ever received from co-workers include:

• Gift cards (25 percent)
• Food and drink (11 percent)
• Technology (8 percent)
• Office supplies (5 percent)
• Homemade goods (3 percent)

As for the motivations behind gift-giving in the workplace, 90 percent give as a way to show appreciation and 86 percent give gifts because they want to encourage or sustain a good relationship with their co-worker. This could be a factor in why nearly one quarter of respondents prefer to give and receive playful gifts.

To see how Office Depot and OfficeMax make holiday gifting more fun, visit officedepot.com/holiday.

Research Methodology

From September 29 – October 2, 2015, APCO Insight conducted an online quantitative survey among 300 U.S. workers on behalf of Office Depot.

About Office Depot, Inc.

Office Depot, Inc. is a leading global provider of products, services, and solutions for every workplace – whether your workplace is an office, home, school or car.

Office Depot, Inc. is a resource and a catalyst to help customers work better. We are a single source for everything customers need to be more productive, including the latest technology, core office supplies, print and document services, business services, facilities products, furniture, and school essentials.

The company has annual sales of approximately $16 billion, employs approximately 56,000 associates, and serves consumers and businesses in 59 countries with approximately 1,800 retail stores, award-winning e-commerce sites and a dedicated business-to-business sales organization – all delivered through a global network of wholly owned operations, joint ventures, franchisees, licensees and alliance partners. The company operates under several banner brands including Office Depot, OfficeMax, OfficeMax Grand & Toy, Reliable and Viking. The company’s portfolio of exclusive product brands include TUL, Foray, Brenton Studio, Ativa, WorkPro, Realspace and HighMark.

Office Depot, Inc.’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ODP. Additional press information can be found at: http://news.officedepot.com.

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