Staples Inc., Framingham, Mass., announced last week its sales in the first quarter, which ended May 3, saw a $5.7 billion decrease. That equates to about a 3 percent fall—1 percent of which is believed to have come from foreign exchange rate changes and North American store closures during the year preceding the first quarter.
“We’re making progress meeting the changing needs of our customers as we reinvent Staples,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ chairman and CEO. “Despite a slow start to the first quarter, our results were in line with our expectations and we expect to build momentum throughout 2014.”
In its North America Commercial section, which includes the promotional products division, sales totaled $2.1 billion, a 1 percent increase over the same quarter last year. The company attributed promotional products as one of the reasons for the increase.
Other highlights include a 6-percent sales increase on Staples.com while closing 16 North American stores in the first quarter with plans to close 80 more in the second quarter. Also in the second quarter, the company expects another quarter decrease over last year.
For more information, visit www.staples.com.