Rebranded stationery giant Staples is to sublet floor space at a third of its stores.

The company needs to use space in its stores more effectively if it is to continue trading in a competitive marketplace. It had reached a point where it was holding too much land and paying too much in rent and rates to be able to compete.

Now trading as Office Outlet, it is making 285,500sq ft of sales space at 35 of its 101 UK stores available to other retailers, as reported by Retail Gazette .

It should come as no surprise that Staples is looking for new ways to stay afloat, because the way businesses work has changed significantly over the last 10 or 15 years.

Once upon a time all small businesses would shop for stationery in stores like Staples, but now it is far easier to order it online and get it delivered for free.

And as more and more work moves online, companies simply have less need for stationery. Supermarkets too have moved into the market, taking sales away from stationers like Staples, particularly during the lucrative 'back to school' trading period.

The first store to make space for other retailers will be in Merton, South London. Staples has branches in Cheltenham and Gloucester. It is not yet known whether they will be affected by the changes.

Here at Punchline, we have always found the Staples staff to be friendly and helpful. But the company found it had to sell an awful lot of pens and paper to be able to cover its costs and compete in a shrinking market. We really hope the new strategy works out for the teams in our local stores and redundancies can be avoided.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk