OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) is the third largest office supply retailer in the United States. The company operates two main divisions: one that sells office supplies in retail stores and another that deals directly with mid-size and large businesses via contract sales. OfficeMax's $7.2 billion in total sales in 2009, a 12.8% decrease from 2008, was about equally split between the two divisions.

OfficeMax substantially trails market leaders Staples (SPLS) and Office Depot (ODP) in terms of sales, with each earning $24.3 billion^[1] and $12.1 billion^[2] respectively. Although OfficeMax has put an emphasis on improving its profit margins, the company still trails the much larger Staples considerably because Staples has greater economies of scale.

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