Following consultation with customers Lyreco have launched an exciting new catalogue format for 2010.  The catalogue which is a break from the traditional A4 format is smaller in size (260 x 184mm) but still packed full of exciting new products. 

Launched across the UK and Ireland this week, the catalogue is more environmentally friendly than previous years and fits firmly with the company ethos of a desire for continual improvement whilst constantly striving to reduce environmental impacts.

Carole Keane, Lyreco’s Marketing Communication Manager, said “We have produced our catalogue on 100% recycled paper for 4 years and were looking for a way to reduce the impact on the environment even further. The simple change in size means the company have used 68.9 tonnes less paper than if an equivalent A4 catalogue was produced”.

The size doesn’t only allow the business to reduce the paper impact, but it also means that less card was used in the production of the catalogue storage boxes, which was reduced by 20% and saw a reduction in the CO2 produced in the transportation of the catalogue throughout the supply chain due to the reduced weight and the amount of catalogues that can be fitted on vehicles. 

This initiative is only one of many being carried out at Lyreco, recent winners of a gold Green Apple award for the launch of a “stamp out waste”, campaign. The company are dedicated and determined to make an environmental difference and to continuously investigate and develop new ways to reduce the environmental impacts of the business.

They are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world.  

Lyreco are continually striving to improve their business to benefit the environment and the local community and celebrated their 10 year anniversary of achieving ISO14001 in 2008.  A big step for Lyreco over the past year has been to join the local environmental group BESST (Business Environmental Support Scheme for Telford.) As a key player on the steering committee, the business provides help and assistance to other local businesses who wish to make environmental improvements. 

In 2008 the company focused heavily on waste reduction. “Stamp Out Waste” was developed around key environmental objectives, to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. The programme made it possible for staff to separate and recycle plastic drinks cups, cans, paper, cardboard and ink toner/cartridges through the introduction of new bins and containers.  In October 2008, 100% of general office bins were removed to enable segregation at the waste source. Following on from the Stamp Out Waste programme the team have worked on reducing gas consumption, investigating and reducing water consumption and are now looking at a target to calculate the company carbon footprint.

Lyreco who have previously won two Green Apple awards, 2006 Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice in Fuel, Power & Energy - Gold Winner and in 2005 won the Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice in Retail & Wholesale - Bronze Winner, will be presented with their Green Apple Award at the House of Commons later this year.

Editor Notes

Lyreco in the UK is a fully owned operating subsidiary of the Lyreco Group.

Lyreco is a family owned stationery supplies group operating extensively throughout Europe, Canada and Asia, with 29 subsidiaries worldwide.

Lyreco ranks high amongst the worldwide distributors of office supplies and delivers over 215,000 products per day to its customer base.

Our plan is wide-ranging and includes:

-          Prevention with regular employee communications

-          Sanitary measures with masks and hydroalcoholic gels in stock, available to staff

-          Crisis committees put in place in each subsidiary monitoring the situation on a regular basis

-          Work site infection containment and control

-          Procedures to address absenteeism in our key departments

-          Staffing arrangements and work from home options

-          World Health Organization recommendations monitoring and implementation

We also would like to take this opportunity to advise our customers to be safe and stock the relevant quantity of sensitive products in advance, allowing them to prevent any difficulty during the peak of the pandemic.

Lyreco remains vigilant and will continue to actively monitor and respond suitably to this evolving situation and issue updates when appropriate.

Eric Bigeard

CEO

The partnership between AEA (Aide et Action) and Lyreco will help to finance a project supporting nursery schools located in North Vietnam thus enabling a better start in life for these young children. In Vietnam, early childhood is the area of education with the greatest difficulties. It suffers from a lack of infrastructures and equipment, health problems among children, malnutrition, etc. The rate of malnutrition in Vietnamese children is the highest in the world. In 2005, it concerned 1 child in 4 aged under 5 and is, according to the WHO (World Health Organisation), responsible for half of the infant mortality. This rate is particularly high in the mountains, in the countryside and in areas gathering ethnic minority groups: which is where AEA operates first.

Thanks to the Lyreco-AEA (Aide et Action) partnership with nursery schools of 4 villages of the district of Phu Luong (Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam), more than 2,000 children aged 0-5 years will receive better quality care and education, while their families get access to awareness raising activities about the importance of early childhood care and education. At the same time, some one hundred teachers will get training on teaching methods, educational themes, nutrition, design of toys… 4 nursery schools will get playgrounds; 20 classes will be renovated and equipped with educational kits and toys. In total, by the end of 2010, more than 8,000 families and 32,000 inhabitants will be directly or indirectly impacted by the awareness raising activities on care and education.

“The Lyreco for Education programme originated from the shared belief we have in education, as a strong lever of development. Through Lyreco for Education, we transform our conviction into real action and we commit ourselves over the long term to the support of education for children throughout the world” states Eric Bigeard - Lyreco CEO. “The Lyreco for Education programme has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by our 10,500 employees, who involve themselves concretely and personally in this fascinating project. We are proud and happy to join AEA this year and to contribute to the improvement of education for the children of Thai Nguyen in Vietnam.”

Claire Calosci - General Director of AEA (Aide et Action) International, adds: “AEA has been developing for a long time efficient partnership strategies with local players on the field. Today, we are turning towards companies to support us in these field projects. It is important to us to see economic actors such as Lyreco joining us to support education around the world. Ensuring a good start for children from their first years in life is crucial as this will allow them to grow in good physical and mental health and set solid bases for their future. It is essential that the economic world realises this.”

About Lyreco for Education

Lyreco for Education supports the education of children throughout the world. Having proper access to schooling ensures that children enter the education system, and benefit from appropriate care and nutrition, giving them a better chance to succeed in life. Lyreco for Education’s mission therefore consists in supporting projects which improve the education of children in developing countries. Each year, Lyreco for Education will support a project in a different country, in partnership with a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) fully dedicated to that cause and selected with the greatest of care. For more information on this fascinating project, visit:

 www.lyreco.com/lyrecoforeducation

About Lyreco

Lyreco is a leading supplier of office products in the B2B market. The privately-owned company, which was founded in 1926, is based in France, employing about 10,500 people. Worldwide it operates from some 180 locations in 29 countries. In 2008 the company generated sales of € 2.3billion. As well as being market leader in Europe, Lyreco is also present in Canada and Asia-Pacific.

http://www.lyreco.com/

About AEA (Aide et Action)

Since it was founded in 1981, AEA (Aide et Action) has expanded to reach twenty-two countries worldwide located in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Through 120 programmes and with the help of its partners, AEA (Aide et Action) has improved access to quality education for more than five million children and adults.  Monitored closely by “le Comité de la Charte” in France (a member of the International Committee on Fundraising Organisations) for private donations and/or publicly recognized contributions, AEA is supported by 63,000 sponsors and donors.  Officially approved by the French Ministry of Education, AEA works towards a world where dignity is guaranteed to everyone through education and strengthening human development.  Free from any political or religious attachments, our commitment to worldwide development issues is founded, above all, on the values of liberty, respect, solidarity, equality and integrity.

http://www.aide-et-action.org/

Run by the stationery trade association The British Office Supplies and Services Federation, the awards were held at The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London on 16^th October with office supply companies big and small competing for the top prize in each of the ten categories.

The Dealer Excellence Award was judged on how companies have developed their business and product range over the last twelve months to ensure continued growth with existing customers. As the entry form said, it is 10 times more cost effective to grow sales with existing customers than acquiring new ones!

We were able to demonstrate a clear strategy in this area backed up by impressive sales results, a combination which clearly impressed the judges.

Tim Holmes, Marketing Director said: “The award is another reflection of the hard work that goes on at Lyreco every day. Our award submission included the fact that we have extended the catalogue again this year, the new products which have come on stream, the relationships we have built with customers and above all our continued policy of putting the customer first.

“Every person who works at Lyreco has either directly or indirectly had a part to play in us winning this award and we should all be really proud of this achievement.”

Pictured from left to right are: Nick Revell, Lyreco Account Manager, Charles Furniss, Product Manager, Adam Ward, Junior Product Manager, Tim Holmes, Marketing Director, Rachael Green, Field Sales Channel Manager, Carole Keane, Quality Security and Environmental Manager, Tasmin Evans, Marketing Communications Manager, Helen Cocker, Account Manager and Steve Moran, Corporate Accounts Channel Manager.

“I am delighted to have Lyreco as our partner”, said Sam Duncan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at OfficeMax. “Lyreco has always been a leader in Europe and this partnership will improve the OfficeMax service offering for our large international customers.  We expect improved selling potential from the partnership.”

“I am obviously excited about the two companies coming to such an agreement” stated Lyreco’s CEO, Eric Bigeard. “OfficeMax and Lyreco share the same commitment for the customers and the same dedication to delight them. OfficeMax has a long established and solid position and I look forward to developing the relationship in the future”.

About OfficeMax

OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) is a leader in both business-to- business office products solutions and retail office products. The OfficeMax mission is simple. We help our customers do their best work. The company provides office supplies and paper, in-store print and document services through OfficeMax ImPress®, technology products and solutions, and furniture to consumers and to large, medium and small businesses. OfficeMax customers are served by approximately 32,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, e-commerce and nearly 1,000 stores. To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX. For more information, visit http://www.officemax.com/.

About Lyreco

Lyreco is a privately-owned supplier of office products to the business community and a leader in business-to-business office products solution   With 11,000 employees including a sales force of over 4,500 people its core expertise is in the focus on customer service and distribution excellence. It operates in 29 countries around the world, covering 4 continents. For more information, visit http://www.lyreco.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the company constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements regarding the company’s future performance, as well as management’s expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, the company cannot guarantee that the alliance with Lyreco will increase sales or that its actual results will be consistent with the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date they are made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise. Important factors regarding the company which may cause results to differ from expectations are included in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2007, under Item 1A “Risk Factors”, and in the company’s other filings with the SEC.