Office Depot Completes Acquisition of Guilbert

June 3rd 2003

OFFICE DEPOT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF GUILBERT

Solidifies Position as Leading Global Reseller of Office Products
Doubles Size of Business in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe
Company Continues to Anticipate $0.05 to $0.10 Accretion in 2004, First Full Year of Operations

(Venlo, The Netherlands) June 3, 2003 -- OFFICE DEPOT, INC. (NYSE: ODP) today announced the completion of its €815 million/$952 million acquisition of Guilbert, S.A., a leading contract stationer in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. This acquisition clearly establishes the combined entity of Office Depot/Viking/Guilbert as the leading reseller of office products through multiple channels in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. It also positions Office Depot as the global sales leader in the office products industry, with almost $13 billion in combined annual sales. The combined European entities will report directly to Rolf van Kaldekerken, President of European Operations for Office Depot.

Bruce Nelson, Office Depot’s Chairman & CEO, commented, “This is truly a day for celebration for our organizations in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe and throughout the world, as we add a premier direct sales contract business to complement our already highly successful mail order and Internet businesses in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. With this move, we accomplish one clear mission; we are the leading reseller of office products in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe with sufficient scale and opportunity to continue to grow significantly for many more years.”

“We view this as an excellent strategic deal. Our European businesses have been among our fastest growing and most profitable for quite some time. This new platform for additional growth will enable us to better and more efficiently serve our existing customers, as well as those of Guilbert, while increasing our capability to serve many new customers in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe and on a pan-national basis.”

Rolf van Kaldekerken, President of European Operations, added, “This acquisition both strengthens our market position and expands our reach. The integration of Office Depot and Guilbert, with their respective teams, is a significant step forward in pursuing our goals of continued aggressive growth in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe, and it reinforces our position as a major industry force.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including without limitation all of the projections and anticipated levels of future performance, involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed herein. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time by Office Depot in its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including without limitation its most recent filing on Form 10-K, filed on March 13, 2003, and in our 8-K filings made from time to time. You are strongly urged to review all such filings for a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties. The Company’s SEC filings are readily obtainable at no charge at www.sec.gov and at http://www.freeEDGAR.com, as well as on a number of other commercial Web sites.