Staples, the inventor of the office supply superstore category, opened its first store in 1986 in Framington, Massachusetts. The company targeted small to medium-size businesses selling everything for the office under one large roof. Between 1986 and 1996 Staples expanded rapidly by the addition of new stores, acquisition of existing office supply companies by region, and international expansion through joint ventures. In 1996, its tenth anniversary, sales exceeded $3 billion—only the sixth company in U.S. history to achieve this...