Office World

Office World plc, was a chain of British office superstores, which ceased trading in the end of 2005, after administration and a company buy out. In March 2004, the company was bought out by world leading office superstores, Staples UK, who sold off all the assets and stock in stores, until Office World became a dormant brand. The Office World brand, assets and stores were sold to Staples UK, for the sum of £32.5 million.[1]

Office World

Office World, Dundee, Scotland (2004)
Type	Private company, Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Fate	Acquired
Successor	Staples
Defunct	November 2005
Products	Office Supplies Computing General Stationery
Parent	Staples UK Globus Retail (previously)

After the acquisition by Staples, very few Office World stores were converted into Staples, as there were already Staples stores near to the dormant stores of Office World. Many of the stores were left unoccupied for many years after the closure of Office World, resulting in some job losses. The acquisition was completed in August 2004.[2]

They had some rival superstores, such as Staples, Stationery Box and Ryman. For Office World to compete, they had to sell both branded products (such as Esselte and Banner) and their own brand products (such as Office Essentials and Office World). Finally, in November 2005, after Staples had sold off many of the stock and stores, the last store closed.[3] Office World's website did not stop until 2006.