The future prospects of the home building supply retailing is dependent on home ownership, interest rates , and housing starts. However, we do not believe that the industry is that vulnerable to a downturn in the economy. Often, when people cannot buy houses , they often spend money upgrading and remodeling their existing houses. Small business and retail customers are the primary market segments that are targeted by office supply warehouse stores. Interestingly, with a good U.S. economy, the number of new businesses has started to subside.
Many people stay on their jobs instead of starting new businesses when the economy is good.
This could mean less growth for office supply retailers. The other driver for growth is home office workers. Office supply powerhouse OfficeDepot acquired Viking Products in 1998 to beef up its distribution of office supplies and equipment merchandising through print catalog ordering. Another significant threat to office supply retailers is the internet. Many companies can purchase office supplies through the internet without visiting the store.