OfficeMax plans 2 more stores

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Idaho-based Boise Cascade Corp., the parent company of Hopaco office supply stores and OfficeMax, is cutting back on Hopaco stores and increasing OfficeMax locations in Hawai'i as part of a plan to integrate the former rivals.

Boise Cascade, which bought OfficeMax in December, will close the Hopaco store at Windward Mall by the end of June and open two big-box OfficeMax stores on O'ahu next spring, according to Rudy Mayo, Hopaco general manager.

"The strategy is to move the Hopaco store model to the OfficeMax store model," he said. "You are going to see more and more OfficeMax stores and less and less Hopaco stores."

Mayo said the company is not yet disclosing new OfficeMax locations for competitive reasons. He also declined to say whether other Hopaco stores besides the one at Windward Mall are slated for closure, though changes in Hawai'i will result in a net gain of Boise Cascade retail stores.

Before its OfficeMax acquisition, Boise Cascade had eight Hopaco stores in Hawai'i. Today there are six — three on O'ahu and one each on Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i. There are also four OfficeMax stores — two on O'ahu and one each on Maui and the Big Island.

Generally, Hopaco stores cater to business and government customers, though it also attracts individual consumers especially at stores in more consumer-oriented retailing centers like Windward Mall.

The Hopaco-OfficeMax changes are part of a larger plan to integrate the OfficeMax acquisition with Boise Cascade's original distribution and retail operations around the country.

Boise Cascade announced last year that it expects $400 million in benefits from the acquisition over the first three years.

Some changes already have been made in Hawai'i, including last month's opening of a new 78,000-square-foot distribution facility in Waipi'o, which cost $4.8 million and replaced two older Hopaco distribution facilities in Honolulu that conducted retail sales.

Another part of the integration plan still to come will allow commercial customers accustomed to purchasing office supplies at Hopaco to use their accounts at OfficeMax.

The goal with all the changes is to increase Boise Cascade's annual sales in Hawai'i from about $90 million to $100 million by the end of 2006, Mayo said.

The number of Boise Cascade employees in Hawai'i, which ranges from 320 to 350, is also expected to increase. Some short-term reductions are expected from store closings, though some employees may be relocated within the company, Mayo said. The Windward Mall store employs seven workers, including five part-timers.

Hopaco, originally known as Honolulu Paper Co., opened its first store in downtown Honolulu in 1918. It was purchased by Boise Cascade in 1964, and officially named Hopaco in 1971.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.