OfficeMax narrows Q4 loss

Naperville, Ill. OfficeMax reported Wednesday that it narrowed its loss in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 26, 2009 to $3.2 million. The office retailer lost $396 million in the year-ago period.

Sales in the fourth quarter declined 3.9% to $1.8 billion. For the coming year, OfficeMax said it expects to face challenging economic conditions, such as U.S. unemployment trends.

OfficeMax ended 2009 with a total of 1,010 retail stores, consisting of 933 retail stores in the United States and 77 retail stores in Mexico.

During fourth quarter 2009, OfficeMax opened one retail store in the United States, and closed one store in Mexico. During 2009, OfficeMax opened 12 retail stores in the United States, and closed 18 stores in the United States and six in Mexico.