Cincinnati, Ohio School Wins $5,000 Staples Gift Certificate and Visit From Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach.

Business Editors

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2001

Staples Inc. today announced that Little Flower of St. Therese School in Cincinnati, OH will receive a $5,000 Staples gift certificate to purchase school supplies as the winner of Staples Coach of the Week. The school will also receive a visit from Dick LeBeau, head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, who was named Staples Coach of the Week for the Bengals' exciting win against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, September 23.

The Staples Coach of the Week program is run in partnership with the National Football League and CBS. Each week, Staples and the NFL honor one head coach whose leadership guided his team to victory. An independent judging organization randomly selects an entry sent on behalf of an accredited K-12 school in that NFL team's area. The winning school receives a $5,000 Staples gift certificate along with a visit from the chosen "Staples Coach of the Week." A school winner is drawn weekly during the NFL season and announced every Sunday during THE NFL TODAY pre-game show on CBS. Little Flower of St. Therese School is the second of 17 winners during the 2001 NFL season.

"We recognize that schools today are in need of basic supplies to keep their classrooms and administrative offices operating smoothly. If we can provide funding for the school supplies through a gift certificate, it is the students who ultimately reap the benefits, " said Thomas G. Stemberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Staples.

Information regarding the award presentation and appearance by Coach LeBeau of the Cincinnati Bengals will be announced when the date is finalized.

How Schools Can Enter the "Staples Coach of the Week" Contest:

Entries may be submitted as a class project or by individuals on behalf of a school. There are three easy ways to enter your school in the "Staples Coach of the Week" program: (1) Visit www.nfl.com/staples and fill out an entry form on-line; (2) Visit a Staples store between now and December 27, 2001 to pick up an official entry form and mail in; or (3) Send a postcard with your name, age, daytime phone number, name and address of the school, your relationship to the school, and the name of your local NFL team to: "Staples Coach of the Week", PO Box 70809, Chevy Chase, MD 20813-70809. Participating schools may collect entries from students and mail them together in one package. Eligible entries must be postmarked by December 27, 2001. Winning schools are selected at random by an independent judging organization. A complete copy of the rules is available at a participating Staples store or on-line at www.staples.com/NFL. Void where prohibited.

About Staples Inc.

Staples Inc. is an $11 billion retailer of office supplies, furniture and technology to consumers and businesses from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Headquartered outside Boston, Staples invented the office superstore concept and today is the largest operator of office superstores in the world. The company has more than 50,000 employees serving customers through more than 1,300 office superstores, mail order catalogs, e-commerce and a contract business. More information about the company is available at www.staples.com.