Staples Names New Head of North American Retail

Staples on Monday named Steve Matyas, a 25-year veteran of its Canadian business, as the new head of its North American retail operations. Matyas had served as president of Staples Canada since July 2000. He was also the first employee at Business Depot Ltd. in Canada in March 1991. Staples acquired Business Depot in August 1994. Staples' Interim Chief Executive Shira Goodman said Matyas has a “proven track record of delivering profitable growth and innovation,” which will benefit the company as it attempts to combat a slowing retail industry.

Total Retail's Take: The promotion of Steve Matyas is the latest executive move from Staples as it tries to evolve to meet consumer needs. Like other office supply retailers, Staples sells billions of dollars of printer cartridges, paper reams and other workplace basics each year, but that market is in decline as more offices go digital. In addition, consumers are increasingly shifting toward online shopping with retailers like Amazon.com hurting sales in the traditional brick-and-mortar retail industry. We'll see what Steve Matyas can do to help reverse the downward trend for Staples.