Correction: OfficeMax is located in the New Centre Market shopping plaza along New Centre Drive in Wilmington.

A decision by Office Depot Inc. to close nearly 400 stores nationwide could impact its operations throughout greater Wilmington.
 
Officials with the Florida-based company announced in a news release Tuesday that despite beating Wall Street estimates for the first quarter of 2014, Office Depot Inc. would have to close additional stores to save the company $75 million by the end of 2016.
 
Karen Denning, company spokeswoman, said Tuesday the firm has neither identified nor compiled a list of potential store closures. She said, however, that company officials could possibly announce future store closings by the end of the second quarter of 2014.
 
“A majority of our stores will remain open during the back-to-school shopping season,” Denning said. 
 
The anticipated closures are a result of overlapping locations in multiple markets, the news release said.
 
Office Depot Inc. has owned both OfficeMax and Office Depot since a November 2013 merger.
 
The firm outlined 150 U.S. stores that could close by the fourth quarter of 2014, the news release said – although officials could not confirm if any greater Wilmington locations were identified.    
 
Office Depot Inc., a well-known junior box tenant located in some of the region’s largest and most-visible retail centers, holds a significant market share of valuable commercial space across the area.
 
The company currently operates – and  employs dozens of workers in – three stores in greater Wilmington. There are two Office Depot locations: one at Hanover Center on Oleander Drive, and one at the Shallotte Crossing shopping center in Shallotte. The firm also operates a lone OfficeMax location at the New Centre Market shopping center on New Centre Drive.
 
The firm currently operates about 1,900 stores nationwide.