2025 Retailers To Watch: Staples
It’s been another banner year for private label as retailers ranging from the biggest mass merchants to grocery stores, convenience store chains, drug stores, and department stores expanded their respective own brand assortments.
The conversation in 2024 evolved from one that was focused on price to retailers now regularly talking about the value proposition of their store brand products and using their proprietary assortments to differentiate from the competition.
With 2025 expected to see more private brand development, Store Brands has highlighted 10 Retailers To Watch in the coming year. The following retailers in 2024 expanded their own brand product assortments, with more expected from each in the next 12 months.
Staples
Overview
Where once there were many regional office superstores, now there are only two national players. As the retail landscape has changed in recent years, Staples has been able to survive and remains an important retailer in the office products space.
As the workplace continues to transform in the wake of hybrid and remote work trends, Staples has shifted its focus toward meeting the needs of businesses and consumers in this new landscape. Through strategic diversification, expansion of its services, and investment in technology, the retailer is poised for growth.
What To Watch
From a product perspective, how Staples moves forward with its private label strategy will be worth watching. Private label is not new to the office superstore, but the expansion of its own brand effort has been notable.
For example, Staples Pick Me Up Provisions, a 2024 Store Brands Game Changer, is touted by the retailer as the first food and beverage private brand to target the B2B space and specifically the breakroom. With offices around the U.S. coming back to life following the pandemic, the need for products to help workers recharge during the day has become a critical factor in driving productivity.
Pick Me Up Provisions includes beverages and snacks at a good value. In developing the line, Staples took a page from traditional grocery and entered into the private brand consumables space in a more meaningful way.
Additionally, the retailer is focusing on tech-enabled services such as IT support, cloud solutions, and printing, which are critical for small businesses and remote workers alike. Its in-store and online services, combined with a more personalized approach through its Staples Connect platform, make it easier for businesses to manage everything from office supplies to complex tech needs.
Staples is also enhancing its sustainability efforts, which are becoming increasingly important to consumers. By offering eco-friendly products and services, and pushing initiatives like recycling programs and sustainable office solutions, Staples is positioning itself as a responsible choice for today’s environmentally conscious shoppers.
