Hey, why get bogged down in that when there is BIDNESS to be done and DOUGH to be made (page one, too)?
I don't want to hear any demonization of China anymore. The reason being not because I like their government, but because we don't need more enemies and more wars.
"Staples has a Games plan; Firm hopes to ride office furniture to China gold" by Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | July 29, 2008
BEIJING - Howie Wu will finally breathe a sigh of relief when Olympic judges go to work next week, resting their elbows on sleek gray tables and sitting in blue-cushion chairs from Staples.
Wu, known as Mr. Furniture around Beijing, has spent the last two years in a rush to complete the Framingham company's massive undertaking: supplying furniture for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Unlike official sponsors such as Visa and McDonald's, which shell out tens of millions of dollars for the rights to affiliate their brands with the Olympics, Staples has a lower-level partnership as "exclusive supplier," providing the furniture in exchange for that title. But the Framingham chain has spent several million dollars on the Olympic initiative, including the cost of buying furniture, hiring temporary workers, and launching a marketing campaign that includes billboards, furniture showrooms in office buildings, and ads on city buses. Staples is also selling a limited edition Olympic collection, with chairs featuring the colors of the five rings and tables inspired by the striking steel architecture of Beijing National Stadium.
Staples executives consider the Olympics partnership an investment, saying the majority of the brand's growth will eventually come from China and other emerging countries. Sales in China have increased tenfold, from $20 million when Staples entered the region four years ago as a pioneer in the market. Its chief US rivals, Office Depot and OfficeMax, don't have stores in China. The roughly $200 million that Staples' China division made in sales last year is just a fraction of the company's worldwide revenue of $20 billion, but executives estimate China could represent $1 billion in business for the company within three to five years.
When the money matters, other things don't!!!
Staples says its Olympic efforts are paying off with increased business orders and consumer awareness.
The company has a more serious presence in China. When a furniture delivery team recently arrived at the Beijing National Stadium, the crew, dressed in matching khaki outfits emblazoned with the red Staples logo, lined up in two rows, saluting like soldiers and chanting instructions before assembling the furniture.
Sig Heil to Staples!!!!!!
Over the last six months, Staples has also opened several small shops in office buildings in China as part of a joint venture with shipping and delivery giant UPS.
What can brown do for you -- other than help move jobs out the country?
The stores feature a range of basic office supplies, along with packing, shipping, and delivery services. The partnership could be exported to other countries, analysts say, particularly as Staples intensifies its focus on business delivery with the recent $2.7 billion acquisition of Dutch firm Corporate Express.
Back in Beijing, Staples is building a mini-replica of Beijing National Stadium at its office, where it plans to host events and ceremonies for local employees and visiting Framingham executives, including chief executive Ron Sargent.
"Holding a successful Olympics is a dream, the same dream for all the Chinese people," Wu said. "It's a big opportunity for our company, as well."
Then why does the U.S. want to bomb them?
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