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Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results
Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060
through catalogs. What Staples
realized was that people like to
see the product, to feel it, and
to have the option of carrying
the product out of the store with
them. This was the reason for
the explosion."
In 1989, Mr. Hartstein
jumped the fence to the other
side of the office supply business
to join New England Card and
Index, a manufacturer of file
folders and hanging folders.
However, he stayed in close
touch with Staples chief Tom
Stamberg, and made him
aware of his desire to bring the
store to Israel. In 1992, when
Staples branched into Canada
and was researching locations
in Germany and England, Mr.
Stamberg gave Mr. Hartstein
the green light to "start work-
ing on the concept."
The store has kept its name
only in England; in Canada it
is called Business Depot and in
Germany, Maxi Papier.
The original Staples stores
are not partners in the Israeli
venture. Sixty-three percent of
SuperOffice is held by the Su-
per-Sol supermarket chain. The
rest is owned by Mr. Hartstein,
Morris Smith, Robert Kraft and
Leo Kahane.
Ra'anana was chosen as the
premiere location because of the
rapid expansion of the commu-
nity and because "it's very dif-
ficult in Israel to find a space
over 1,000 square meters with
parking and permits to put up
a store," Mr. Hartstein said.
The next SuperOffice store
will be closer to the country's
business center in downtown
Tel Aviv. Within five years, Mr.
Hartstein hopes to have at least
10 stores around the country,
counting on the Israeli inabili-
ty to resist a bargain to fuel the
chain's expansion.
A big part of Mr. Hartstein's
job is convincing local suppliers
to sell in bulk at lower-than-
usual prices.
"In the beginning, it was
hard to sell our idea, and there
was a sense that we represent-
ed a threat to this industry
in Israel," he said. "But even-
tually the suppliers realized
that if they cooperated, they
would be our partner. If
they don't cooperate, they would
be out of the picture altogeth-
er." El
,
Office Depot Ready
To Enter The Fray
AWSON KAPLAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
H
ow can you be sure you
have an idea whose time
has come? Often, because
someone else has the
same idea at the same time.
David Hartstein is not the
only young Israeli anxious to
bring the idea of American-style
office-supply superstores to the
country. Tzahi Fishbein, 36, the
president of Office Depot Israel,
is putting the finishing touch-
es on his flagship store, which
will open at the end of April on
Tel Aviv's Yigal Allon Street,
right above the Ayalon High-
way.
He has seen SuperOffice, and
confidently predicts that his
2,000 square foot store will be
bigger and better.
"True, from the point of view
of the Israeli consumer, Super-
Office is a big step ahead,"
Mr. Fishbein said. "But when
they see Office Depot, they
will see that real change has
come."
Mr. Fishbein asserts that his
store will be more authentical-
ly American because the com-
pany that owns and operates the
Office Depot stores in the U.S.
has a 20 percent ownership of
the store in Israel. While Su-
perOffice is working in cooper-
ation with the Staples chain in
the U.S., he says, Office Depot
is his partner.
"SuperOffice is trying to im-
itate Staples," Mr. Fishbein said.
"In its advertisements, Super-
Office has been saying that it is
the American superpower, rid-
ing on the American wave. The
truth is that SuperOffice is a
nice Israeli superstore, while we
are the Office Depot from the
United States."
In addition to Office Depot's
stake, SuperPharm owns 41
"We are the Office
Depot from the
United States."
percent and the remainder be-
longs to Jack Fishman, an
American investor.
Israel is the third foreign
location for Office Depot follow-
ing Canada and Colombia. Ac-
cording to Mr. Fishbein, Wall
Street paints a bright future for
Office Depot, predicting $6 bil-
lion in sales within the next four
years.
Mr. Fishbein believes his
company will eventually grow
to 10-20 stores. He says the po-
tential for office supplies in Is-
rael exceeds $1 billion.
Like Mr. Hartstein, Mr. Fish-