Staples Earnings Soar

Staples’ earnings up 27%.

The Framingham company said first-quarter net income rose to $159.4 million from $125.7 million in the same period last year, cushioning its lead as the nation’s number one office supply chain.

For the first time, Staples, which saw total sales grow 13 percent to $3.9 billion from $3.45 billion in the same quarter a year ago, made forays into Chicago. The office supplies giant opened eight stores in the city, going head-to-head with rivals Office Depot Inc. and OfficeMax Inc. of Itasca, Ill. — companies that have long dominated this Midwest market.

For as often as I use and frequent Staples, I feel personally responsible for these numbers. Seriously, Staples has charged to the top of the office supply mountain and has not forgotten that customer service is a valuable tool. The store service people are at your side to answer any question and find anything within the store with their hand helds. The Staples on-line ordering systems is also phenomenal. To top it off, shipments that are actually on time.