Put bluntly, Staples is a brand in search of a purpose. It utterly failed in the consumer market because it did not create an engaging and compelling proposition. The latest focus on the business market is sound as is the shift into services. However, Staples is going to have its work cut out in developing a clear point of differentiation. Many of the things it is offering already exist elsewhere, such as at FedEx stores.

It was high time for Staples to rebrand itself in the states, as the company had a long string of struggles, and the stores simply did not resonate with the current generation. The company has always been synonymous with being the go-to destination for office supplies, yet with the evolution of how and where we work, especially with the mobile/virtual office, Staples has been behind the trend.

One can hope that the U.S.-based version of Staples will follow the blazing path that Staples Canada has developed with their new retail concept in Quebec that will help revolutionize the brand as well as create community engagement. Staples Canada is adapting to help their customers work, learn and grow, including providing shared workspaces.

The key to the Staples Canada’s success so far has been their ability to listen and adapt to the changing customer needs. Let’s hope that the U.S. Staples rebranding takes a similar approach.

Let’s see — too many stores, commodity product, awful experience on- or offline … that’s a big mountain! Like any retailer now (re-branded or not) with that same trio of issues, Staples will seek its level in this new world of retail, which will be MUCH smaller.

But they do have a couple of things going for them; they are clearly the cream of the crop brand in their silo, AND their online sales are very strong so they will wind up much smaller, but they may also wind up as the only kid left standing on their block.

I applaud the move, but it’s going to be an uphill battle. I’ll tell you this much, as someone helping run a small business I’d welcome a destination to go to for “all things entrepreneur.” They need to go past this five-brands concept (which is really departmentalizing products) and keep to one brand, but go into different offerings all together, IMHO.

“Yeah, I heard a really great presentation at a Staples last night on leadership in the office … while I was there I picked up a few supplies we needed.” — that needs to be the trend.

Here's the catch – What else were they going to do? The "do nothing" is the "die" part of "adapt or die".

Staples’ rebranding efforts could pay off, but only if they upgrade their store experience to match this new vision. If they want to be a “worklife” brand, the shopping experience needs to reflect that. The example that comes to mind is Target. They do a great job of creating smaller pop-ups within their stores that showcase different private label brands. Helping businesses “create the most dynamic and productive work environments” also requires high levels of customer service and expertise from store associates. So I hope training is an important part of Staples’ rebranding strategy.

Staples is best at delivering commodity items that are unexciting to buy. The categories they are trying to further penetrate are already handled better by other retailers. Visit just about any store adjacent to a Staples and then go into Staples. It’s beyond depressing. The stores are generally empty other than back-to-school season. This is going to be a long journey for Staples and I doubt it goes well.

The office retailer specialty market has continued to shrink as online competitors have chipped away by selling some of their core items. Other than electronics and furniture I can’t think of any reason to go to a Staples store.

In my case there is an Office Depot/Max closer and I find no substantive difference between the two. I am unsure that business will turn to the re-branded version of Staples for business advice especially because they have not recently shown their own ability to be relative.