Officeworks

Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores which was established in the early 1990s by Coles Myer (which became Coles Group, now part of Wesfarmers). The store concept adopted by Officeworks was based on the US chain Office Depot.

History

The first Officeworks store opened in the inner city suburb of Richmond in Melbourne in June 1994. In 1994 and 1995 Officeworks opened more stores throughout Melbourne in South Melbourne, Fitzroy, Chadstone and Ringwood, while also expanding interstate.

Harris Technology, an IT retailer, was purchased by Coles Myer in 1999 and became a subsidiary of the larger office supplies retailer. Viking Australia (a subsidiary of Office Depot) was purchased by Coles Myer in December 2002 and was merged with Officeworks Direct to form Officeworks BusinessDirect.

By late 2006 the business opened its 100th store in South Yarra. Officeworks now has 116 stores, with a presence in every Australian state and territory except for the Northern Territory.

Following the purchase of Coles Group by Wesfarmers in November 2007, Officeworks and Harris Technology form part of Wesfarmers' Home Improvement and Office Supplies division.

Business

Most Officeworks stores feature the following departments:

Printworks - Printing and photocopying service, also providing laminating, etc and custom promotional products as well as the new Photobooks product. Also (via third parties) provide business cards, printed stationary, stamps and name badges
Techworks - Providing computing, business machines and other electronic products.
Furnitureworks - Chairs, desks, filing cabinets and other office furniture.
General Stationery - Pens, paper, and all other stationery needs.
Inkworks - Provides Ink and Toner replacements and recycling.

Officeworks has an internet and phone sales division known as Officeworks BusinessDirect. This division runs as its own supply warehouse and stocks a similar range to the retail stores on a delivery only basis, focusing more on the day-to-day needs of medium to large businesses as opposed to the small business and general consumers that shop in store.