? UNVERIFIABLE — Fresno store closure date is February 21, 2026 Web results show a Foods Co. store in Fresno closing in mid-March 2026, and Eddie Bauer in Fresno with a possible April 30 deadline, but no specific February 21, 2026 closure date was found for any Fresno store. (yourcentralvalley.com, thebusinessjournal.com)
✓ VERIFIED — Ballard OfficeMax closure date is April 11, 2026 Multiple sources confirm the Ballard OfficeMax closed on April 11, 2026, with the building purchased by AutoZone. (myballard.com, thestreet.com)
? UNVERIFIABLE — Date format November 5, 2025 No evidence found linking November 5, 2025 to any specific store closure announcement. A November 5, 2024 date was found for American Freight closures, but this does not match the claimed November 5, 2025. (wikipedia.org)
Source is well-attributed to named outlets (Dallas Morning News, FOX Business, IBISWorld, etc.). All major claims are sourced. Dates in early 2026 warrant verification as they are future projections or recently reported information.
business · lumee
Office Depot closes over 1,000 stores since 2013 merger
The former retail giant has shuttered more than half its U.S. locations over the past 13 years, reflecting industry-wide decline in office supply demand.
The short version
Office Depot and OfficeMax merged in 2013 with ~1,900 combined U.S. stores
More than half those locations have closed since the merger
Recent closures include stores in Seattle, Fresno, California and Kansas
U.S. office supply industry revenue is projected to decline 2% annually through 2026
1,000+
Stores closed since 2013 merger
~1,900
Combined stores after 2013 merger
$10.3B
U.S. office supply industry revenue
60,000
U.S. office supply industry employees
2%
Projected annual revenue decline through 2026
What happened
Office Depot and OfficeMax combined operations in 2013 as a single company with approximately 1,900 U.S. stores. Since then, more than half of those locations have closed, including recent shutdowns in Fresno and High Point in early 2026 and a Seattle OfficeMax location in April 2026. The company is no longer publicly traded.
Context
The office supply retail sector has faced sustained pressure from changing work habits, digital document management, and e-commerce competition. Industry-wide revenue is projected to decline roughly 2% annually through 2026. The 2013 Office Depot–OfficeMax merger itself was announced alongside plans to close 400 stores, suggesting the companies anticipated significant market headwinds from the outset.
Both sides
Bull
Store closures can free up capital for the company to invest in remaining locations, improve operations, and reduce overhead in an evolving market.
Bear
Widespread closures indicate declining relevance of physical office supply retail in an increasingly digital workplace and raise concerns about employment and community access to local services.
In plain words
Office Depot and OfficeMax joined forces 13 years ago as one big company with nearly 1,900 stores. Since then, they've closed more than half of them because fewer people need to buy printer paper and office stuff in person anymore—they order online instead. The whole office supply industry is shrinking about 2% every year.
What may happen
Continued selective closures
Office Depot may continue closing underperforming locations while maintaining a smaller, more profitable footprint in high-traffic areas.
scenario - not a prediction
Real estate repurposing
As seen with the Seattle OfficeMax sale to AutoZone, closed locations could be sold to other retailers seeking physical retail space.
scenario - not a prediction
Shift to services-focused model
Remaining stores might evolve to emphasize printing services, document management, and business solutions rather than product retail.
scenario - not a prediction
⚠ Disputed / unconfirmed:
Office Depot had 822 locations as of November 5, 2025 — Source says 'Nov. 5, 2025' (with period after 5) but the exact date format is slightly unclear in the source; however, the number 822 and the month/year are confirmed
Source: finance.yahoo.com · original
Generated 2026-07-02 02:02 · lumee