Shares of Staples Inc. (SPLS) are lower in midday trading as the office and school-supplies chain said Tuesday that it would begin a 110% price match guarantee program for the back-to-school shopping season.
The company’s price-match plan, which begins this Sunday, June 29, and is available in Staples stores and online, will match prices on items sold and shipped by Amazon.com (AMZN) or any retailer that sells products in both retailer stores and online. Needless to say, the program is designed to attract more customers from Staple’s competitors. The new announcement is also the latest example of the company’s struggle to compete against Amazon and other e-commerce giants.
The office-supply chain has struggled to boost revenue amid growing competition from online and big-box stores like Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Office Depot (ODP). In response, earlier this year, the company announced a turnaround strategy that includes a bold plan to cut costs by closing up to 225 U.S. stores by the end of fiscal 2015, and putting more focus on e-commerce sales, which now account for nearly half of the company’s total sales.
Staples’ back-to-school strategy comes a few weeks after Wal-Mart said it is expanding its online tool called Savings Catcher, a simple program designed to save you money, to cities nationwide in the next few months.
Staples shares are down 13 cents today, trading at $11.10 as of 2:59 pm EDT. Ticker is down nearly 28% y/y, and 30% YTD.
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