WPAPUP 1-Office suppliers post sales declines, shares down

* Office Depot sales fall 17 pct

* OfficeMax sales fall 12.6 pct

* OfficeMax sees operating loss in Q4

* Office Depot shares down 4.6 pct, OfficeMax down 4.2 pct

By Dhanya Skariachan

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Office Depot Inc (ODP.N) and OfficeMax Inc (OMX.N) reported lackluster third-quarter sales as both shoppers and corporate customers kept a tight hold on spending, and their shares fell.

Office-supply retailers, including industry leader Staples Inc (SPLS.O), have seen their sales fall as customers halted purchases for nonessential items in the recession, especially big-ticket goods like furniture and computers.

Shares of OfficeMax, which forecast an operating loss in the current quarter [ID:nN28327604], were down 4.2 percent in morning trading.

Office Depot stock was down 4.6 percent as the No. 2 U.S. office supplies seller reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and lower-than-expected sales [ID:nN29350234].

Sales at Office Depot fell about 17 percent to $3.03 billion, missing the analysts' average estimate of $3.07 billion, partly due to a decision to end promotions in some product categories. Sales at its U.S. and Canadian stores that have been open for more than a year fell 14 percent.

Sales at smaller rival OfficeMax fell 12.6 percent to $1.83 billion, but were ahead of analysts' estimates of $1.81 billion.

OfficeMax said its contract segment sales fell 14.3 percent to $899.6 million, reflecting declines of 15.4 percent in the United States and 11.6 percent internationally.

The company's retail segment sales fell 11 percent to $932.3 million.

Same-store sales were down across all product categories. OfficeMax attributed the declines to weaker small business and consumer spending, unfavorable Mexican peso exchange rates and the influenza epidemic in Mexico. (Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)