International Division

Office Depot sells to customers in 43 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America either through wholly-owned entities, majority-owned entities or other ventures covering 35 countries, and through alliances in an additional eight countries. The International Division sells office products and services through direct mail catalogs, contract sales forces, internet sites and retail stores, using a mix of company owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alliances and other arrangements. The international direct channel was launched in 1990 with the start-up of operations in the United Kingdom. We now have catalog offerings in 14 countries outside of North America. In March 1999, we introduced our first international public internet site for consumers and businesses in the UK. Today, we operate over 35 separate web sites in the International Division.

In 2000, we launched the Office Depot contract channel in the UK and subsequently expanded the channel to four additional countries. We further expanded our contract start-up business in 2003 with the acquisition of Guilbert, S.A. Guilbert operations and customers have been fully integrated into the Office Depot operations since the end of 2006, and we no longer operate under the Guilbert trade name.

We are continuously assessing opportunities to expand our geographic footprint around the globe. During 2006, we acquired a controlling interest in Best Office in South Korea and a majority stake in AsiaEC, one of the largest suppliers of office products and services in China. Also in 2006, we increased our ownership interest to a majority stake in Office Depot Israel and acquired Papirius s.r.o., one of the largest business-to-business suppliers of office products and services in Eastern Europe.

At the end of 2007, the International Division operated, through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities, 148 retail stores in France, Japan, Hungary, Israel and South Korea. In addition, we participate under licensing and merchandise arrangements in 92 stores in South Korea and Thailand.

Since 1994, we have participated in a joint venture in Mexico. In recent years, this venture, Office Depot de Mexico, has grown in size and scope and now includes 157 retail locations in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama, as well as call centers and distribution centers to support the delivery business in certain areas. We provide services to the venture through management consultation, product selection, product sourcing and information technology services. Including company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, we sell office products through 397 retail stores outside North America.

30+ public Web sites: