Office Depot tops $3.8 billion in online sales, buys South Korean company

Office Depot Inc. surpassed $3.8 billion in e-commerce sales last year, up about 22% from $3.1 billion in 2004, and is launching a presence in South Korea by purchasing a controlling interest in multi-channel Best Office Co. Ltd., Office Depot said.

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E-commerce sales accounted for 26.6% of total 2005 sales of $14.28 billion, up from 22.8% of total 2004 sales of $13.56 billion.

Office Depot, No. 3 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, said it is purchasing a controlling interest in Best Office Co., which describes itself as the “No. 1 office-supply Internet shopping mall” in South Korea. Best has invested steadily in e-commerce since 2002 and has been experiencing annual increases in online sales of 70%, the South Korean company says in a statement co-released with Office Depot.

With its controlling interest in Best Office, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, Office Depot will operate in 23 foreign markets, a spokesman says.

Noah Maffitt, director of e-commerce at Office Depot, will speak at the Internet Retailer 2006 Conference in June in Chicago on the topic, “The Ever-Growing Challenge of Managing Web Site Content.”