Staples is following Amazon’s lead and getting into lines of business–including home health care and personal care–totally unrelated to its core merchandise of office supplies. E-commerce blog GetElastic takes a critical look at their business goals in driving towards over a million SKUs, bringing in third-party sellers (“marketplace”) and drop-shipping, plus sourcing and stocking an extended inventory. The news for us is that one of those marketplaces could be fitness tech/wearable items that employees use in wellness programs such as Fitbits, Jawbones and FuelBands, sensors for Samsung’s S Health program–or glucose meters and blood pressure cuffs. (Already Staples stocks DME, personal care, ostomy and respiratory supplies.) And since Staples already sells smartphones, the potential for cross-selling fitness add-ons and apps is excellent. Can Staples Succeed as an Everything Store?

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Staples-home-page.jpg” thumb_width=”400″ /]