All Four Leading Proxy Advisors Recommend That Office Depot Stockholders Reject Alan...

All Four Leading Proxy Advisors Recommend That Office Depot Stockholders Reject Alan Levan's Dissident Nominees

Egan-Jones And Glass Lewis & Co. Join PROXY Governance And
RiskMetrics/ISS In Recommending That Stockholders Reject Dissidents
And Use Office Depot's WHITE Proxy Card(a)

Office Depot Recommends That Stockholders Vote FOR Each Of The
Company's Directors On The WHITE Proxy Card
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(Business Wire)--
Office Depot, Inc. (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office
products and services, today announced that Glass Lewis & Co. and
Egan-Jones Proxy Services, two independent proxy voting advisory
services, have joined PROXY Governance and RiskMetrics/ISS in
recommending that Office Depot stockholders vote to reject the two
dissident directors nominated by Alan Levan and his company Woodbridge
at Office Depot's Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled for April
23, 2008.

Commenting on the supportive recommendations of all four leading
proxy advisory firms, Office Depot Chairman and CEO Steve Odland said,
"We appreciate the thorough analysis that these firms have undertaken
and are pleased with their recommendation that our stockholders reject
Alan Levan and his dissident nominees. Office Depot's board and
management are disappointed with the Company's recent performance and
we share our stockholders' frustration. However, the entire board as
well as management are fully dedicated to enhancing Office Depot's
operating performance and we are implementing a strong strategic plan
designed to increase value for all of our stockholders."

In evaluating Alan Levan's and Woodbridge's nominees, Glass Lewis
noted:(b)

-- "...shareholders should now take a closer look at the
dissident nominees to see whether their qualifications and
track records would be beneficial to Office Depot."

-- "...we do not believe that the (Levan/Woodbridge) nominees are
the right individuals, nor is their proposed plan substantial
enough, to effect long-term change at the Company."

In its analysis, Egan-Jones concluded:(c)

-- "While there is no doubt that the Company's management and
board have considerable challenges ahead and their turnaround
plans have yet to bear fruit, given ...in particular our view
that the dissidents' plans as publicly disclosed lack
sufficient detail, we believe that support for the
(Levan/Woodbridge) nominees for director is not in the best
interests of the Company and its shareholders."

Office Depot strongly recommends that its stockholders vote FOR
each of the Company's directors and its proposals on the WHITE proxy
card.

We encourage stockholders to vote electronically using the simple
procedures to vote by telephone or Internet contained on their proxy
cards. It will only take a few moments to ensure that their votes are
received in time to be counted at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders,
which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 23, 2008.

Only the latest dated proxy that is received by the deadline will
be counted. Please disregard any Gold proxy cards received from Levan,
his company Woodbridge, or their agents.

Stockholders who have questions or need assistance in voting their
shares should contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc. by calling toll-free
(800) 322-2885.

Important Information: In connection with the solicitation of
proxies, Office Depot filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") and mailed to stockholders a definitive proxy
statement dated March 14, 2008 (as supplemented by proxy supplement
no. 1 dated March 24, 2008, the "Proxy Statement"). The Proxy
Statement contains important information about Office Depot and the
2008 annual stockholders meeting. Office Depot's stockholders are
urged to read the Proxy Statement carefully. Stockholders may obtain
additional free copies of the Proxy Statement and other relevant
documents filed with the SEC by Office Depot through the website
maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. The Proxy Statement and other
relevant documents may also be obtained free of charge from Office
Depot by contacting Investor Relations in writing at Office Depot at
2200 Old Germantown Road, Delray Beach, FL; or by phone at
561-438-3657; or by email at brian.turcotte@officedepot.com. The Proxy
Statement is also available on Office Depot's website at
www.officedepot.com. The contents of the websites referenced above are
not deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Proxy Statement.
Stockholders may also contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc. with questions
or requests for additional copies of the proxy materials by calling
toll-free (800) 322-2885 or collect (212) 929-5500, or by email at
officedepotproxy@mackenziepartners.com.

About Office Depot

Every day, Office Depot is Taking Care of Business for millions of
customers around the globe. For the local corner store as well as
Fortune 500 companies, Office Depot provides products and services to
its customers through more than 1,600 worldwide retail stores, a
dedicated sales force, top-rated catalogs and a $4.9 billion
e-commerce operation. Office Depot has annual sales of approximately
$15.5 billion, and employs about 49,000 associates around the world.
The Company provides more office products and services to more
customers in more countries than any other company, and currently
sells to customers directly or through affiliates in 43 countries.

Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.
Additional press information can be found at:
http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended (the
"Act"), provides protection from liability in private lawsuits for
"forward-looking" statements made by public companies under certain
circumstances, provided that the public company discloses with
specificity the risk factors that may impact its future results. We
want to take advantage of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Act.
Certain statements made in this document are "forward-looking"
statements under the Act. Except for historical financial and business
performance information, statements made in this document should be
considered 'forward-looking' as referred to in the Act. These
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document;
we disclaim any obligation to update these statements, and we caution
you not to rely on them unduly. Much of the information that looks
towards future performance of our company is based on various factors
and important expectations and assumptions about future events that
may or may not actually come true. While our management considers
these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are
inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive,
regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of
which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our
control. As a result, our operations and financial results in the
future could differ materially and substantially from those we have
discussed in the forward-looking statements made in this document.
Certain risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in our
filings with the SEC. You are strongly urged to review all such
filings for a more detailed discussion of such risks and
uncertainties. The Company's SEC filings are readily obtainable at no
charge at www.sec.gov and at www.freeEDGAR.com, as well as on a number
of other commercial web sites.

(a) PROXY Governance, Inc. April 16, 2008; ISS Governance
Services, US Proxy Advisory Services, April 11, 2008;Glass Lewis & Co.
April 16, 2008; and Egan-Jones Proxy Services April 16, 2008.

(b) Glass Lewis & Co. April 16, 2008.

(c) Egan-Jones Proxy Services April 16, 2008.

Permission to cite or quote each of the foregoing neither sought
nor obtained.

Office Depot, Inc., Delray Beach
Investor Relations
Brian Turcotte, 561-438-3657
brian.turcotte@officedepot.com
or
Public Relations
Brian Levine, 561-438-2895
brian.levine@officedepot.com
or
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
David Reno/Dan Gagnier, 212-687-8080
dreno@sardverb.com
dgagnier@sardverb.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008