Westland-based OfficeStar has been a family-owned office supply business since 1979. President Greg Newton's parents started the company in their garage, and it has grown to a 15-employee operation that now also includes printing services.
OfficeStar has found an ingenious way to compete with major competitors such as Office Max and Quill: by allowing customers to compare prices on their website,
OfficeStar247.com, and consistently beating them. Combined with guaranteed next-day delivery and no minimum order, local customers have been enthusiastic about choosing OfficeStar for their office supply needs.
Being an independent local business in this economy doesn't hurt either. "
When a big national superstore comes into an area and dominates it, it's hard for little guy to compete," says sales and marketing manager Peter Pterneas. "But we are local and we can compete, and that puts us in good stead -- our customers can keep it local and keep dollars in the community."
OfficeStar currently employs 15, but the company is considering hiring because recent radio ads (which can be heard
here) that have aired on 101.1 WRIF and Magic 105.1 have driven up the number of customers. "We've gotten so many requests for catalogs," says Pterneas. "If this keeps up, our customer service side won't be able to keep up with it, and we may even be looking at new drivers."
OfficeStar's on-line catalog has 40,000 items and its paper one 25,000. Next month, the company will debut its new supplemental catalog of over 3,000 environmentally friendly items that will be printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper. The catalog is being compiled in response to the growing number of requests for "green" office products.
Source: Peter Pterneas, OfficeStar
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.