Office Depot Names Samuel E. Mathis Jr. to the Newly Created Position of VP of Diversity.

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DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2002

OFFICE DEPOT, INC. (NYSE:ODP), the world's

largest seller of office products, today announced the appointment of Samuel E. Mathis Jr. to the newly created position of Vice President of Diversity. Mr. Mathis, formerly Vice President of Diversity & Community Affairs of Darden Restaurants, Inc., will report directly to Jay Crosson, Executive Vice President of Human Resources.

In this newly created role, Mr. Mathis will have responsibility for the Company's diversity efforts across all aspects of Office Depot's operations. He will oversee and direct all of the Company's strategic diversity programs as well as the development and enhancement of other initiatives such as corporate diversity training and minority recruitment.

Before joining Office Depot, Mathis spent over nineteen years with Darden Restaurants, most recently as Vice President of Diversity & Community Affairs, with responsibility for leading the organization's diversity business strategy across various business functions, including community affairs, and coordinating human resources, purchasing and marketing initiatives. Mr. Mathis was also the Executive Director of the Darden Foundation, a philanthropic foundation focused on improving the quality of life in the communities in which Darden conducts business.

Bruce Nelson, Chairman & CEO of Office Depot, said: "This newly created position of Vice President of Diversity is an important next step in our effort to make Office Depot a more compelling place to work, shop and invest. We now have an organization focused on increasing diversity across all aspects of our Company's business as well as leveraging our current programs and initiatives to maximize our efforts. Sam brings with him broad business experience and a strategic understanding of how to integrate diversity throughout a complex organization; and will be a dynamic collaborator in our pursuit to make Office Depot an even better place to work and do business with in the future."

Mr. Mathis, age 47, holds a bachelor's of architecture from Kansas State University and a master's degree in business administration from the Rollins College. He is married with two children.

About Office Depot

No one sells more office products to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. As the largest seller of office products around the world, the Company operates under the Office Depot, Viking Office Products, Viking Direct and 4Sure.com brand names. As of September 29, 2001, Office Depot operated 846 office supply superstores in the United States and Canada, in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 25 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and eight regional call centers. Furthermore, the Company had operations in 15 countries outside of the United States and Canada, including 28 office supply stores in France and seven in Japan that are owned and operated by the Company; and 101 additional office supply stores under joint venture and licensing agreements operating under the Office Depot(R) name in five foreign countries.

The Company also operates an award-winning U.S. Office Depot(R) brand Web site at http://www.officedepot.com where customers can access Office Depot's low competitive prices seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. The Company also operates thirteen other Web sites, under the Office Depot(R) and Viking Office Products(R) names, in the U.S. and eight international countries including: Austria, Australia, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Office Depot's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

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 in March 22, 2001 and subsequent 10-Q filings, including our most recent 10-Q, filed on October 31, 2001 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 http://www.sec.gov, http://www.10kwizard.com and at http://www.freeEDGAR.com, as well as on a number of other commercial Web sites. In addition to these prior cautionary statements, you are cautioned that future performance may be impacted by a number of additional matters referred to in Office Depot's Press Release dated January 3, 2001, which has been filed with the SEC.

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