| Office supplies is the generic term
that refers to all supplies regularly used in offices by businesses and
other organizations, from private citizens to governments, who works with
the collection, refinement, and output of information (colloquially referred
to as "paper work"). Office supplies being sold at a drugstore.
The term includes small, expendable,
daily use items such as paper clips, staples, hole punches, binders and
laminators, writing utensils and paper, but also encompasses higher-cost
equipment like computers, printers, fax machines, photocopiers and cash
registers, as well as office furniture such as cubicles or armoire desks.
Two very common medium-to-high-cost office equipment items before the advent
of suitably priced word processing machines and PCs in the 1970s and 1980s
were typewriters and adding machines.
Many businesses in the office supply
industry have recently expanded into related markets for businesses like
copy centers, which facilitate the creation and printing of business collateral
such as business cards and stationery, plus printing and binding of high
quality, high volume business and engineering documents. Some businesses
also provide services for shipping, including packaging and bulk mailing.
In addition, many retail chains sell related supplies beyond businesses
and regularly market their stores as a center for school supplies with
August and early September being a major retail period for "Back to School"
sales.
The office supply industry was estimated
to be worth US$ 225 billion in 1999 and is still growing. As of 2006[update],
the largest office supply chains in the United States (in terms of revenue)
are Staples (US$16B), Office Depot (US$15B), and OfficeMax (US$8.9B). |
