OfficeDepot.com Signs Marketing Pact With AOL

Office Depot Inc. signed a one-year advertising and promotion agreement with America Online that will make OfficeDepot.com available to more than 3.5 million small and home-based businesspeople who are AOL and CompuServe members.

OfficeDepot.com will run interactive banner advertising on AOL, AOL.com and CompuServe. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

“The Internet is a critical tool for small businesses, which represent the fastest-growing business segment and leading source of new jobs in the United States today,” said Beth VanStory, vice president of Office Depot Online. “Our agreement will unite two premier online resources for small and home-based businesses–Office Depot and AOL.”

AOL members will have direct access to OfficeDepot.com from the Office Products and Services area of the AOL Shopping Channel and at keyword: Office Depot. In addition, OfficeDepot.com will appear in areas of the AOL Workplace Channels, including Business Services and Trade Shows & News.

OfficeDepot.com has an inventory list of more than 10,000 office products; real-time inventory; free, next-day delivery on all orders over $50; and Supplies QuickFind, which makes it easier to identify a particular toner cartridge or other supply for a business machine.

Office Depot currently operates 748 stores in the United States, Canada, France and Japan, as well as a national business-to-business delivery network that includes more than 60 local sales offices, 30 delivery centers and eight national telecenters.