Shares of Staples slipped 4 percent to $11.82 on Tuesday morning after sinking as low as $11.41 earlier in the day on news of a major restructuring at the number-one U.S. office supply retailer.
Staples said it plans to shut 30 stores in North America, downscale 30 more and take a pretax charge of up to $1.1 billion during its fiscal 2012 year. The retailer said the shake-up is designed to better serve the needs of customers and accelerate growth.
More broadly, Staples said it plans to integrate its retail and online offerings, spend more on its online businesses, reorganize its operations, implement leadership changes, initiate a multi-year cost savings plan and restructure its international operations.
“While we think it is entirely too early to gauge how effective Staples' new strategic plan will ultimately be, we are pleasantly surprised by the quickness of the announcement, which indicates to us management has a much higher sense of urgency than in the past,” Anthony Chukumba, who covers retailers for BB&T Capital Markets, said in a research note Tuesday.
A report in Fortune earlier this month said several private equity companies, including Bain Capital, are looking at a buyout offer for Staples.
Shares of Staples have declined 30 percent since hitting a high of 16.70 on March 26, and the retailer’s revenue has remained relatively steady at about $25 billion over the past few years, according to a regulatory filing. Net income for the year ending January 27 was almost $1 billion and has risen steadily over the past two years.
In its report, Fortune reckoned Staples could benefit from the move by states to start imposing sales taxes on Internet purchases, which could turn those seeking cheaper deals at online stores such as Amazon.com back to traditional retailers such as Staples, which has a strong online operation.
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