Officeworks

Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers.

Officeworks
Subsidiary
IndustryRetail
FoundedJune 1994[1]
Headquarters
East Bentleigh, Melbourne, VIC
,
Australia
Number of locations
167
Key people
John Gillam (CEO of Bunnings & Officeworks)
Sarah Hunter (Managing Director - Officeworks) Maternity leave
Michael Howard (Acting Managing Director - Officeworks)
Revenue A$2.31 billion (2019)[2]
A$167 million (2019)[3]
Total assets A$1.4 billion (2016)
Number of employees
7,000+[4]
ParentWesfarmers
DivisionsOfficeworks Retail, Officeworks Business
Websitewww.officeworks.com.au

The company was established in the early 1990s by Coles Myer, which became Coles Group before it was acquired by Wesfarmers. Its head office is located in Bentleigh East, Melbourne. The store concept adopted by Officeworks was based on the US chain Office Depot.[5]

Officeworks store in Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory
View of the interior of an Officeworks store in 2008.
View of the interior of an Officeworks store in 2008.

History

Formation to 2008

The first Officeworks store opened in the inner city suburb of Richmond in Melbourne on 16 June 1994.

IT retailer Harris Technology, purchased by Coles Myer in 1999, became a subsidiary of Officeworks. Viking Australia (a subsidiary of Office Depot) was purchased by Coles Myer in December 2002 and was merged with Officeworks Direct to form Officeworks BusinessDirect, now known as Officeworks Business.

In late 2006 Officeworks opened its 100th store in South Yarra, just kilometres from the first store in Richmond. Following the purchase of Coles Group by Wesfarmers in November 2007, Officeworks and Harris Technology became part of Wesfarmers' Home Improvement and Office Supplies division.

Since 2008

Officeworks rebranded in 2008, revising its logo, uniforms, store department names, and slogan - "Lowest Prices Everyday". This positioned Officeworks as a low cost warehouse similar to that of its sister company Bunnings Warehouse. Officeworks also adopted the "Lowest Price Guarantee" similar to that found at Bunnings, where Officeworks offered to beat any competitor's price of an identical item by 5%. In 2011 Officeworks cut ties with paper supplier APRIL over claims that the paper supplier was illegally logging Indonesian forests.[6]

Officeworks changed its slogan in August 2012 to "Big Ideas. Lowest prices". Under the new advertising campaign, commercials focussed on store prices being checked "twice daily", and slogans such as "we buy in bulk, so you get the lowest prices" were used.[7] Officeworks also began offering free Wi-Fi access in all stores.[8]

In June 2015, Officeworks opened a "3D Experience" centre at its Russell Street, Melbourne store, with 3D printers and scanners for sale, and 3D printing and scanning services.[9]

By 2016 Officeworks had 164 stores nationally. In 2017, Officeworks stated it planned to add accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, communications and web design services targeted at small, micro and medium-sized businesses.[10]

In February 2018, Officeworks updated their tagline to "make bigger things happen" to reinforce that they're there to support customers by having a wide range of products at low prices and with great service.[11]

Social Responsibility

In 2017, Officeworks launched their Restoring Australia initiative in partnership with Greening Australia. For every tree used to make their paper and wood based office supplies, based on weight, two trees will be planted in key Australia landscapes that are depleting.[12]

Officeworks was the first Australian company to become the first signatory to the Vancouver Declaration, a public promise made by companies across the globe to work towards more sustainable sourcing of forest products.[13]

Business model

Officeworks is a category killer within the office supplies product category.[14] Each of its stores carries more than 30,000 products, to which it adds a further 1,000-2,000 products annually.[15] Officeworks aims to cater for the entire needs of the small office, home office and families with student dependants.[16]

Most Officeworks stores feature the following departments:[17]

  • Print & Copy (formerly Printworks) - Printing, photocopying, laminating, custom promotional products, photobooks, business cards, printed stationery, stamps, ID photos and name badges.
  • Technology (aka Business Machines, formerly Techworks) - Computers, laptops, Apple products, headphones, speakers, and other electronic products as well as ink cartridges and toners for printers.
  • Furniture (formerly Furnitureworks) - Chairs, desks, workstations, filing cabinets, pedestals, lighting and other office furniture.
  • Stationery - Pens, paper and other stationery needs.
  • Art and craft supplies - Paints, watercolours, conte pencils, drawing pencils, sketch pads, easels, poster cardboard, canvases.
  • Early learning and development products - shape and letter sets, craft kits, puzzles and board books.
  • Mailman - parcel post services e.g., price-leader parcel and document delivery services.
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gollark: Yes.
gollark: It'll just be overwritten when I update the one on my laptop and push it to the server.
gollark: I only updated what's on the server.
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See also

References
  1. Our Stores. Officeworks. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  2. 2019 Annual Report
  3. 2019 Annual Report
  4. Who We Are. Officeworks. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. "Officeworks fits in the Bunnings shed". The Australian. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  6. "Officeworks cuts ties with papermaker". Wesfarmers Limited. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  7. Campaignbrief - Officeworks launches 'Big Ideas. Lowest prices' campaign
  8. Free WiFi service. Officeworks. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  9. "3D printing gives rise to 'Mini Me' dolls". Herald-Sun. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. Mitchell, S., "Officeworks ramps up Amazon defences," Australian Financial Review, 15 June 2017,Online: http://www.afr.com/business/retail/officeworks-ramps-up-amazon-defences-20170615-gwrnz1#ixzz4wkhw4azt
  11. "Officeworks launches new 'Make Bigger Things Happen' creative campaign via AJF Partnership". Campaign-Brief. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. http://restoringaustralia.com.au/
  13. "Congratulations Officeworks, Australia's first signatory to the Vancouver Declaration!". FSC. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  14. Letts, S., "Most Wesfarmers retail struggling to emulate Bunnings momentum," ABC News 30 April 2014, Online: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-30/most-wesfarmers-retail-cannot-emulate-bunnings-momentum/5420234; Mitchell, S., "Officeworks ramps up Amazon defences," Australian Financial Review, 15 June 2017,Online: http://www.afr.com/business/retail/officeworks-ramps-up-amazon-defences-20170615-gwrnz1#ixzz4wkhw4azt
  15. Dana McCauley. D., "How Officeworks grew from a single store in Melbourne to a $1.5 billion ‘mini Bunnings’" News.com.au, Online: http://www.news.com.au/finance/small-business/how-officeworks-grew-from-a-single-store-in-melbourne-to-a-15-billion-mini-bunnings/news-story/3051b93e53c4466501d8cd940d380970; Mitchell, S.,"Officeworks looks to bigger stores as it eyes $55b market," Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/officeworks-eyes-55b-market-20160405-gnyojy.html
  16. Dana McCauley. D., "How Officeworks grew from a single store in Melbourne to a $1.5 billion ‘mini Bunnings’" News.com.au, Online: http://www.news.com.au/finance/small-business/how-officeworks-grew-from-a-single-store-in-melbourne-to-a-15-billion-mini-bunnings/news-story/3051b93e53c4466501d8cd940d380970; Mitchell, S.,"Officeworks looks to bigger stores as it eyes $55b market," Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/officeworks-eyes-55b-market-20160405-gnyojy.html
  17. Dana McCauley. D., "How Officeworks grew from a single store in Melbourne to a $1.5 billion ‘mini Bunnings’" News.com.au, Online: http://www.news.com.au/finance/small-business/how-officeworks-grew-from-a-single-store-in-melbourne-to-a-15-billion-mini-bunnings/news-story/3051b93e53c4466501d8cd940d380970;Mitchell, S.,"Officeworks looks to bigger stores as it eyes $55b market," Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/officeworks-eyes-55b-market-20160405-gnyojy.html
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