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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001104659-08-067642.txt : 20090115
<SEC-HEADER>0001104659-08-067642.hdr.sgml : 20090115
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20081103171833
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001104659-08-067642
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
FILED AS OF DATE:		20081103

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			STAPLES INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000791519
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-MISCELLANEOUS SHOPPING GOODS STORES [5940]
		IRS NUMBER:				042896127
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0227

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		500 STAPLES DRIVE
		STREET 2:		P O BOX 9328
		CITY:			FRAMINGHAM
		STATE:			MA
		ZIP:			01702
		BUSINESS PHONE:		5082535000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		500 STAPLES DR
		CITY:			FRAMINGHAM
		STATE:			MA
		ZIP:			01702
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>

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<body lang="EN-US" style="text-justify-trim:punctuation">

<div style="font-family:Times New Roman;">

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman"><img width="121" height="60" src="g275431bei001.gif"></font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">November&nbsp;3, 2008</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><b><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">BY EDGAR SUBMISSION</font></u></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Securities and Exchange Commission<br>
Division of Corporation Finance</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">100 F Street, NE</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Washington, D.C. 20549<br>
Mail Stop 3561</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:collapse;width:100.0%;">
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Re:</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Staples,&nbsp;Inc.</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Correspondence Submitted on
  September&nbsp;9, 2008 Regarding</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Annual Report on Form&nbsp;10-K for the
  Year Ended February&nbsp;2, 2008</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Filed March&nbsp;4, 2008;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Filed April&nbsp;28, 2008; and</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Quarterly Report on Form&nbsp;10-Q for the
  Period Ended August&nbsp;2, 2008</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Filed September&nbsp;3, 2008.</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.78%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.22%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">File No.&nbsp;0-17586</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
</table>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.55in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-1.05in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Ladies and Gentlemen:</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Enclosed please find our responses to the comments regarding the above
referenced filings contained in a letter from H. Christopher Owings of the
Staff (the &#147;Staff&#148;) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#147;Commission&#148;)
to Staples,&nbsp;Inc. (the &#147;Company&#148;, &#147;Staples&#148;, &#147;we&#148;, or &#147;our&#148;), dated October&nbsp;20,
2008.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">All responses set forth below are keyed to the sequential numbering of
the comments and to the headings used in your letter. Your comments are in bold
and our responses and supplemental information is in regular type.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><b><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">Quarterly Report on Form&nbsp;10-Q for the Period Ended August&nbsp;2,
2008</font></u></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><b><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">Item 2. Management&#146;s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
.. . ., page&nbsp;18</font></u></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.5in;"><b><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">1.</font></b><b><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;font-weight:bold;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font></b><b>We note your response to comment
2 in our letter dated August&nbsp;12, 2008. In that response, you state that
due to the weak economy, you expect earnings per diluted share to grow in the
low single digits in 2008, including the results of Corporate Express, and you
expect your pre-acquisition sales, excluding Corporate Express, will grow in
the low single digits and earnings per diluted share to be flat in 2008
compared to 2007, excluding the impact of the California wage and hour class
action litigation settlement. In future filings, please discuss the reasons for
your expectations regarding your future sales</b></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<div style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><hr size="3" width="100%" noshade color="#010101" align="left"></div>

</div>
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<div style="font-family:Times New Roman;">

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><b><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">and earnings per diluted share. Also, in your quarterly report on Form&nbsp;10-Q
for the period ended August&nbsp;2, 2008, you state that you continue &#147;to
invest in new strategic initiatives and customer service programs to ensure
[y]our long term success, despite the current weak economic climate.&#148; &#160;Please disclose these strategic initiatives
and customer service programs and discuss how they will ensure your long term
success in the current economic climate.</font></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Response:&#160; In
future filings, if we discuss expectations regarding future sales and earnings
per diluted share, we will discuss the reasons behind such expectations. While
we will continue to endeavor to provide as much transparency as possible,&#160; because of the difficulty in forecasting
sales in the current challenging environment, at this time we do not plan to
provide specific sales and earnings guidance for the rest of 2008 and for 2009.
As noted in our October&nbsp;29, 2008 press release and related Form&nbsp;8-K,
we plan to continue to discuss a number of factors that will impact earnings
such as integration expense, currency fluctuation, restructuring costs,
interest expense and others. When we discuss these factors, we will continue to
describe the reasons behind our expectations.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">As discussed with the Staff, it does not seem
helpful to explain retrospectively our sales and earnings expectations as set
forth in our quarterly report on Form&nbsp;10-Q for the period ended August&nbsp;2,
2008, especially in light of the changes to the economy and financial landscape
over the past two months.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">To the extent that we discuss new strategic
initiatives and customer service programs, we will provide additional detail
regarding such programs in future filings. Based on what we know today, below (in
italics) is an example of disclosure we may provide in future filings:</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><i><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-style:italic;">We still continue to invest in new strategic initiatives and customer
service programs to ensure our long term success. These strategic initiatives
include:</font></i></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font><i>implementing
a series of retail business initiatives to drive store productivity, including
improving the profitability of technology sales, boosting sales of high margin
copy and EasyTech services, and reducing the size of our primary store format &#147;Dover&#148;
to 18,000 square feet from 20,000 square feet;</i></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .75in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font><i>continued
differentiation through our own brand products; and</i></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .75in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font><i>cross-channel
initiatives to increase the spend of customers from one segment of our business
to another success.</i></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .75in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><i><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-style:italic;">For our customer service programs, our North American and European
delivery businesses have focused on the &#147;Perfect Order&#148; program to improve
product availability, ensure accuracy of orders, improve warehouse performance
and productivity of our delivery trucks, and reduce product returns, resulting
in fewer trips </font></i></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">2</font></p>

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<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><i><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-style:italic;">per order and higher customer satisfaction and retention.&nbsp; In our
North American Retail business, our selling models are designed to train
associates to provide solutions for small business customers and drive
attachment selling, while also providing incentives for store associates to
provide great customer service.</font></i></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><b><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">Item 4. Controls and Procedures, page&nbsp;27</font></u></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.5in;"><b><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">2.</font></b><b><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;font-weight:bold;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font></b><b>We note your response to comment
1 in our letter dated August&nbsp;12, 2008. In that response, you state that
your disclosure controls and procedures were &#147;designed to be effective at the
reasonable assurance level.&#148; &#160;However,
this language does not indicate that management has made a conclusion about the
effectiveness of your disclosure controls and procedures. Therefore, in future
filings, if true, please state that management, with the participation of your
chief executive and chief financial officers, evaluated the effectiveness of
your disclosure controls and procedures, which were designed to be effective at
the reasonable assurance level. Also, please state that, based on that
evaluation, your chief executive and chief financial officers concluded that
your disclosure controls and procedures were effective at that reasonable
assurance level. Further, please confirm for us, if true, that your disclosure
controls and procedures were designed to be effective at the reasonable
assurance level and that management concluded that these disclosure controls
and procedures were, in fact, effective at that reasonable assurance level for
the periods included in your annual report on Form&nbsp;10-K for the year ended
February&nbsp;2, 2008 and your quarterly report on Form&nbsp;10-Q for the
period ended August&nbsp;2, 2008.</b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.5in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Response:&#160; In
future filings, we will state that management, with the participation of our
chief executive and chief financial officers, evaluated the effectiveness of
our disclosure controls and procedures, which were designed to be effective at
the reasonable assurance level. We will also state that, based on that
evaluation, our chief executive and chief financial officers concluded that our
disclosure controls and procedures were effective at that reasonable assurance
level.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">We confirm that our disclosure controls and
procedures were designed to be effective at the reasonable assurance level and
that management concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures were,
in fact, effective at that reasonable assurance level for the periods included
in our annual report on Form&nbsp;10-K for the year ended February&nbsp;2, 2008
and our quarterly report on Form&nbsp;10-Q for the period ended August&nbsp;2,
2008.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><b><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A</font></u></b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.5in;"><b><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:bold;">3.</font></b><b><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;font-weight:bold;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font></b><b>We note your responses to
comments 5, 6, and 7 in our letter dated August&nbsp;12, 2008. In those responses,
you state that in future filings you will comply with our comments. Please
provide us with your intended disclosures for the future filings.</b></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;text-indent:-.5in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Response:</font><font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>Based
on the information we know today, below are our intended disclosures for future
filings:</p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">3</font></p>

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<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Comment 5</font></u>:<font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>The first paragraph under the heading of &#147;Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions&#148; appearing on page&nbsp;31 of our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A
filed April&nbsp;28, 2008 (&#147;2008 Proxy Statement&#148;) would be replaced with the
following three paragraphs:</p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Our written Code of Ethics sets forth the general
principle that our directors, executive officers and other associates should
avoid any situation that could be perceived as a conflict of interest,
regardless of the dollar amount involved. This principle is also reflected in
our written Corporate Governance Guidelines (&#147;Guidelines&#148;) and the written
materials that we use to educate associates about conflict of interest
guidelines. For example, under the Guidelines, if an actual or potential
conflict of interests develops for any reason, including, without limitation,
because of a change in business operations of the Company or because of a
director&#146;s circumstances, the director should immediately report the matter to
the General Counsel, who should then report the matter to the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee (&#147;Committee&#148;) for review and determination. In
the event there is a significant conflict, the director must resign or that
conflict must be resolved. Additionally, under the Guidelines any director
desiring to join the board of directors of another company must provide written
notice to the chairperson of the Committee. The chairperson of the Committee,
after consultation with the General Counsel, will then respond to the director
with a resolution. We also ask each of our executive officers and directors to
fill out questionnaires every year to help enable us to identify if a potential
conflict of interest exists.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Pursuant to the charter of the Committee, the
Committee is responsible for reviewing, approving or ratifying any &#147;related
party transactions&#148;. These are transactions which exceed $120,000 and in which (i)&nbsp;Staples
and any of our directors, director nominees, executive officers, 5%
shareholders and their immediate family members are participants, and (ii)&nbsp;such
participants had or will have a direct or indirect material interest. In the
course of reviewing potential related party transactions, the Committee
considers the nature of the related person&#146;s interest in the transaction; the
presence of standard prices, rates, or terms consistent with arms-length
dealings with unrelated third parties; the materiality of the transaction to
each party; the reasons for entering into the transaction; the potential effect
of the transaction on the status of a independent director; and any other
factors the Committee may deem relevant. The procedures for review, approval or
ratification of a related party transaction for Staples, our directors,
executive officers and 5% shareholders are the same as those listed above for actual
or potential conflicts of interests involving directors under the Guidelines,
including the use of a questionnaire to identify potential related party transactions.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Our Code of Ethics, Corporate Governance Guidelines,
and the charters for all the committees of our Board of Directors are posted in
the corporate governance section of the investors&#146; portal of our website at www.staples.com.</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Comment
6</font></u>:<font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>With respect to our response to comment 6 in our letter of September&nbsp;9,
2008, we indicated that we no longer consider data from the general industry
group comprised of 70 to 79 companies. In the 2008 Proxy Statement, we
disclosed that we used the data from the general industry group to evaluate
total cash and total direct compensation for our chief executive officer, chief
financial officer and chief operating officer.</p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">4</font></p>

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<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">We
now have a peer group of 20 companies, and we will disclose the names of these
20 companies in our 2009 proxy statement. We believe that disclosure of the
peer group of 20 companies for 2009 and what we consider in their data is not
required at this time, although we expect to discuss the data relating to that
group in a manner similar to how we analyzed our peer data in our 2008 Proxy Statement.
Specifically, in the disclosure in our 2008 Proxy Statement, we discussed the
following compensation data which was benchmarked against our peer groups:</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .75in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>For the chief executive officer, chief
financial officer and chief operating officer:</p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>cash compensation and total direct
compensation, with total direct compensation evaluated with equity valued on
both a paper value and Black Scholes value basis;</p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>the three year (2004-2006) performance in
terms of earnings per share compound annual growth rate (CAGR), average return
to stockholders and return on invested capital (ROIC) compound annual growth
rate; and</p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt 1.0in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>total cash compensation and total equity
value provided to our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer
over the most recent three year period (fiscal 2004-2006).</p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .75in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Symbol" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&#183;</font><font size="1" style="font-size:3.0pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>For the Presidents of North American Delivery
and U.S. Retail, total direct compensation and total cash compensation.</p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;text-indent:-.25in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><u><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Comment 7</font></u>:<font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>Footnote (4)&nbsp;of the Grants of Plan-Based
Awards Table for the 2008 Proxy Statement would have read:</p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="font-size:10.0pt;margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">(4)</font><font size="1" style="font-size:8.5pt;">&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; </font>The
grant date fair value of the performance share awards granted on February&nbsp;5,
2007 is $26.26 per share. The grant date fair value of the restricted stock
granted on March&nbsp;8, 2007 is $26.12 per share. The grant date fair value of
the restricted stock granted on July&nbsp;2, 2007 is $24.42 per share. The
grant date fair value of the stock options granted on July&nbsp;2, 2007 is
$7.62 per share.</p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt .5in;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;text-indent:.5in;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">If you have any questions with regard to these
responses, need further information or would like to discuss any of the
information covered in this letter, please contact me at (508) 253-8321.</font></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="border-collapse:collapse;width:100.0%;">
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Sincerely,</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">/s/ Kristin A. Campbell</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="border:none;padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Kristin A. Campbell</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Senior Vice President, General Counsel</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">and Secretary</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="50%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:50.16%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="49%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:49.84%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.2%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">cc:</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.8%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Ronald L. Sargent</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.2%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.8%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">John J. Mahoney</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.2%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.8%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Christine T. Komola</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
  <td width="6%" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:6.2%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:1.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>
  </td>
  <td width="93%" colspan="2" valign="top" style="padding:0in .7pt 0in .7pt;width:93.8%;">
  <p style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">Mark G. Borden,&nbsp;Esq.</font></p>
  </td>
 </tr>
 <tr height="0">
  <td width="46" style="border:none;"></td>
  <td width="329" style="border:none;"></td>
  <td width="373" style="border:none;"></td>
 </tr>
</table>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">&nbsp;</font></p>

<p align="center" style="margin:0in 0in .0001pt;text-align:center;text-autospace:none;"><font size="2" face="Times New Roman" style="font-size:10.0pt;">5</font></p>

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end
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
-----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----
