How Staples is pivoting as tech replaces paper and pens

Office chain’s Canadian CEO talks crayons, notebooks and why brick-and-mortar retail persists

- JARED LINDZON

The pandemic forever changed how we work and learn, but this year’s back-to-school shopping trends suggest some habits have real staying power.

Online shopping was supposed to kill in-person retail, yet 88 per cent of parents planned to do at least half of their back-to-school shopping in person this year according to a survey by Staples.

Digital learning was supposed to replace more analogue education, yet demand for supplies like crayons and notebooks remains high. Remote work was supposed to kill the office, but demand for office supplies is increasing.

“It is absolutely evolving, but it is not swinging to fully digital,” said Rachel Huckle, the CEO of Staples Canada. “There’s still a human aspect, and I think that people realized over the pandemic how much they missed and value human connection.”

Huckle, who joined the U.S. office supply giant in 2019, now oversees its 11,000 associates across 300 stores in Canada, a position she couldn’t have anticipated when she studied nursing, following in her mother’s footsteps.

After kick-starting her career with Shoppers Drug Mart, Huckle ended up staying with the pharmacy giant for the next 25 years, as well as its parent company Loblaw Companies Ltd., eventually going back to school to earn an MBA from Rotman in 2017. Along the way she developed a reputation for giving familiar, legacy retail brands a modern makeover.

Huckle spoke to the Star from Staples Canada’s head office in Richmond Hill about this year’s back to school shopping trends, how buying habits have changed since the pandemic, and how shopping patterns provide a unique insight into everything from flexible work policies to classroom experiences to AI adoption.

What inspired you to pursue a career in nursing?

My mother is a nurse, and growing up I saw how much she loved working with patients. She’s 82-years old and still working at St. Michael’s Hospital.