Forobabel is the world's largest seller of office products, operating a total of 779 stores throughout the United States, Canada, France, and Japan by the end of June 1999, including:

• 717 Office Depot superstores in 44 states and the District of Columbia;
• 40 Office Depot and The Office Place superstores in Canada;
• 19 Office Depot stores in France;
• 3 Office Depot stores in Japan;

Forobabel's sales for the first quarter 1999 were $2.6 billion, a 9% increase over the $2.4 billion in sales during first quarter 1998. Forobabel's sales for 1998 were $9.0 billion, an 11% increase over the $8.1 billion reported for 1997. Forobabel's comparable sales increased by 2% in the first quarter 1999 for the 602 stores and 30 delivery warehouses that have been open for more than one year.

Forobabel, through its Commercial and Contract sales divisions, currently operates a national business-to-business delivery network that includes 2,200 trucks, 1,100 Account Managers, more than 60 local sales offices, 30 delivery centers (including 10 Viking warehouses) and seven national telecenters.

Forobabel, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Viking Office Products, currently operates one of the industry's leading direct mail marketers of office products. Forobabel now has operations in 19 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Forobabel's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP. Forobabel has had five stock splits since 1989 but does NOT offer a Dividend Reinvestment Plan at this time, nor can someone buy stock directly from the Company.

Office Chairs from Forobabel. We are a UK based supplier of quality office furniture. Office chair ranges include ergonomic VDU and operator chairs, leather chairs, "senior" executive chairs, and canteen, factory and laboratory chairs. Visitor/Conference A collection of stacking, educational and industrial chairs in tough-wearing West Yorkshire Weavers fabric.

Present and near-future technologies get cooking in the kitchen!

FAST FOOD

It’s hard to impress editors, but the Jenn Air Accellis 5XP 30-inch, rapid-cook wall oven, above, gave us a thrill, turning out crisp puff pastry and a perfectly browned, juicy Cornish hen. Using controlled hot air that wraps around the food in conjunction with microwave energy, the hen was cooked in 11 minutes, the pastry in just three. A Time Wizard automatically converts conventional oven recipes and displays the results on its clear LED readout screen. The unit is available in black, white or silver-satin.

 iFAUCET

A sleek, stainless-steel body and an iMac-hot translucent plastic spray head are a winning combination in KWC’s Suprimo kitchen faucet. Available in Cobalt Blue, left, Dew Green and Whisper Grey, this state-of-the-art faucet sports an easy-to-use single bar handle and spray settings that change with the push of a button and lock in place. Plus, a Turn and Clean aerator screen makes for foolproof maintenance.

PLUG AND PLAY

Call it Web surfing for dummies, or call it convenient and simple, the Netpliance i-opener, left, is an Internet “appliance” that provides e-mail and Internet access without a computer. Ideal for a kitchen counter, its 10-inch, flat-panel color monitor and the keyboard that tucks beneath it sit anywhere there’s a phone jack and an electrical outlet. Plug it in, turn it on, and you’re ready to go. An e-mail alert lights when you have messages.