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INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT

To the Board of Directors of Office Depot, Inc.

We have audited the consolidated balance sheets of Office Depot, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 25, 1999 and December 26, 1998, and the related consolidated statements of earnings, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 25, 1999. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Office Depot, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 25, 1999 and December 26, 1998 and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 25, 1999 in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.


DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

Certified Public Accountants
Miami, Florida
February 10, 2000 (March 3, 2000 as to Note J)

5-Year Financial Highlights | MD&A | Cautionary Statements | Independent Auditors’ Report
Balance Sheets | Statements of Earnings | Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Statements of Cash Flows | Notes to Financial Statements | Corporate Directors & Officers