OFFICE DEPOT, UPS SPEED LAUNCH OF IN-STORE SHIPPING CENTERS

OFFICE DEPOT, UPS SPEED LAUNCH OF IN-STORE SHIPPING CENTERS    Office Depot and the United Parcel Service said Wednesday they will complete the roll-out of 550 Office Depot Shipping Centers by the end of the year — five months ahead of schedule.
   The companies have already reached their original goal to have 400 of the centers by the end of 2000. They now anticipate being in 900 Office Depot stores by the first quarter of 2001.
   “Our research shows that this service addresses an important need for our very busy customers and as a result is driving traffic into our stores,” said Bruce Nelson, chief executive officer of Office Depot. Customer surveys found that while 83 percent of respondents said they visited Office Depot specifically to ship a UPS package, half of them made other purchases while in the store. The study also found that half the respondents would have shipped with another carrier had they not had convenient access to UPS through the Office Depot Shipping Center.