The following press release issued by Staples, Inc. may be deemed to be "other
soliciting materials" for purposes of Rule 14a-6(b) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is filed herewith in accordance with said
Rule.

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes forward looking
statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important
factors including risks related to Staples' ability to compete in its highly
competitive market, Staples' ability to continue to successfully open new
stores, Staples' quarterly operating results being subject to significant
fluctuation, Staples' stock price fluctuating based on the expectations of
professional securities analysts, the strain on operations due to Staples' rapid
growth which can affect operating results, the ability of Staples' foreign
operations and Staples.com to become profitable and the ability of Staples to
obtain adequate future financing. Additional information concerning these
factors is contained in Staples' Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 15,
2001, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


FOR INVESTOR INQUIRIES:                        FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:
MARIA SCEPPAGUERCIO                            TOM NUTILE
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTOR RELATIONS      VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC RELATIONS
508-253-7963                                   508-253-1833


COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OF STAPLES SHAREHOLDERS TO VOTE ON STAPLES.COM BUYBACK;
ANNUAL MEETING POSTPONED WHILE STAPLES PROVIDES ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO
SHAREHOLDERS.

FRAMINGHAM, MASS., JUNE 5, 2001 - The Delaware Chancery Court today ruled that
Staples shareholders can vote on a proposal to fold back Staples.com stock into
Staples common stock, but ordered that the vote be postponed so that Staples can
provide additional information about the proposal to shareholders. The court
also ruled that Staples needs to reset the record date for the shareholders
vote.

"We're delighted with the court's decision, and only slightly disappointed that
our shareholders' vote on the reclassification of Staples.com stock will be
delayed," said Staples Chairman and CEO Thomas G. Stemberg. "The court did not
challenge the fairness of valuing Staples.com at $7 per share and did not find
that the decision-making process of the directors was tainted by self interest.
The court wants additional information given to the shareholders and we plan to
do that."

The Chancery Court decision, made after a shareholder group moved to stop the
reclassification vote, comes on the heels of a report by Institutional
Shareholder Services that recommends shareholders vote for the reclassification
of Staples.com stock into Staples common stock. Institutional Shareholders
Services is an independent research group




that makes recommendations on shareholder issues. Its clients are institutional
shareholders.

The Staples board of directors voted in March to exchange Staples.com stock for
Staples stock after concluding that it made sense to combine the two operations
because many Staples customers use both the Staples catalog and Staples.com. By
integrating the catalog operation with Staples.com, Staples hopes to achieve
synergies and efficiencies in how it markets to and services customers in both
operations. After a review and analysis of Staples.com and similar e-commerce
operations, the board concluded that $7 was a fair value for Staples.com shares.

ABOUT STAPLES

         Staples, Inc. is an $11 billion retailer of office supplies, business
services, 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 over 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 http://www.staples.com.