<PAGE>



                                                                    Exhibit 10.6


                                  STAPLES, INC.

                   INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

                                  June 5, 2000

         The purpose of this Plan is to provide eligible employees of certain
non-U.S. subsidiaries of Staples, Inc. (the "Company") with opportunities to
purchase common stock of the Company ("Staples Common Stock"), commencing on
July 1, 2000. Two Hundred Fifty Thousand (250,000) shares of Staples Common
Stock have been approved for this purpose. Employees participating in the Plan
may elect to purchase shares Staples Common Stock, subject to any limitations
that may be imposed by the Board of Directors (the "Board") or the Committee (as
defined below).

1. ADMINISTRATION. The Plan will be administered by the Company's Board or by a
Committee appointed by the Board (the "Committee"). The Board or the Committee
has authority to make rules and regulations for the administration of the Plan
and its interpretation and decisions with regard thereto shall be final and
conclusive.

2. ELIGIBILITY. All employees of any non-U.S., non-Canadian, non-Netherlands
subsidiary of the Company as of July 1, 2000, of any Netherlands subsidiary as
of January 1, 2001 and any other Subsidiary designated by the Board or the
Committee from time to time (a "Subsidiary"), including any Director who is an
employee of a Subsidiary, are eligible to participate in any one or more of the
offerings of Options (as defined in Section 9) to purchase Staples Common Stock
under the Plan provided that:

          a. they have been employed by the Subsidiary for at least three (3)
          months prior to enrolling in the Plan;

          b. they are employees of the Subsidiary on the first day of the
          applicable Plan Period (as defined below); and

          c. they meet any other requirements imposed from time to time by the
          Board or the Committee on employees of one or more subsidiaries.

          No employee may be granted an option hereunder if such employee,
immediately after the option is granted, owns 5% or more of the total combined
voting power or value of the stock of the Company or any subsidiary. For
purposes of the preceding sentence, the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of
the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code") shall apply in
determining the stock ownership of an employee, and all stock which the employee
has a contractual right to purchase shall be treated as stock owned by the
employee.

3. OFFERINGS. The Company will make one or more offerings ("Offerings") to
employees to purchase stock under this Plan. The first Offering will begin on
July 1, 2000 or the first business day thereafter (the "Offering Commencement
Dates") and end on December 31, 2000. Thereafter, each January 1 and July 1 or
the first business day


<PAGE>


thereafter will be an Offering Commencement Date. Each Offering Commencement
Date will begin a period (a "Plan Period") during which payroll deductions will
be made and held for the purchase of Staples Common Stock at the end of the Plan
Period. The Board or the Committee may, at its discretion, choose a different
Plan Period of twelve (12) months or less for subsequent Offerings and may begin
additional Plan Periods to allow participation by employees of newly designated
Subsidiaries after a Plan Period has commenced. The Committee or the Board may,
at its discretion, discontinue Offerings at any time, either temporarily or
permanently.

4. PARTICIPATION.

     a. ENROLLMENT. An employee eligible on the Offering Commencement Date of
any Offering may participate in such Offering by enrolling, in such manner and
at such time approved, from time to time, by the Board or the Committee, prior
to the applicable Offering Commencement Date in said Offering. The enrollment
will authorize a regular payroll deduction from the Compensation received by the
employee during the Plan Period. Unless an employee changes his enrollment in a
manner prescribed by the Committee from time to time or withdraws from the Plan,
his deductions and purchases will continue at the same rate for future Offerings
under the Plan as long as the Plan remains in effect. The term "Compensation"
shall be defined by the Board or the Committee from time to time, but until
modified shall mean regular earnings and sales rewards or other sales-related
payments made to sales associates in lieu of commissions, and excluding payments
for overtime, incentive compensation, shift premiums, bonuses, contributions to
all employee fringe benefit plans (except employee contributions in lieu of cash
earnings pursuant to any "cash or deferred plan" or "cafeteria plan"),
allowances and reimbursements, income or gains on the exercise of Company stock
options, or stock appreciation rights, and other special payments except to the
extent that the inclusion of any such item is specifically approved by the
Board.

     b. TAX WITHHOLDING AUTHORIZED. The enrollment of each employee shall
constitute such participating employee's authorization of his or her employer,
to the extent permitted by applicable law, to deduct from such employee's
compensation in the relevant month or months (or subsequent months, if
appropriate) any amount appropriate for the payment or reimbursement of any tax
liability payable by such employee with respect to the grant or exercise of the
options hereunder, or the sale of any stock acquired through the exercise of
such option.

5. DEDUCTIONS. The Company will maintain payroll deduction accounts for all
participating employees. With respect to any Offering made under this Plan, an
employee may authorize a payroll deduction in any amount up to a maximum of ten
percent (10%) of the Compensation he or she receives during the Plan Period or
such shorter period during which deductions from payroll are made. Payroll
deductions may be made in any whole percentage up to ten percent (10%). Each
participating employee shall designate what percentage of his or her payroll
deductions during the Offering shall be used to purchase Staples Common Stock
upon the completion of such Offering, subject to any limits as may be imposed
for such Offering by the Board or the Committee. Any change in compensation
during the Plan Period will result in an


                                      -2-


<PAGE>


automatic corresponding change in the amount withheld. The payroll deductions
shall be made in the applicable local currency and will be converted into United
Stated currency at the prevailing rate of exchange in effect on the date
determined by the Board or the Committee from time to time. All amounts deducted
may be transferred to an account of the Company or the Subsidiary outside the
country in which such employee is employed.

         The Board or the Committee may permit direct contributions by eligible
employees of a Subsidiary instead of payroll deductions if it determines such
action to be advisable, and on such terms as it deems advisable. In the event
that such direct contributions are permitted, the Board or Committee may modify
other terms of this Plan to reflect such direct contributions.

         No employee may be granted an Option (as defined in Section 9) which
permits his rights to purchase Staples Common Stock under this Plan and any
other employee stock purchase plan of the Company and its subsidiaries (as
defined by the Board or the Committee), to accrue at a rate which exceeds
$25,000 of the fair market value of Staples Common Stock (determined at the
Offering Commencement Date of the Plan Period) for each calendar year in which
the Option is outstanding at any time. Options granted during any Plan Period to
all officers and Directors of the Company shall not equal or exceed fifty
percent (50%) of the total Options granted during such Plan Period.

6. DEDUCTION CHANGES. An employee may discontinue his payroll deduction once
during any Plan Period, up to such deadline as may be established by the Board
or the Committee, prior to the close of business on the last business day, in
such manner as may be permitted by the Board or Committee. However, an employee
may not increase or decrease his payroll deduction, during a Plan Period. If an
employee elects to discontinue his payroll deductions during a Plan Period,
amounts previously withheld will be refunded to the employee without interest.
The refund will be made in the currency in which such Participant's deductions
were originally made or, if such employee is employed in a country which
maintains a fixed exchange rate between its local currency and the Euro, there
may be repayment in Euros ("Payment in Euros").

7. INTEREST. Interest will not be paid on any employee accounts.

8. WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS. An employee may at any time up to such deadline as may
be established by the Committee or the Board, prior to the close of business on
the last business day in a Plan Period, and for any reason, permanently draw out
the balance accumulated in the employee's account (which will be paid in the
local currency or, at the discretion of the Board or the Committee, there may be
Payment in Euros), and thereby withdraw from participation in an Offering.
Partial withdrawals are not permitted. The employee may not begin participation
again during the remainder of the Plan Period. The employee may participate in
any subsequent Offering in accordance with terms and conditions established by
the Board or the Committee.

9. PURCHASE OF SHARES. On the Offering Commencement Date of each Plan Period,
the Company will grant to each eligible employee who is then a participant in
the Plan an option ("Option") to purchase on the last business day of such Plan
Period (the "Exercise


                                      -3-


<PAGE>


Date"), at the Option Price hereinafter provided for, the largest number of
shares of Staples Common Stock ( subject to any limits as may be imposed for
such Offering by the Board or the Committee) as does not exceed the number of
shares determined by dividing $12,500 by the Fair Market Value (as defined
below) on the Offering Commencement Date of such Plan Period; provided that if
the Plan Period is any period other than six months, then $12,500 shall be
adjusted proportionately to reflect the length of the Plan Period.

         The purchase price for each share purchased will be 85% of the Fair
Market Value of Staples Common Stock on (i) the first business day of such Plan
Period or (ii) the Exercise Date, whichever Fair Market Value shall be less.
Such Fair Market Value shall be (a) the mean between the highest and lowest
selling price on any national securities exchange on which Staples Common Stock
is listed, (b) the mean between the highest and lowest selling price of Staples
Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market or (c) the average of the mean
between the highest reported bid price and the lowest reported asked price in
the over-the-counter-market, whichever is applicable, as published in THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL If no sales of Staples Common Stock were made on such a day, the
Fair Market Value of Staples Common Stock for purposes of clauses (a) and (b)
above shall be based on the reported prices for the next preceding day on which
sales were made.

         Each employee who continues to be a participant in the Plan on the
Exercise Date shall be deemed to have exercised his Option at the Option Price
on such date and shall be deemed to have purchased from the Company the number
of shares of Staples Common Stock (including fractional shares calculated up to
4 decimal places) reserved for the purpose of the Plan that his accumulated
payroll deductions on such date will pay for, in United State currency as of
that date, but not in excess of the maximum number determined in the manner set
forth above, subject to any limits on allocation as may be imposed by the Board
or the Committee for such Offering.

         Any balance remaining in an employee's payroll deduction account at the
end of a Plan Period will be automatically refunded to the employee in the local
currency or there may be Payment in Euros.

10. ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES. Certificates representing shares of Staples Common
Stock purchased under the Plan may be issued only in the name of the employee,
in the name of the employee and another person of legal age as joint tenants
with rights of survivorship, or (in the Company's sole discretion) in the name
of a brokerage firm, bank or other nominee holder designated by the employee or
in the name of the Plan with appropriate allocation to the participating
employee. The Company may, in its sole discretion and in compliance with
applicable laws, authorize the use of book entry registration of shares in lieu
of issuing stock certificates.

11. RIGHTS ON RETIREMENT DEATH OR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT. In the event of a
participating employee's termination of employment prior to the last business
day of a Plan Period (a "Terminating Employee"), no payroll deduction shall be
taken from any pay due and owing to an employee and the balance in the
employee's account shall be


                                      -4-


<PAGE>


paid to the employee or, in the event of the employee's death, (a) to a
beneficiary previously designated in a revocable notice signed by the employee
(with any spousal consent required under local law) or (b) in the absence of
such a designated beneficiary, to the personal representative of the employee's
estate or (c) if no such personal representative has been appointed to the
knowledge of the Company, to such other person(s) as the Company may, in its
discretion, designate. If, prior to the last business day of the Plan Period,
the designated Subsidiary by which an employee is employed shall cease to be a
subsidiary of the Company, or if the employee is transferred to a subsidiary of
the Company that is not a Subsidiary, the employee shall be treated hereunder as
a Terminating Employee.

12. OPTIONEES NOT STOCKHOLDERS. Neither the granting of an Option to an employee
nor the deductions from his pay shall constitute such employee a stockholder of
the shares of Staples Common Stock covered by an Option under this Plan until
such shares have been purchased by and issued to him or to an account for his
benefit.

13. RIGHTS NOT TRANSFERABLE. Rights under this Plan are not transferable by a
participating employee other than by will or the laws of descent and
distribution, and are exercisable during the employee's lifetime only by the
employee.

14. APPLICATION OF FUNDS. To the extent consistent with applicable law, all
funds received or held by the Company or any Subsidiary under this Plan may be
combined with other corporate funds and may be used for any corporate purpose
and moved outside the country in which they are deducted from payroll.

15. ADJUSTMENT IN CASE OF CHANGES AFFECTING STAPLES COMMON STOCK. In the event
of a subdivision of outstanding shares of Common Stock, or the payment of a
dividend of Staples Common Stock, the number of shares approved for this Plan,
and the share limitation set forth in Section 9, shall be adjusted
proportionately, and such other adjustment shall be made as may be deemed
equitable by the Board or the Committee. In the event of any other change
affecting Staples Common Stock, such adjustment shall be made as may be deemed
equitable by the Board or the Committee to give proper effect to such event.

16. MERGER. If the Company shall at any time merge or consolidate with another
corporation and the holders of the capital stock of the Company immediately
prior to such merger or consolidation continue to hold at least 80% by voting
power of the capital stock of the surviving corporation ("Continuity of
Control"), the holder of each Option then outstanding will thereafter be
entitled to receive at the next Exercise Date upon the exercise of such Option
for each share as to which such Option shall be exercised the securities or
property which a holder of such shares of Staples Common Stock was entitled to
upon and at the time of such merger or consolidation, and the Board or the
Committee shall take such steps in connection with such merger or consolidation
as the Board or the Committee shall deem necessary to assure that the provisions
of Section 15 shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in
relation to the said securities or property as to which such holder of such
Option might thereafter be entitled to receive thereunder.


                                      -5-


<PAGE>


         In the event of a merger or consolidation of the Company with or into
another corporation which does not involve Continuity of Control, or of a sale
of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company while unexercised
Options remain outstanding under the Plan, (a) subject to the provisions of
clauses (b) and (c), after the effective date of such transaction, each holder
of an outstanding Option shall be entitled, upon exercise of such Option, to
receive in lieu of shares of Staples Common Stock, shares of such stock or other
securities as the holders of shares of Staples Common Stock received pursuant to
the terms of such transaction; or (b) all outstanding Options may be cancelled
by the Board or the Committee as of a date prior to the effective date of any
such transaction and all payroll deductions shall be paid out to the
participating employees; or (c) all outstanding Options may be cancelled by the
Board or the Committee as of the effective date of any such transaction,
provided that notice of such cancellation shall be given to each holder of an
Option, and each holder of an Option shall have the right to exercise such
Option in full based on payroll deductions then credited to his account as of a
date determined by the Board or the Committee, which date shall not be less than
ten (10) days preceding the effective date of such transaction.

17. AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN. The Board may at any time, and from time to time,
amend this Plan in any respect.

18. INSUFFICIENT SHARES. In the event that the total number of shares of Staples
Common Stock specified in elections to be purchased under any Offering plus the
number of shares purchased under previous Offerings under this Plan exceeds the
maximum number of shares issuable under this Plan, the Board or the Committee
will allot the shares then available on a pro rata basis. In the event that the
total number of shares of Staples Common Stock specified in elections to be
purchased in any Offering exceeds the maximum number of shares available for
purchase in such Offering (as specified by the Board or the Committee), the
Board or the Committee will allot the shares available on a pro rata basis or in
such other manner as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.

19. TERMINATION OF THE PLAN. This Plan may be terminated at any time by the
Board. Upon termination of this Plan all amounts in the accounts of
participating employees shall be promptly refunded in local currency or there
may be Payment in Euros.

20. GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS. The Company's obligation to sell and deliver
Staples Common Stock under this Plan is subject to approval of all applicable
governmental authorities required in connection with the authorization, issuance
or sale of such stock.

21. GOVERNING LAW. The Plan shall be governed by Massachusetts law except to the
extent that such law is preempted by U.S. federal law or other applicable law.

22. ISSUANCE OF SHARES. Shares may be issued upon exercise of an Option from
authorized but unissued Staples Common Stock, from shares held in the treasury
of the Company, or from any other proper source.


                                      -6-


<PAGE>


23. NOTIFICATION UPON SALE OF SHARES. Each employee agrees, by entering the
Plan, to promptly give the Company notice of any disposition of shares purchased
under the Plan within such period as the Committee or Board may require from
time to time.

24. EFFECTIVE DATE. The Plan shall take effect on July 1, 2000.




                                         Approved by the Board of Directors on
                                         March 7, 2000; and amended by the Board
                                         of Directors on August 27, 2001.



















                                      -7-