OfficeMax Introduces New Services Center at Stores Nationwide to Provide Business Owners with Essential Support for Growth

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Oct. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- OfficeMax^® Incorporated (NYSE:OMX) today introduced its new Services Center, located within stores nationwide to provide business owners the essential operations support they need to grow. The OfficeMax Services Center offers an extensive portfolio of more than 40 services designed to relieve administrative burden and assist businesses with critical needs, including web design and maintenance, 24/7 On-Call Tech Support, printing and document management, marketing materials, shipping, credit card and payroll processing, human resource services and legal assistance.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131008/CG93623-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131008/CG93623-INFO-b)

The nation's 23 million small business owners¹ lose more than 4 billion hours each year managing time-consuming – but crucial – business operations and administrative tasks, according to the OfficeMax Small Business Efficiency Index conducted in September 2013.  Nearly half (41 percent) of surveyed business owners said this lost time drains their passion and energy for building their businesses. 

"This new data advances what we found in extensive national research with business owners of all sizes," said Kim Feil, OfficeMax executive vice president and chief marketing and strategy officer.  "Business owners spend a lot of time conducting support work that, while critical, takes them away from working with their customers and growing their business. They want to refocus their time building their businesses, and they want reliable partners who will address their specific needs.  Our new OfficeMax Services Center builds on services we have always provided to give business owners a complete range of essential support, from credit card processing and payroll services to IT support and cloud storage solutions."

Business owners receive guidance from the OfficeMax Services Center staff to personalize their services and bundle services to increase value and savings.

"The introduction of the OfficeMax Services Center expands upon our services evolution. We're pleased to have our store associates working in partnership with customers to assess customers' business needs and connect them with the best solutions and services packages to streamline their support functions and, in turn, free up time to focus on business growth," to said Michael Lewis, OfficeMax executive vice president and president of Retail.

Business owners who participated in the OfficeMax Small Business Efficiency Index also reported concerns with vendors who currently provide backroom support:

• 54 percent feel that their current service vendors do not understand their business and specific needs.
• 44 percent are concerned about the availability and reliability of some of their vendors.
• 40 percent question the ability of their current vendors to stay on top of technology trends.

To ensure leading-edge service, the OfficeMax Services Center has assembled a robust portfolio of national service providers – including North American Bancard^®, ADP^®, PAYCHEX^®, GoDaddy and Carbonite^® Online Backup – to provide critical business services such as credit card processing, merchant payroll services, website creation and hosting, and cloud services. Many services are being offered through the OfficeMax Services Center at exclusive value packages that cannot be found anywhere else, including significant savings of up to 76 percent² on GoDaddy website service bundles available only at OfficeMax stores, and up to 15 percent savings on credit card processing with North American Bancard.

For more information about the new OfficeMax Services Center offering, visit www.OfficeMax.com/services. 

Survey Methodology

The Small Business Efficiency Index Survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Research Now on behalf of OfficeMax from September 18-29, 2013 among 321 small business owners nationally with 100 or fewer employees. Surveyed business owners said they spend nearly four hours a week longer than they should managing backroom tasks.  Projections of 4 billion hours each year incorporate data from the U.S. Small Business Administration stating there are currently 23 million small businesses in the U.S.

About OfficeMax

OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) is a leader in integrating products, solutions and services for the workplace, whether for business or at home.  The OfficeMax mission is simple: We provide workplace innovation that enables our customers to work better.  The company provides office supplies and paper, in-store print and document services through OfficeMax ImPress^®, technology products and solutions, and furniture to businesses and consumers.  OfficeMax consumers and business customers are served by approximately 28,000 associates through OfficeMax.com; OfficeMaxSolutions.com and Reliable.com; more than 900 stores in the U.S. and Mexico; and direct sales and catalogs. OfficeMax has been named one of the 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies, and is the only company in the office supply industry to receive Ethics Inside^® Certification by the Ethisphere Institute.  To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX.  For more information, visit www.officemax.com.

All trademarks, service marks and trade names of OfficeMax Incorporated used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of OfficeMax Incorporated. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

¹  Number of small businesses in the U.S. as reported by the Small Business Administration (SBA.gov)
²  Savings based on standard Go Daddy pricing as of December 1, 2012. After the initial purchase term, discounted products will renew at the then-current renewal list price  

SOURCE OfficeMax Incorporated