Staples is reinventing its image as a place that is easy to shop at:

"Our job is getting people to drive by Office Depot and OfficeMax and go to Staples instead," said John Karlson, senior vice president for strategic development at Martin/Williams. "The way to do that is by making it easier to get through the store, within the format of the large superstore."

"That was the `ta-dah' we discovered after probing the psyches of the target audience," he added. "We found that a lot of people don't enjoy shopping for office products."

Staples has been the first of the three office superstores to understand that a large merchandise selection is no longer enough to attract customers. Remember, your stores have to be a place that customers want to be.