Corporate Credit Rating: BBB-/Stable/-- Office Depot Inc. announced today that comparable-store sales in its 782 North American stores could decline to the mid-single-digit area during the fourth quarter of 2000. In addition, higher warehousing costs and increased competition for technology products in the upcoming holiday season are expected to cause weaker than expected profitability. The company also announced plans to reorganize its call center operations, resulting in a $2 million fourth quarter charge, $4 million in expenses over the next 12 months, and a $22 million capital investment in computer telephony integration. These announcements do not affect Office Depot's credit rating or outlook. Standard&Poor's had anticipated some operating weakness and restructuring efforts for Office Depot and, therefore, these
