The major customer bases for Office Max consist of businesses and individual costumers. These consumers demand mainly business documents and disposable supplies. The businesses tend to ask for bulk orders that can turn out to include all product lines in the OfficeMax outlets. These bulk orders are the big volume orders that the OfficeMaxs executives desire to target in terms of increasing the numbers of these customers in the office supply industry can change over to a competitor through the simple price search on the product lines. This is why the flexible pricing method is desirable for the sales representatives handling these large business accounts so that the competitors can be under priced.The catalog sales and on-line shopping sales are two important consumer trends that OfficeMax has to recognize and take advantage of exploiting in ways that other competitors fail to do. Catalogs are allowing shoppers to compare prices without leaving their house and work. Michael Feurer, CEO of OfficeMax, says that businesses can scan the catalog and look for price deals and specials they desire. Also, price is the main ticket for admission for businesses in moat cases. Feuer pointed out that on-line shopping could only continue to expand. The trend- setting pace that OfficeMax set for the industry in this regard was in terms of its early Web site and other sales tools like on-line catalogs for customers (Naumes and Naumes C-13). Electronic retail is seen as a major high- growth area in the near future. Sales representative have to be educated and trained to prepare for these areas. The demographics of the targeted costumers are wide- ranging from school- age children to the order adults who are now involved in using computers and office supply products....
