FRAMINGHAM & QUINCY Mass. – Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) and Ahold USA announced today that they will collaborate on a Staples branded store-in-store section in all 550 of Ahold’s Stop & Shop Supermarket Company (Quincy, MA) and Giant Food LLC (Landover, MD) stores throughout the Northeast. Beginning in July, grocery shoppers will have the convenience of buying a wider range of high-quality supplies for school and home at competitive prices.

The Staples branded area will typically range between 40 to 80 feet and features 500 to 1,200 high-quality school and home office essentials. Products will include a wide variety of national and Staples brands – some of them available in supermarkets for the first time – in consumer-sized packs. In addition to traditional school and home office supplies, the assortment will range from copy and photo papers, ink cartridges and technology products.

“This is a great way for us to bring added convenience to our customers,” said Marc Smith, president and CEO of Stop & Shop and Giant Landover. “Staples has created a model that is easy to execute and fits perfectly with what our customers need.”

“We are making it easy for consumers to purchase school and home office supplies while doing their weekly grocery shopping,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ president and CEO. “We are excited to leverage our expertise and leadership in the office supplies industry to provide Stop & Shop and Giant supermarkets with a unique and convenient offering for their customers. Additionally, Stop and Shop enables us to reach a consumer segment that might not typically shop at Staples.”

Staples has successfully tested this concept in approximately 60 Stop & Shop locations and continues to test a similar program with select Kroger stores in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

About Staples
Staples, Inc. invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today is the world's largest office products company. With 65,000 talented associates, the company is committed to making it easy to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With 2004 sales of $14.4 billion, Staples serves consumers and businesses ranging from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in 21 countries throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples operates approximately 1,680 office superstores and also serves its customers through mail order catalog, e-commerce and contract businesses. More information is available at www.staples.com.

About Stop &Shop
Based in Quincy, Massachusetts, Stop & Shop operates 349 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York and employs more than 57,000 associates.

About Giant Food LLC
Giant Food LLC, headquartered in Landover, MD, operates 203 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, and employs more than 25,000 associates. Giant stores in New Jersey and Delaware operate under the Super G name. Included within the 203 stores are 174 full-service pharmacies.