District Heights, Maryland School Wins $5,000 Staples Gift Certificate and Visit From Baltimore Ravens Head Coach.

Business/Technology Editors

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2000

Staples, Inc.(NASDAQ:SPLS) today announced that Francis Scott Key Elementary School in District Heights, Md. will receive a $5,000 Staples gift certificate for school supplies as the winner of Staples Coach of the Week. The school will also receive a visit from Brian Billick, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, who was named Staples Coach of the Week for the Ravens win against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, December 10.

The Staples Coach of the Week program is run in partnership with the National Football League and CBS. Each week, one head coach whose leadership guided his team to victory is honored by Staples and the NFL. 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. Francis Scott Key Elementary School is the fifteenth of 17 winners during the 2000-2001 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, Staples.

Information regarding the award presentation and appearance by Coach Billick of the Baltimore Ravens 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) Log on to www.staples.com/NFL and fill out an entry form on-line; 2) Visit a Staples store (between now and December 25, 2000), 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, P.O. Box 66140, Washington, DC, 20035. Participating schools may collect entries from students and mail them together in one package. Eligible entries must be postmarked by Dec. 25, 2000. Winning schools are selected at random by an independent judging organization. A complete copy of the rules are available at a participating Staples store or online at www.staples.com/NFL. Void where prohibited.

Staples Inc., (NASDAQ:SPLS), is a $9 billion provider of office supplies, furniture, technology and services to consumers and businesses of all sizes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Headquartered near Boston, Staples invented the office superstore concept and is the largest operator of office superstores in the world. The company has 50,000 employees who help customers slash the cost and hassle of running their businesses through more than 1,200 retail superstores, an e-commerce business, direct mail order operations under the brands of Staples and subsidiary Quill Corporation, and a national accounts contract business. More information about the company is available at http://www.staples.com.