[Stationery brand] Working in a stationery store A transformational attempt by a stationery retailer in trouble

Because of the decline in retail sales, Staples, the largest stationery retailer in the United States, intends to try such a transformation: cooperate with Workbar, a startup company that rents out co-working spaces, and will divide a part of its three stores in Boston as office areas by June this year. Rent out to freelancers and start-up teams. Workbar is headquartered in Boston, and they have...　 Because of the decline in retail performance, Staples, the largest stationery retailer in the United States, intends to try such a transformation: cooperate with Workbar, a startup company that rents out co-working spaces, and will be in Boston by June this year. Part of the three stores is divided into office space and rented out to freelancers and start-up teams.　　Workbar is headquartered in Boston. They rent meeting rooms and offices to individuals, small businesses and teams. The stationery brand also provides them with some corporate services, such as schedule management.　　The area of u200bu200bthe co-working area will be about 2500-3500 square feet. The stationery brand and the stationery retail area will be separated by a glass wall, which can be leased to 45-50 people.　　Workbar employees will be responsible for arranging and supervising this rental area.　　 For Staples, they hope this will help them increase passenger traffic. As Peter Scala, Head of Merchandising at Staples, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal: Our goal is to make big stores more efficient. Of course, the stationery brand, rent can also allow them to increase a source of income.　　 Staples’ sales have fallen for four consecutive years, and last year it fell by 6%. Since 2013, it has closed more than 300 stores and laid off 1,000 employees.　　 It currently has more than 1,300 stores, and plans to close 50 of them this year.　　 Staples’ performance decline is partly due to the prevalence of paperless and electronic office-the decline in demand for paper, pens, and printing equipment. On the other hand, the problems they face are also faced by all traditional retail businesses. Offline sales are decreasing, and more and more transactions are taking place online.　　According to RetailMetrix data, the number of visits to physical stores by Americans dropped by 6.4% from November to December 2015. Traditional retail giants including Winshang.com, Wal-Mart (special reading), Macy's and Hills Department Store have all been hit. Wal-Mart announced the closure of more than 130 stores in the United States; Macy's has sold some business premises; 　　 and Hills Department store has reduced the effective business area and leased some of its stores to Whole Foods, which is on the rise.　　 Staples has not announced the details of the cooperation, such as whether it will incubate start-ups, and how it will share revenue with Workbar. Stationery brands, but the styles of Staples and Workbar are a bit different, and the office space created together may reflect this contrast: The analogy given by the 'Boston Globe' is like comparing NBC's American drama 'The Office' with HBO's 'Office.' 'Silicon Valley' (Silicon Valley) mixed together.