February 7, 20265
It’s easy to talk about a national retailer in round numbers.
900 locations. Thousands of associates. Millions of transactions.
It’s much harder to remember that each of those stores is really a small business. Run by a general manager who knows their customers and their community.
That’s what hit me last week during site visits in Tampa Bay with the Office Depot team.
National scale, local soul
When things are working well, a retailer doesn’t fell like a “chain,” it feels like a place people go to get things done.
Teachers on a mission.
Small business owners on a deadline.
Parents trying to solve a last-minute school project problem (yes, that happened).
And the magic is almost always in the people.
Some highlights of the day:
A store leader in Sarasota who once worked as a Jungle Cruise captain at Disney—and still brings that same storytelling energy to customer interactions. If you’ve ever wondered where great retail theater comes from, start there.
An GM from Clearwater who takes 10,000 steps to make the store “run like a machine” (retail endurance is real).
Watching a senior executive learn how to use the laminating machine in Tampa—because the fastest way to understand a business is to touch the work.
This is how we solve problems for the customer.
The strongest teams are responsive.
The best associates are confident and knowledgeable.
The most effective leaders are curious.
A national platform works when local teams are empowered to act like owners, sharing their pride at the counter, winning through problem-solving.
Physical retail’s superpower isn’t inventory.
It’s people who know how to help solve your urgent needs with speed and precision.
When that works, customers don’t talk about square footage or SKUs.
They say: “They took care of me.”
That’s what I saw in Tampa Bay.
